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I normally wouldn't spend this much time on a patch or update--- but Microsoft's Office 2000 Service Release #1 is no ordinary patch: It's a huge update to the world's most widely-used office suite, and it's causing many people trouble.

For example, reader "Dan" was really getting steamed at Microsoft's auto-download of Service Pack 1 for Office 2000:

Microsoft's SR-1 is free, but "you get what you pay for" in this case. The online download is beyond frustrating ... once your connection drops, you have to start the download from scratch. I've got a 33.6 modem and manage 26.4 on a good day ... I've tried the download eight times over the past 24 hours with no luck. Two hours into the download, I get cut off at Microsoft's end ...

So he went digging:

I downloaded O2KSK1DL.EXE from http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2000/appndx/toolbox.htm#o2sr1au , the Office Resource Kit Toolbox (you'll find it under "Office 2000 SR-1 administrator updates"). It's a 52MB download, BUT the downloads at ORK support resume on disconnect (you can use a download manager, like NetZip Download Demon, to pause the download or resume after a broken Internet connection) ... that's not an available feature at the OfficeUpdate site (if your connection is cut during the Office Update download, you have to start from the beginning.) It took five hours on my 33.6 telephone modem, but that was a breeze compared to the 18 hours I wasted trying to get a successful download at the OfficeUpdate site.

O2KSR1DL.EXE includes both CD 1 and CD2, and the updates for FrontPage server extensions, Access Run Time, Office Server Extensions. [The other Administrator Update, Data1.exe, is a 141MB download and contains only the Administrative server update for CD1 ... you don't need this for a stand-alone installation.]

Here's the steps I used:

1. Download O2KSR1DL.EXE from the ORK site, above.
2. Move O2KSR1DL.EXE to a temporary directory on your hard drive.
3. Copy O2KSR1DL.EXE to a Zip disk (with sufficient storage space available) for safe keeping.
4. Delete all *.TMP files and temporary internet files from your system (clean up the trash.)
5. Run Scandisk (thorough) and Defrag your hard drive.
6. Restart and run System File Checker to make sure you have everything updated in the registry.
7. Do a clean Restart, then shutdown all running apps and utilities (including Antivirus programs, task schedulers and Rnaapp.)
8. Have Office 2000 original CDs ready.
9. Double Click O2KSR1DL.EXE and name an empty folder for the file extraction.
10. Switch to that folder, using Windows Explorer, and double click the Setup.exe file.
11. Put in your original MSO2K CD1, then CD2, but wait until the setup program asks for them.
12. Wait on the progress bar ... it will cycle through three times for CD1 and twice for CD2.
13. Remove the CD and restart the PC when prompted.
14. Review the logfiles in your temporary folder (mine was c: \WINDOWS\Temp\SR1Patch).
15. Test each app and check in "Help=>About" to look for both "SR1" and for a version number.
16. The installation took under 45 minutes on my system (a slow, 200MHz Pentium), but that depends on your CPU speed, installed apps and whether or not you've already upgraded to IE5.
17. Delete O2KSR1DL.EXE and the contents of your temporary directory (you have your copy on a Zip disk, so you don't need the extra "fat" on your hard drive.)
18. Run System File Checker to update the changes.
19. Restart and Relax!

Whew! Thanks, Dan. The extra steps you took at the beginning of your upgrade (steps 1-7) are very wise, and will improve the odds of a successful upgrade with any software--- not just O2K. They're well worth noting!

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3) Nifty O2K SR-1 Update Trick #2

Aaron Hall writes:

Fred: In light of the recent Office 2000 SR-1 update issues, I would recommend the following advice-- ALWAYS perform a "repair" option on Office before running the update.

I also had a problem with my first few updates (i.e. Error 2371) at work, so I started running the Detect & Repair option before installing the patch. Although it added an extra step, and I had to wait about 10 minutes for it to run, apparently, it and the service pack are fixing several problems with some user's installs... several of my users have commented about fewer crashes and other problems doing things that are fairly routine to them. Granted, it's only been a week since I did the updates, though.

Another suggestion is that before making that expensive call to Washington, check the Microsoft Knowledgebase... http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp . I performed a search for "2371"... here's what I found... http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q229/6/78.ASP  This page lists all the errors in the 2000-2999 range. The 1000's are at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q228/5/36.ASP  In this case, it seems like this error is related (judging by errors in the same group) to the a corrupt or mis-downloaded update. Perhaps, the site has been so busy lately that it's been sending out bad patches.

Thanks, Aaron!

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4) Nifty O2K SR-1 Update Trick #3