Deploying Office 2003 Basic To A *Computer* Via GPO

Otacon

Otacon

Otacon

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Ok folks, someone is lying to me somewhere, because this just isnt working. I'm messing about with pushing Office to computer accounts in a domain. Obviously going down this route I'm limited to the "auto-install this application by file extension activation" option - no auto-install at logon. The trouble is, for some reason I cant fathom, it just isnt working.

Office Basic is only Word, Excel and Outlook 2003. If I look at the software installation properties of my GPO, the package is registered against the correct file extensions. If I choose one of those file extensions on my client machine - I just get the standard 'no program associated' message, and no install is invoked (as it should be). This happens regardless of what permissions the user has (Admin/Power User/User).

I've used this option before with third party apps, and it works fine. Why wont Office comply?
 
I've been meaning to do this for ages and now is as good a time as any. I've even had an mst file sat about waiting to be used!!

What settings are you using and I'll have a go here?

Are you assigning it to the user or computer?
 
Hi,

The way it's done here is that we have a default apply (although I'm guessing that if you have some people getting Office basic, some people Office Pro, and some people Office without Outlook etc etc default deny GPOs are more applicable).

Then We apply the GPO with Read and Apply to a security group containing the machines/groups of machines that it is to get applied to. I must admit I had problems getting Office Basic to play ball (different problem- it wouldnt take the licence key and therefore wouldnt install silently) so I cheated a bit and used Office Pro with a transform creating with CIW to only install Word, Excel and Powerpoint ;)
 
I was getting the same message as you, 'no program associated...', but I found that in the security tab of the install properties the user I was testing this gpo with didn't have write permission. Once I enabled this the install ran when I tried to open an associated file.
 
Again, this is a computer account install. File system permissions (if that's what you're getting at, it's not very clear) are irrelevant.

It may be something odd to do with the MST file. I can push this out to a user from a GPO using the same MSI/MST and it works fine... however when I push to the computer account, an error is logged saying that the installation package doesn't support the use of transforms (which is evidently a lie).

M0KUJ1N said:
so I cheated a bit and used Office Pro with a transform creating with CIW to only install Word, Excel and Powerpoint
Click to expand...
I hope that last part's a typo, because if not, then you aren't cheating - you're breaking the law. Office Basic 2003 is Word, Excel and Outlook only. Not Powerpoint.
 
OK This worked for me as an assigned computer account install. This is what I did:

New Install package
Select the office msi
Select Advanced on the Deploy Sofware form
On the modifications tab add the mst

The package then installs on a reboot of the client computer. As far as I'm aware, even thought the auto-install box is ticked on the deployment tab, computer assigned packages only install when the client machine is rebooted (but like I said this is only as far as I'm aware).
 
Computer assigned packages dont properly install until a user tries to open a file which requires that application.
 
Otacon said:
Computer assigned packages dont properly install until a user tries to open a file which requires that application.
Click to expand...

So are you saying that you would expect the package to install without a reboot using file extension activation?

It's that I've just been sat in front of a machine while it installed the the computer assigned package on a reboot before I was able to log in. Word, which is what this particular mst installs, was then immediately available to use. Likewise, when I removed the package from the gpo, Word was not uninstalled until I rebooted the machine.


This could just be a quirk of Office that it needs a reboot to install when using gpo's.
 
Nice random font change :p

File extention activation works as intended when assigning to a user. It also works as expected when assigned to a computer with some other packages. It isn't working with office, regardless of how many reboots or policy refreshed I give it, and logs the error I quoted above (which is lying).
 
hehe

Definitly more luck than judgement!! :D

You might want to try here, www.gpanswers.com. I've found it very useful in the past for Group Policy information. Maybe someone on there has come across this before.
 
Otacon said:
I hope that last part's a typo, because if not, then you aren't cheating - you're breaking the law. Office Basic 2003 is Word, Excel and Outlook only. Not Powerpoint.
Click to expand...

No it isn't a typo- I'm getting Office Basic confused qith Office Standard (our licences are for Office 2003 Standard and Office 2003 Pro)- well-spotted though! I might have to play with this a bit on Monday actually in a test OU. Can I ask a quick question though, are you doing an advertised installation via your MSI, which might explain some of the weird behaviour here? If you want, send me your mst and I can have a poke around with it in Wise and see if I can find anything odd, although if it's created by CIW it will be standard :|
 
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No, its a feature of windows installer, however according to:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402011033.aspx

Local installation is the default when Office is deployed to computers, whilst advertised installs are the default when its deployed to users. If you run an Office application straight after install does it register itself properly? Also, having just re-read your original post *why* is auto-install at computer logon not an option? Bandwidth constraints, users complaining about turning their computer on in the morning and having to wait 20 mins....(all valid concerns!) or is there a technical reason why you cant push it out this way?
 
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