Office 2011 Updates

[Merieme]

Hello everyone,

I have a little issue with MS Office 2011 updates on casper. I'm still using MS office with 14.0.0 and i have to do all updates. Actually i have to run the 14.1.0 update and 14.3.9 on some clients computers ( i can't pass directly to 14.3.9 , unless someone can show me how). I successfully uploaded the 14.3.9 ( a pkg file ) but the 14.1.0 i tried to uploded in .pkg , in .dmg and in .mpkg but no update done. Sometimes it says " Successfully Installed " in View Log and sometimes it fails ... The problem is that the update is working on my computer in local. So i don't know why it stops working while I send in it via Casper Remote.

Thanks for your help.

Merieme

[johnnasset]

Can you confirm that all office apps are closed when trying to apply the update?

[Merieme]

Yes of course , everything is closed , on my client's laptop.

[#4]

What sort of distribution point are you using - AFP, SMB, HTTP? Do any other .mpkg updates fail to install? What happens if you try caching the update first and then installing it?

[jhalvorson]

There was an issue that some MS updates would not install if a file/folder didn't exist. You can test this by: Installing your 14.0.0 package. Then open Word and then close it. Then try deploying your 14.1.0 update and check that it is successful.

I believe that issue does not exist if you can start with the 14.2 or 14.3 installers.

Update: This was discussed here: https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=5020#responseChild25031

[Merieme]

Actually i log in Casper Remote , look for my mac with his IP adress and i select it. Then i go to package , select the update that i want to send and then click on Go. Then they write : Open SSH connection to ... ( IP Adress ) , Verifying , Copying , Installing / Failing to install ... ( it depends)

[mm2270]

I'm making an assumption that you have a volume license of Office here, and if so, I strongly suggest talking to whatever Microsft rep you have about getting a copy of the latest full Office installer, so you can start off by installing a more current version, like 14.2.4, etc as @jhalvorson suggests above. You can usually just download it yourself from their customer site.
Trying to install the 14.0.0 release and then go through the upgrade rigamarole is bound to be painful.
Save yourself the headache and start by installing something more up to date.

Something else about the 14.1.0 release is that the one you have may be an old copy and have a now expired certificate, which the OS will block when trying to install it, even from the command line. Not sure if that's actually the issue, but you can try installing it from the command line with something like-

installer -pkg "/path/to/Office 14.1.0.pkg" -tgt / -allowUntrusted

The last flag (-allowUntrusted) is important to try to see if it installs. That tells installer to ignore the fact that the certificate may no longer be trusted by the OS.

[Merieme]

thanks for your answer
There is just 14.1.0 and 14.3.7 and 14.3.9 on their commercial site , no more 14.2. When i want to install the 14.3.7/9 they ask me to update to a lower version before. And for the 14.1.0 release it's new one that i just downloaded for their site.

I am able to install this same release (14.1.0) on local ( on my own computer) but it passes from remote , it's not working anymore. So i think that the problem come from my remote and not from my update.

[mm2270]

Yes, but I think you're referring to the Mactopia site, correct? That's the public site for downloading updates only. What we're referring to is a Microsoft customer site that lets you download a volume installer for Office, assuming your org has purchased a volume license for it. If you do, talk to someone at Microsoft about getting a more up to date full installation package. This is different than the 14.1.0, 14.3.7. etc updaters, which all require an existing installation in place to be used.
Assuming you can get one, you should then be able to install that new version instead of 14.0.0, and let you bypass needing the SP1 (14.1.0) update altogether and skip right to 14.3.9. Believe me, your life will be easier if you get a more up to date full Office installer.

[mpermann]

Have you thought about using Composer on a fresh computer to capture the entire Microsoft Office 2011 package after you have installed it from a fresh install and with all the patches applied? It will be more to push out to your computers but would save you having to deal with all the individual upgrades. I understand many on here frown at using Composer to capture software, but if done carefully I've found it works well enough. Of course I would encourage you to test thoroughly in your own environment to ensure it works for you.

[bentoms]

@Merieme, in regards to the failing to install @ base path error.

Have you tried caching it & then installing the cashed copy?

[jhbush]

@Merieme, I'll throw in my suggestion. I use the script from http://nbalonso.com/prepare-office-sp3-for-instadmg/ after I download the volume license copy from Microsoft. It's generally named something like SW_DVD5_Office_Mac_Standard_2011w_SP3_English_ISO_MLF_X18-77844.ISO. When those steps are complete I download the latest updater (14.3.9). That is all I use to install a fully patched Office for Mac 2011. You can of course use @talkingmoose script for automated Outlook setup as well.

[Merieme]

Thanks to everyone , actually i tried with the 14.3.9 full install package and it works correctly. It takes more time to run but it's ok at the End.

Thanks for your help.