Microsoft Office 2003

[neathlat]

I`m trying to remove Office 2003 from my PC, in the remove and add program section in the control panel. I keep getting a message saying: "this patch package could not be opened. Verify if the patch package exists and that you can access it and that it is a valid Windows Installer patch package". Does anyone have any idea what this means? I just want to remove the program but it stubbornly remains! Help!!

[Graham-W]

Is it a genuine copy of Office 2003? If not, the microsoft un-installer may not work.
Download the free Ccleaner from Piriform ( http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download ) and use that to un-install your software.

[VHG]

It sounds as though you are trying to remove a patch or update for Office 2003 rather than the whole thing.

Scroll up and down the list of all programs installed and see if another entry looks like it may be for the full Office product.

[MarkRae]

There were quite a few add-ons for Office 2003 which needed to be downloaded and installed separately, such as some language packs, save as PDF etc. Might you have installed one of these and need to remove it first...?

[neathlat]

Thanks All . The size of the file is 203 MB which makes me think it is more than a patch or an upgrade. I`ve searched but can`t find any other files relating to it.!

[ChuckFickens]

203MB would be a little small for office, a full office install would be closer to 1GB. could possibly be a service pack for office.

[neathlat]

Thanks for that CF but have you any idea how to remove it??

[ChuckFickens]

What exactly is the item called in add remove programs?

[neathlat]

Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003

[ChuckFickens]

Well that certainly should be the correct thing to remove for office by the sounds... I guess the obvious question is, do you actually have office installed?.... as in, can you find it in the start menu and run the programs.

Also, do you have the folder C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\office11 on your computer, and if so is there anything in it?

It may be that the program has been removed already and the entry in add remove programs is just a leftover (which does happen occasionally)

[neathlat]

Yes , the program itself seems to be gone but the title remains stubbornly in the list. Do you think this could cause conflict somewhere else?

[ChuckFickens]

No... it could be safely ignored, orphaned entries in add remove programs aren't that unusual... but if it's annoying you then ccleaner (linked to in Grahams first answer) will let you remove the entry.

http://www.piriform.c...uninstalling-programs

[neathlat]

I`ve tried that but still get the same original message! Also I searched for that folder you refered to earlier: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\office11 and its full of other files. I`m sorry if I`m proving to be a bit of a dim wit but I`m not very computer literate or technologically minded!