Unable to install Office 2007 on Windows 2003 Terminal Server

terminal-serverwindows-server-2003windows-terminal-services

I have two Windows 2003 Terminal Servers (and another 2003 TS Server that controls it all) that a couple users connect to from a remote office. They have Office 2003 Enterprise installed. I'm attempting to upgrade them to Office 2007 Enterprise.

While logged into the TS Serve as the domain administrator, from a command prompt, I'm typing:
change user /install and I see the message "user session is ready to install applications"
I run the Office 2007 setup and I see the Upgrade or Customize button.

When I click upgrade, nothing happens. When I click customize then the upgrade button. Nothing happens. I can click the button all day and the software never actually starts working. It's like a dead button. Simply does nothing. One click or 100 clicks. Nothing.

So, I'm sure I'm missing something here – but what? Does anyone know what's going on? If you need more information, please do let me know.

Thank you in advance for your reply.

Best Answer

You need to create a customization patch (.msp) file in order to upgrade to Office 2007 on a Windows Server 2003 Server running Terminal Services.

You also need to have an Office 2007 license key that will work on Terminal Server. Retail or OEM keys will not work. You need a volume licensing key.

The following Technet article describes how to create a .msp file using the Office Customization Tool.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311241

Customizing a 2007 Office installation or Office 2010 installation

To customize an Office installation, use the Office Customization Tool to create a customization patch (.MSP). When you install Office with this customization file, the Office features that are set to Not Available are not installed.

  1. Start the Office Customization Tool (OCT). To do this, click Start, click Run, type Office installation CD \setup /admin, and then click OK.
  2. Select Set Feature Installation States in the navigation bar on the left side of the screen, and then select the feature that you do not want to install in the tree on the right.
  3. Set the installation state of the selected feature to Not Available, Hidden, or Locked. If more than one of these settings is needed, the menu must be accessed again to select the additional setting.
  4. Repeat steps 2 through 3 for each feature that you do not want to install.
  5. Set any additional options that you want in the OCT.
  6. Select Save As on the File menu to create the MSP file. It should be saved in the \Updates folder unless another location is specified in the Config.xml file.
  7. Install the 2007 Office suite with the .MSP file.

Note The Office Customization Tool requires that Windows Installer 3.1 be installed.

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