Microsoft AutoUpdate 2.3.6

[Marshpointe]

I work on a MacBook Pro Retina with 16GB ram. Microsoft Office 2011 has been on it since I got it. Microsoft AutoUpdate insists I have not run 2.3.6, despite downloading it dozens of times, closing all Microsoft apps, and being told that it has installed. Meanwhile certain features (such as a different footer on page 1 in Word) don't work. Can I mildly say I HATE Gate's company? I DON'T THINK SO... Any help on this, or am I the lone anamoly?

 

[chscag]

First, we moved your post to the correct forum: "OS X Apps and Games"

The latest update to MS Office 2011 is "14.3.1". If you have the MS auto updater turned on (it is by default) it will not ask you to download an update that has been previously installed.

Let's do this to check to see whether or not the update has in fact been installed:

Open your Finder. Navigate your way through the following folders:

Macintosh HD/private/var/db/receipts/

In the above folder "receipts" you should have the following two files....

com.microsoft.mau.all.autoupdate.pkg.2.3.6.bom

com.microsoft.mau.all.autoupdate.pkg.2.3.6.plist

If those two files are present, then update "2.3.6" has been installed correctly. Let us know and we'll go from there.

 

[Marshpointe]

Autoupdate 2.3.6

Thanks for the help. In no particular order:
My version of Word ofr Mac 2011 is 14.3.0
There is no subdirectory in Macintosh HD/private/var/db/receipts/
The first level of subdirectories in Macintosh HD are
Applications
Library
System
UserGuides and Information
User Information
Users

I am on OS X 10.8.2

Did a search on drive for the two files by name, it could not find either of them.

More thoughts?

 

[harryb2448]

Any chance you have Pacifist on your computer. That download would not run for me as long as I had Pacifist installed. Pacifist would open each and every time installation was attempted.

 

[Marshpointe]

Thanks for your response. No, Pacifist is not on my system.

 

[chscag]

There is no subdirectory in Macintosh HD/private/var/db/receipts/

It should be there. Note that "receipts" is a subfolder where you should be able to find those two files I pointed out. If that subfolder is missing, none of your updates will install. Look again and follow the path as I noted above. Let me know.

 

[Marshpointe]

Microsoft AutoUpdate 3.2.6

As I said earlier, there is no subdirectory that is Macintosh HD/private/

I have downloaded the update from the Microsoft Website, gone through the complete installation, and given a statement of "Successful Installation" when it was done.

My laptop is at work now. Can attach a screen shot of the directories tomorrow if you like.

 

[chscag]

Yes, please do. We need to get to bottom of this if in fact that subfolder is missing. As I stated above, none of your MS updates will be documented as installed if it's missing. And that may be the reason why you're having so much trouble with it. Let me know and if it is missing, we can try something to rectify it.

 

[Marshpointe]

Thanks. I'll post this tomorrow.

 

[bobtomay]

Private is a hidden folder - you'll need to show hidden files to see it.

Kill 2 birds with one stone - download Onyx - the free software we recommend for system maintenance,
Get it from here - make sure to get the one that matches your version of OS X.

For the maintenance part, I just head for the Automation tab and check off everything under maintenance and cleaning once every 2-4 months.

To show hidden files, head for the Parameters tab, then Finder - you'll find a box you can check to show hidden files. Go back and uncheck it when you're done.

 

[chscag]

Private is a hidden file - you'll need to show hidden files to see it.

Sometimes I forget that I'm using a file manager that shows hidden files and folders. Thanks Tom for the reminder. Could very well be the reason he can't find the folder I pointed to.

 

[bobtomay]

I sometimes forget because I use WhatSize quite often.
Then when I open Finder, I'm scratching my head wondering where that folder went.

 

[Marshpointe]

Thanks to both of you! Just got back from a successful morning meeting and am working through your solutions. Will respond again as soon as I am through them.

 

[Marshpointe]

Just got into the hidden directory and both the com.microsoft.all. autoupdate.pkg.2.3.6 files are there. What should I do next?

 

[chscag]

That tells us there is probably some corruption that occurred and the updates may not have registered properly. Trying to correct those kind of errors in MS Office 2011 is a real challenge. Unlike the Windows version, you can't just do a repair install from Control Panel. With the Mac version you have to completely uninstall it and reinstall.

If you feel up to it, follow the MS instructions for removing Office 2011 at the following LINK. There's a third party uninstaller available but I haven't had the time to test it and don't want to recommend it until I've gone through it.

The uninstall instructions will leave all your fonts, documents, and personal templates in place. However, my advice is to make a complete backup with Time Machine before proceeding. After you remove Office, reinstall it and then let the automatic updates kick in to bring your version up to 14.3.1.

 

[Marshpointe]

Thanks! I will do this tomorrow...

 

[Marshpointe]

Complete uninstalled Office 2011 per MS instructions. Rebooted computer, launched Word, still in version 14.3.0. AutoUpdate did not update to 14.3.1. Did install 2.3.6. Checked for updates. Still on the endless loop telling me I need to install 2.3.6. Now what?

 

[chscag]

There's something else going on with your setup. Auto update should have gotten you to 14.3.1. I'm guessing here that the problem with 2.3.6 has something to do with the way it was registered. There may be a problem with the hidden "receipts" folder. I'm frankly at a loss at what to try next. Let's kick this upstairs to the Mac Office experts....

MS runs a forum for Mac Office with some very knowledgeable folks. Post your question there and let them know what you've already done. Here is the link to their forum: MS Office Forum link

Let us know what you find out.

 

[Marshpointe]

New information from another user through the Microsoft Mac Forum group:

I am having the same endless loop problem with Microsoft AutoUpdate. I have also tried the things you listed in this post - nothing worked. I set up a second user account (Spare User) on my Mac (10.6.8) when I first bought the computer. When I am logged into Spare User, Microsoft AutoUpdate works correctly. Therefore, in my case, it is probably something in the Library/Preferences that is causing the problem. I am not a computer person, and I haven't figured out which file(s) is the culprit, but I thought that this information may be of help to you.

Any thoughts on what file correction will fix this continuing problem. Thanks! Peter M

 

[Berniemyk]

Hi, I also have this problem when my computer says it has successfully downloaded the update and then find that it still says there is the same update to do.

I cannot find Macintosh HD/private/var/db/receipts/ on my computer

Any ideas