Knowledge Base

OFFXP: Description of the System Files Update

Article ID: 286399

Article Last Modified on 12/4/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Visio 2002 Professional Edition
Microsoft Visio 2002 Standard Edition
Microsoft Office XP Professional Edition
Microsoft Office XP Small Business Edition
Microsoft Office XP Standard Edition
Microsoft Office XP Standard Edition for Students and Teachers
Microsoft Office XP Developer Edition
Microsoft Access 2002 Standard Edition
Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
Microsoft FrontPage 2002 Standard Edition
Microsoft Outlook 2002 Standard Edition
Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Standard Edition
Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q286399

SUMMARY

The Microsoft System Files Update updates certain files on your computer. When the System Files Update Setup starts, you receive a message similar to the following:

Install Windows and Office Components Updates

Microsoft Office XP requires newer Windows system components not detected on your computer.

To install Office, setup must update your system to the minimum required level of functionality, including:

-- Core System and Data Access components
-- Web Browsing Support

After installing this update, setup will automatically resume with Office installation.

You click Next to continue with Setup. This article contains information about which files are updated, the new version numbers, and the folders where the files are contained.

MORE INFORMATION

Overview

When you run Setup for Office XP, Setup.exe looks for certain files on your computer. Based on that search, the System Files Update installer may be started.

The files that are installed by the System Files Update are part of, but not limited to, the following Windows components:

Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), version 2.5
Fonts
Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 5.01
Help
National Language Support (NLS) files
Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) files

Note If any of these components, or a later version of any of the components, is installed on your computer, the System Files Update does not overwrite these components.

Because Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) and Microsoft Windows 2000 include the same versions, or later versions, of the components that are included with the System Files Update, you will not see the System Files Update installation on either of these two Windows versions. Also, if you have a complete installation of Office 2000 SR-1 on your computer and you are upgrading to Office XP, you should not see the System Files Update installation on any version of Microsoft Windows on which Office XP is supported.

Automatic Detection and Installation

The list of files that Setup.exe verifies is contained in the [SystemPack_DetectionFileList] section of the Setup.ini file (located in the \Files\Setup folder on the Office CD). For example, the following is a portion of the file list from the [SystemPack_DetectionFileList] section.

   AGENTSVR.EXE      AgentFolder    2.0.0.2202     All
   MSADOR15.DLL      AdoFolder      2.50.4403.4    All
   MSADO15.DLL       AdoFolder      2.50.4403.9    All
   MSADOX.DLL        AdoFolder      2.50.4403.4    All
   MSADER15.DLL      AdoFolder      2.50.4403.4    All
   MSADOMD.DLL       AdoFolder      2.50.4403.4    All
   DAO360.DLL        DAOShared      3.60.3706.0    All

Column descriptions in the [SystemPack_DetectionFileList] section are file name, location of the file, version number, and applicable versions of Windows, respectively. If one or more of the files in this list is missing or has an earlier version number, Setup.exe automatically invokes the Windows Installer to install the System Files Update. At this point, the Office installation is temporarily on hold until the System Files Update installation is finished.

Note For Fonts and NLS files in this list, Setup.exe does not verify the version number. It only verifies the existence of the file.

Approximately 350 files can be installed by the System Files Update. All 350 files are not listed in the [SystemPack_DetectionFileList] section of Setup.ini, because the files in the [SystemPack_DetectionFileList] section are just the key files that are verified by Setup.exe.

When the installation of the System Files Update is finished, you are prompted to restart your computer. Many of the files that are updated by the System Files Update are in use during the installation, so a restart of Windows is required in order to replace these files with their updated versions.

After Windows is restarted, you do not have to run Office Setup again. The installation of Office should automatically occur after the System Files Update is finished and you restart your computer.

Installation of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0

When the System Files Update installation runs, you may be prompted to update the version of Internet Explorer that is installed on your computer, or it may be updated automatically for you. The following rules outline the installation of Internet Explorer with the System Files Update:

The version of Internet Explorer 5.01 that is installed by the System Files Update is build 5.00.2919.6307. This is the same version that is installed by Office 2000 SR-1. However, it is not the same version of Internet Explorer 5.01 that is included with Microsoft Windows 2000. The build number is 5.00.2920.000, which is only supported on Windows 2000. Therefore, if you are installing Office XP on Windows 2000, Internet Explorer 5.01 is not installed by Office.
If you do not have Internet Explorer 4.01 SP1 or later, you are required to install one of the Internet Explorer 5.01 options with the System Files Update. This is primarily because Microsoft Outlook 2002 requires Internet Explorer 4.01 SP1. In this situation, the minimum Internet Explorer option is Web browsing components only.
If your computer has Internet Explorer 4.01 SP1, and all of the other required System Files Update files are installed on your computer, the System Files Update installation is not run, and you do not receive the option to install Internet Explorer 5.01. This is a very rare case. If you need to install Internet Explorer 5.01, you can manually run Ie5setup.exe from the \FILES\OSP\1033\IE5\EN folder on your Office CD.
If your computer has Office 2000 or Office 2000 SR-1 and Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.0a, or 5.0b (any Internet Explorer 5 build earlier than 5.01), you do not see an option to install Internet Explorer. In this situation, Internet Explorer 5.01 is automatically installed for you.
If you are using Windows NT 4.0 and you do not have the Windows Desktop Update installed, the Windows Desktop Update is not installed when you install Internet Explorer 5.01 via the System Files Update installation.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

164539 How to Determine Which Version of Internet Explorer Is Installed

Installation of MDAC or Jet

The System Files Update installs MDAC 2.5 if you have an earlier version of MDAC installed on your computer. However, if you install the SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine, your computer will be updated with MDAC 2.6 (if necessary).

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

290627 ACC2002: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine Is Not Installed by Office XP Setup

The System Files Update may also update the Microsoft Jet 4.0 database engine to Service Pack 3 (SP3). However, the latest version available is SP5.

For additional information about obtaining SP5 for the Microsoft Jet 4.0 database engine, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

239114 How To: Obtain the Latest Service Pack for the Microsoft Jet 4.0 Database Engine

Cannot Skip the System Files Update

Because of the detection mechanisms that are built into Setup.exe and the Windows Installer package (.msi) for Office XP, you cannot skip the installation of the System Files Update on computers that require its installation. For example, if you try to bypass the System Files Update installation by double-clicking the .msi file for Office, you receive an error message similar to the following:

Error 25510. Microsoft Office XP requires updated system files not detected on your computer. You must install the System Files Update prior to installing Office.
C:\Windows\Msagent\Agentsvr.exe is missing when we require version 2.0.0.2202.

Disk Space Requirements

The disk space that is required for the installation of the System Files Update varies, according to the version of Windows on your computer and the number of files that are already at the same level as or later than those files included in the System Files Update.

The following table lists the approximate disk space that is required for a complete installation of the System Files Update, including Internet Explorer 5.01.

   Windows Version             Disk Space
   --------------------------------------

   Windows 98                  82 MB

   Windows NT 4.0, Internet
   Explorer 2.0, SP6a          93 MB

All of the files installed by the System Files Update are copied to the disk drive where Windows is installed. Therefore, even if you have enough space on another disk drive for the Office files, you may be required to free some disk space on your Windows disk drive in order to install the System Files Update.

Maintenance and Removal

Even though you are running Setup.exe for Office XP, the System Files Update installation is separate from the Office installation. Therefore, you see an entry for the System Files Update in the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel. If you double-click the System Files Update entry in the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, two options are displayed in the Maintenance Mode Options dialog box:

Repair System Files Update
Uninstall System Files Update

Repairing the System Files Update Installation

If you select the Repair System Files Update option and then click Next, two more options are displayed:

Reinstall System Files Update

If you click the Reinstall System Files Update option and then click Install, any files that were originally installed by the System Files Update will be reinstalled if they are missing or if an equal or older version is currently installed on your computer.

Detect and Repair errors in my System Files Update installation

If you click the Detect and Repair errors in my System Files Update installation option and then click Install, any files that were originally installed by the System Files Update will be reinstalled if they are missing or if an older version is currently installed on your computer.

Uninstalling the System Files Update Installation

If you select the Uninstall System Files Update option and then click Next, you are asked to confirm the removal. Click Yes to this prompt.

This uninstall process removes the System Files Update, so that it no longer is displayed in the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box. However, because most of the files that are installed by the System Files Update are permanent system files, they are not removed from your computer during the uninstall process. Therefore, if you later uninstall Office and then reinstall Office, Setup.exe does not automatically start the System Files Update installation. This is because the required system files are already on your computer.

Note If the System Files Update installed Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 5.01 is not uninstalled if you uninstall the System Files Update.

Forcing the System Files Update Installation

If your computer is running either Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, in some circumstances you may want to force the installation of the System Files Update along with Office. To do this, follow these steps:

On the Start menu, click Run.
In the Open box, type a command line similar to the following, and then click OK

path\Setup.exe /spforce

where path in the command line is the full path to your Office XP source location.

Windows Installer-Related Information

The Windows Installer package that is responsible for the System Files Update installation is Osp.msi. This file resides in the \Files\OSP\1033 folder on the Office CD. If you are using either Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0, and you want to manually install the System Files Update before you install Office, follow these steps.

Note The following steps assume that the Windows Installer is installed on your computer. If it is not installed, double-click Instmsi.exe if you are using Windows 98, or double-click Instmsiw.exe if you are using Windows NT 4.0. Both Instmsi.exe and Instmsiw.exe can be found on the root of your Office installation source.

In Windows Explorer, open the \Files\OSP\1033 folder on your Office XP installation source.
Right-click Osp.msi, and then click Install.
Complete the remaining dialog boxes of the System Files Update.

Customizing the System Files Update Installation

If you are using an Enterprise edition of Office XP, you can use the Custom Installation Wizard (CIW) to customize the installation of the System Files Update. In most cases, you will be customizing the installation of Internet Explorer or the Windows Desktop Update (on Windows NT 4.0), or both.

Internet Explorer

Start the Custom Installation Wizard.
In the Open the MSI File dialog box, locate and then click Osp.msi from the \Files\OSP\1033 folder in your Office XP installation location.

Click Open.
Click Next in the Open the MSI File dialog box.
In the Open the MST File dialog box, select Create a new MST file, and then click Next.
In the Select the MST File to Save dialog box, specify a name for the transform (.mst), and then click Next.
In the Customize IE 5 Installation Options dialog box, make customizations to the Internet Explorer installation, and then click Next.
Click Finish to create the transform.
Make a backup copy of Setup.ini from your Office XP installation source.

This file is located in the \Files\Setup folder.
Using a text editor like Notepad, open Setup.ini.
In the [SystemPackOptions] section of the Setup.ini file, type a line that is similar to the following

Transforms=path\custom.mst

where path is a full path to your transform, and custom is the name of your transform file.
Save and close Setup.ini.
Run Setup for Office.

Windows Desktop Update

If your computer is running Windows NT 4.0 and you need to install the Windows Desktop Update, you can set a custom property in the Custom Installation Wizard, so that the Windows Desktop Update is installed by the System Files Update. To do this, follow these steps:

Start the Custom Installation Wizard.
In the Open the MSI File dialog box, locate and then click Osp.msi from the \Files\OSP\1033 folder in your Office XP installation location.

Click Open.
Click Next in the Open the MSI File dialog box.
In the Open the MST File dialog box, select Create a new MST file, and then click Next.
In the Select the MST File to Save dialog box, specify a name for the transform (.mst), and then click Next.
In the Customize IE 5 Installation Options dialog box, make customizations, if needed, to the Internet Explorer installation, and then click Next.

Note Do not select the Do not install Internet Explorer 5 option if you want to install the Windows Desktop Update.
In the Modify Setup Properties dialog box, double-click the InstallDesktopUpdate entry.
In the Modify Property Value dialog box, select Install the Windows Desktop Update in the Value list.

Click OK.
Click Finish to create the transform.
Make a backup copy of Setup.ini from your Office XP installation source. This file is located in the \Files\Setup folder.
Using a text editor like Notepad, open Setup.ini.
In the [SystemPackOptions] section of the Setup.ini, type a line that is similar to the following

Transforms=path\custom.mst

where path is a full path to your transform, and custom is the name of your transform file.
Save and close the Setup.ini file.
Run Setup for Office.Note Do not specify a transform for the System Files Update on a command line. A transform is ignored during the System Files Update installation and causes an error during the Office installation.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

287064 OFFXP: Error Message: Verify That the Specified Transform Paths Are Valid

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