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Stanford University Microsoft Office Patcher
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Stanford University Microsoft Office Patcher > FAQ
General Questions PC-Leland/PC-AFS Questions Troubleshooting Questions Technical Information
Answers to General Questions
  • What does it do?

    The Stanford Office Patcher allows you to apply security patches to your Microsoft Office programs without requiring that you have the original CDs available. The program changes a Windows registry entry to look for the original version of Office in AFS, on our network, rather than on a CD. Once that change is made, the Office Patcher takes you to the Microsoft Office Update web site, where you can download and install the patches you need. If you attempt to apply Office security patches without using this program, the patch installer will prompt you for the original CDs before it applies the patch.  Since many people have lost their CDs, or never had original CDs (Office came pre-installed on their computer), this requirement often means that important security patches are not applied.


  • Why do I need to use it?


  • You only need to use the program if you do not have access to your original Microsoft Office CDs.  If you do have access to the original CDs, just go to http://office.microsoft.com/officeupdate/ and click on the Check for Updates link to patch your installation of Microsoft Office.

  • What products does it support?

    Since it is not practical for Stanford University to support all distributions of Microsoft Office, we only support the following versions in English only:

    • Microsoft Office 2000 Standard
    • Microsoft Office 2000 Professional
    • Microsoft Office 2000 SR1 Professional
    • Microsoft Office XP Standard
    • Microsoft Office XP Professional
    • Microsoft Office 2003 Professional


  • What operating systems does the Office Patcher support?

    The Office Patcher will work on Windows 2000, and Windows XP computers.



  • One of the Office security patches rebooted my computer, but there are some more patches that need to be installed.  Do I need to run the Office Patcher again?

    Yes.  The program sets temporary drives to the AFS directories that contain the source CD images.  These drives will not be available after a reboot.  Running the Office Patcher again will reestablish those temporary drives.


  • How does the program bypass the need to have original CDs available?

    CD images for all of the supported versions of Office have been placed in AFS.  The Office Patcher program identifies which version of Microsoft office you have installed by searching through the registry.  Once it determines the version, it sets one or two temporary drives to the AFS volumes that contain your version of office.  It then changes the source CD settings in the registry that Office uses to find the original CDs.  The last step is to launch Internet Explorer and go to http://office.microsoft.com/officeupdate/.


  • Is this legal?

    Yes.  Stanford University has consulted with Microsoft and Microsoft has approved this process.

  • Does the program log its activity?

    Yes.  All program activity is written to a file called Patcher.log in the “C:\Documents and Settings\UserID\Local Settings\Temp\OfficePatcher\logs” directory.  This file is never deleted, and contains a record of every time the Office Patcher is run.


  • Should I reboot the computer after applying all the security patches?

    Yes.  The patcher program will remove all program files after it has finished running, but some files will be left in the “C:\Documents and Settings\UserID\Local Settings\Temp\OfficePatcher” directory until the computer is rebooted.


  • Is any information about my computer captured in this process?

    Yes.  In order to help ITSS plan future desktop application development efforts, and more accurately predict desktop support requirements at Stanford University, the following information is sent to a network database when the Office Patcher is run:
    • Date the program was run
    • MAC Address of the computer
    • IP Address of the computer
    • Operating System
    • Operating System version
    • Computer Host name
    • CPU Type
    • BIOS Version
    • RAM
    • Logged in User
    • Office Product

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Answers to PC-Leland/PC-AFS Questions
  • Why do I need to install PC-Leland and PC-AFS?

    We can avoid the requirement to have the original CDs available when applying patches by placing copies of the original CDs in Stanford University’s AFS (Andrew File System) network and changing the system registry to point to those places.  PC-Leland and PC-AFS are needed to access Stanford University’s AFS network.

  • Why do I need to upgrade PC-Leland and PC-AFS?

    The office patcher requires the latest versions of both PC-Leland and PC-AFS.  If you have installed older versions, successful access to Stanford University AFS files can not be guaranteed.

  • How do I install or upgrade PC-Leland and PC-AFS?

    If you need to upgrade PC-Leland or PC-AFS, the program will launch a web browser and take you to http://www.stanford.edu/dept/itss/ess/pc/pc.html.  Download PC-Leland (in the “Authentication” section), and PC-AFS (in the “File Transfer” section).  Run the PC-Leland Installer, and then run the PC-AFS installer.  The PC-AFS installer will reboot your computer when it is done.

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Answers to Troubleshooting Questions
  • The program won’t run because it says that I am not an administrator.  What does that mean, and why do I need to be an administrator?

    Since the program needs to make changes to the system, it requires that the person who is logged in at the time that the program is run be in the “Administrators” group.  This is a special group of users that have elevated privileges.  If you are not an administrator, and can not log in as an administrator, you will need to contact your local computer support department for help.

  • One of the Microsoft patches gave me a generic error message and quit.  What can I do to fix this?

    Once the Microsoft Office Update web page is launched, the Office Patcher program ends and is no longer needed.  Any errors that occur during the patch installation process are not related to the Office Patcher.  The most common reason for errors during the Microsoft Office security patch process is lack of disk space.  Some of the Office patches require significant amounts of free disk space to run successfully.  Make sure that your hard drive has at least 100 megabytes free before attempting to run any Microsoft security patches.

  • Why is the Microsoft patch installer asking me for my Visio CD?

    Although Visio is not included with Microsoft Office, the Microsoft Office Update web page will also attempt to patch installations of Visio.  Stanford University can not support Visio patching without original Visio CDs.  If you have Visio installed you must obtain the original installation CDs to patch Visio.

  • The program informs me that it can’t find the “package definition file” for my version of office.  What does this mean?

    This means that you have an installation of Microsoft office that is not currently supported by the Office Patcher.  If you have received this error message from the Office Patcher, you must obtain the original Microsoft Office installation CD to patch your system.  To find out what specific flavor of Microsoft Office is installed on your computer, run the MS Office Version Display Program.

  • The program took me to the “Microsoft Office Online” web page.  What do I do now?

    Click on the Check for updates link.

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Technical Details

The Office Patcher determines the installed version of Microsoft Office by looking in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall registry key for the GUIDs of known supported versions of Microsoft Office.  Since there are so many possible versions of Office, and all of them require different source CDs, we have limited the supported version of Office to the five most common versions listed above.  The following information has been extracted from the following Microsoft web pages:

Office 2000 Information

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;230848

Office XP Information

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;302663

You can also determine the installed version of Microsoft Office by running the The MSOffice Version utility (available at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/itss/patches/msoffice/MsOfficeVersion.exe). The utility returns a message with the package code, which you can compare that to the list of supported package codes.

The versions that are supported by the Office Patcher are identified in the table below.

MICROSOFT OFFICE SUPPORTED PACKAGE CODES
573DC9A4-E327-11D2-B858-0060B0F889F2
C5214920-1A65-11D4-8916-00A0C921A4F0
DB0EE32E-E2DE-11D2-B858-0060B0F889F2
D2DE4FCD-DEB7-4F9D-91F9-2FCA43E29F06
59D95C14-E327-11D2-B858-0060B0F889F2
272E1788-5A0B-4715-B1B4-C90CFB761F52
92FB4102-84B4-4ABD-8CC0-0E6FB6A2B3E6
E8747D08-8F12-4E54-AA50-D43053A438A7
6102E382-135B-4261-BA67-F6F09B6A6483

 

To interpret the codes, see the following explanation:.

 


Office 2000 Product Code Numbering Scheme

When you install Office, or any of the stand-alone Office programs, a product code or GUID is created in the following section of the Windows registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

The format used by each GUID is:

{xxyyzzzz-78E1-11D2-B60F-006097C998E7}

The first section of the GUID contains information about the version, store-keeping unit (SKU), and language of the product:

                                                       Allowable
Characters   Definition                                values
-------------------------------------------------------------
xx           The version of the product                00-FF
yy           The SKU of the product                    00-FF
zzzz         The language identifier of the product    any required
                                           

This scheme allows for up to 255 versions for each of 255 SKUs for each language version of Office. All three of these values are stored in hexadecimal format within the GUID.

The version number starts at 00 for the initial released version of Office and each stand-alone Office program. When new versions or service releases are released, the version number will be incremented (01, 02, 03).

The Office Patcher only supports the first Office version distribution (00).


The SKU number is different for each package of Office or stand-alone Office program, as shown in the following table.

   SKU number   Program
   -----------------------
   00           Microsoft Office 2000 Premium Edition CD1
   01           Microsoft Office 2000 Professional Edition (Supported)
   02           Microsoft Office 2000 Standard Edition (Supported)
   03           Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Edition
   04           Microsoft Office 2000 Premium CD2
   05           Office CD2 SMALL
   06-0F        (reserved)
   10           Microsoft Access 2000 (standalone)
   11           Microsoft Excel 2000 (standalone)
   12           Microsoft FrontPage 2000 (standalone)
   13           Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 (standalone)
   14           Microsoft Publisher 2000 (standalone)
   15           Office Server Extensions
   16           Microsoft Outlook 2000 (standalone)
   17           Microsoft Word 2000 (standalone)
   18           Microsoft Access 2000 runtime version
   19           FrontPage Server Extensions
   1A           Publisher Standalone OEM
   1B           DMMWeb
   1C           FP WECCOM
   1D-1F        (reserved standalone SKUs)
   20-2F        Office Language Packs
   30-3F        Proofing Tools Kit(s)
   40           Publisher Trial CD
   41           Publisher Trial Web
   42           SBB
   43           SBT
   44           SBT CD2
   45           SBTART
   46           Web Components
   47           VP Office CD2 with LVP
   48           VP PUB with LVP
   49           VP PUB with LVP OEM
   4F           Access 2000 SR-1 Run-Time Minimum
 

The language identifier, or LCID, varies from language to language. Since the LCID is stored in the GUID in hexadecimal format, you may need to convert it to decimal in order to determine the language of the GUID. For example, 0409 hexadecimal is equivalent to 1033 decimal, which translates to English.

The Office Patcher only supports English (0409).



Office XP Product Code Numbering Scheme

When you install Office or any of the stand-alone Office programs, a product code or GUID is created in the following section of the Windows registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

The format used by each GUID is:

{WXYYZZZZ-6000-11D3-8CFE-0050048383C9}

The first eight characters of the GUID contain information about the release type, edition type, store-keeping unit (SKU), and language of the product. The remaining digits in the GUID (11D3-8CFE-...) do not provide any easily categorizable information.

 

Characters   Definition                              Hexadecimal Values
------------------------------------------------------------------
W            Release type                             0-9, A-F
X            Edition type                             0-2
YY           SKU of the product                       10-35
ZZZZ         Language identifier of the product       any required

You can view the GUIDs for programs that are installed on your computer by following these steps:

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.

  2. In the Open box, type regedit. Click OK.

  3. Navigate to the following subkey:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

The GUIDs should be the first items listed under Uninstall, because their names begin with braces.

Each GUID's data pane contains multiple values, including the product name that appears in the Add/Remove Programs dialog box (DisplayName), the date that the product was installed (InstallDate), the product ID (Product ID), the installation source (InstallSource), and the registered company and user name (RegCompany, RegOwner).

Release Type

The release type values specify the level of the release, for example, Beta versus RTM. See the following table for details.

Value    Release
------------------------------------------------------------------
0        Any release before Beta 1
1        Beta 1
2        Beta 2
3        RC0
4        RC1/OEM Preview Release
5-8      reserved values
9        RTM (first shipped version)
A        SR1 (unused if the product code is not changed after RTM)
B        SR2 (unused if the product code is not changed after RTM)
C        SR3 (unused if the product code is not changed after RTM)
D-F      reserved values
                                  

The Office Patcher only supports the first shipped RTM version (9).

Edition Type

The edition type specifies the audience for the Office product, for example, Enterprise or Retail. See the following table for details.

Value    Edition
--------------------
0        Enterprise
1        Retail/OEM
2        Trial

 

The Office Patcher only supports the Enterprise Edition (0).

Office SKU

The Office SKU is the version of your Office product, for example, Professional versus Standard. See the following table for details.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------
11     Microsoft Office XP Professional (Supported)
12     Microsoft Office XP Standard (Supported)
13     Microsoft Office XP Small Business 
14     Microsoft Office XP Web Server
15     Microsoft Access 2002
16     Microsoft Excel 2002
17     Microsoft FrontPage 2002
18     Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
19     Microsoft Publisher 2002
1A     Microsoft Outlook 2002
1B     Microsoft Word 2002
1C     Microsoft Access 2002 Runtime
1D     Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions 2002
1E     Microsoft Office Multilingual User Interface Pack
1F     Microsoft Office Proofing Tools Kit
20     System Files Update
22     unused
23     Microsoft Office Multilingual User Interface Pack Wizard
24     Microsoft Office XP Resource Kit
25     Microsoft Office XP Resource Kit Tools (download from Web)
26     Microsoft Office Web Components
27     Microsoft Project 2002
28     Microsoft Office XP Professional with FrontPage(Supported)
29     Microsoft Office XP Professional Subscription
2A     Microsoft Office XP Small Business Edition Subscription
2B     Microsoft Publisher 2002 Deluxe Edition
2F     Standalone IME (JPN Only)
30     Microsoft Office XP Media Content 
31     Microsoft Project 2002 Web Client
32     Microsoft Project 2002 Web Server
33     Microsoft Office XP PIPC1 (Pre Installed PC) (JPN Only)
34     Microsoft Office XP PIPC2 (Pre Installed PC) (JPN Only)
35     Microsoft Office XP Media Content Deluxe
                                  

Language Identifier

The language identifier, or LCID, varies from language to language. Because the LCID is stored in the GUID in hexadecimal format, you may need to convert it to decimal in order to determine the language of the GUID. For example, 0409 hexadecimal is equivalent to 1033 decimal, which translates to English.

The Office Patcher only supports English (0409).


Office 2003 Product Code Numbering Scheme

When you install Office 2003 or any one of the stand-alone Office 2003 programs, a product code (or GUID) is created in the following section of the Microsoft Windows registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

The format that each GUID uses is:

{WXYYZZZZ-6000-11D3-8CFE-0150048383C9}

The first eight digits of the GUID contain information about the release type, the edition type, the store-keeping unit (SKU), and the language of the product.

The remaining digits in the GUID (6000-11D3-8CFE-0050048383C9) do not provide any information that can be easily categorized.

The following table describes each of the first eight characters of the GUID.

Characters

Definition

Hexadecimal Values

W

Release type

0-9, A-F

X

Edition type

0-2

YY

SKU of the product

10-35

ZZZZ

Language identifier of the product

any required

You can view the GUIDs for programs that are installed on your computer. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.

  2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

  3. Locate the following subkey:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

The GUIDs should be the first items that are listed under Uninstall , because their names start with braces.

Each GUIDs data pane contains multiple values, including the product name that appears in the Add/Remove Programs dialog box (DisplayName), the date that the product was installed (InstallDate), the product ID (Product ID), the installation source (InstallSource), and the registered company and user name (RegCompany, RegOwner).

Release type

The release type values specify the level of the release, such as Beta versus release to manufacturing. See the following table for details.

Value

Release

0

Any release before Beta 1

1

Beta 1

2

Beta 2

3

Release Candidate 0 (RC0)

4

Release Candidate 1 (RC1)/OEM Preview Release

5-8

Reserved values

9

Release to manufacturing (RTM). This is the first shipped version (initial release).

A

Service Pack 1 (SP1) (Unused if the product code is not changed after release to manufacturing)

B

Service Pack 2 (SP2) (Unused if the product code is not changed after release to manufacturing)

C

Service Pack 3 (SP3) (Unused if the product code is not changed after release to manufacturing)

D-F

Reserved values

The Office Patcher only supports the RTM version (9).

Edition type

The edition type specifies the audience for the Office 2003 product, such as Enterprise or Retail. See the following table for details.

Value

Edition

0

Enterprise

1

Retail/OEM

2

Trial

The Office Patcher only supports the Enterprise edition (0).

Office SKU

The Office SKU is the version of your Office 2003 product, such as Professional or Standard. See the following table for details.

Value

SKU

11

Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003

12

Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003

13

Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003

14

Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 2.0

15

Microsoft Office Access 2003

16

Microsoft Office Excel 2003

17

Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003

18

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003

19

Microsoft Office Publisher 2003

1A

Microsoft Office Outlook Professional 2003

1B

Microsoft Office Word 2003

1C

Microsoft Office Access 2003 Runtime

1E

Microsoft Office 2003 User Interface Pack

1F

Microsoft Office 2003 Proofing Tools

23

Microsoft Office 2003 Multilingual User Interface Pack

24

Microsoft Office 2003 Resource Kit

26

Microsoft Office XP Web Components

2E

Microsoft Office 2003 Research Service SDK

44

Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003

83

Microsoft Office 2003 HTML Viewer

92

Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 English Template Pack

93

Microsoft Office 2003 English Web Parts and Components

A1

Microsoft Office OneNote 2003

A4

Microsoft Office 2003 Web Components

A5

Microsoft SharePoint Migration Tool 2003

AA

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Presentation Broadcast

AB

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Template Pack 1

AC

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Template Pack 2

AD

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Template Pack 3

AE

Microsoft Organization Chart 2.0

CA

Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003

D0

Microsoft Office Access 2003 Developer Extensions

DC

Microsoft Office 2003 Smart Document SDK

E0

Microsoft Office Outlook Standard 2003

E3

Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 (with InfoPath 2003)

F8

Remove Hidden Data Tool

The Office Patcher only supports the Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition (11).

Language identifier

The language identifier, or LCID, varies from language to language. Because the LCID is stored in the GUID in hexadecimal format, you may have to convert it to decimal to determine the language of the GUID.

For example, 0409 hexadecimal converts to 1033 decimal, which represents English.

The Office Patcher only supports English (0409).

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Last modified Tuesday, 01-Jun-2004 10:29:48 PDT

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