Office XP sp3 updates

[TheJerk]

First, let me just say that this forum is HUGE! There's so much information going in and out of here, it's a project to search for answers in and of itself. So let me apologize ahead of time since I'm sure this was answered at some point in time.

The reason I'm stopping my search, though, is because I'm sure this is something everyone with little experience doing this sort of thing would like to know, so I thought perhaps it would be a good idea that if I receive an answer, you might want to sticky this.

Ok. Here's the question: I have Office XP without any updates applied. I have downloaded SP3 and all updates thereafter. If I follow the directions in the unattended tutorial, I end up with prompts after the first update asking me if I'd like to overwrite some files. It appears that these are the same files (update installers, etc.). However, wanting to keep myself from errors as much as possible, I thought it best to consult this huge wealth of information for someone who's already dealt with this issue.

List of files to overwrite:

ohotfix.exe

ohotfixr.dll

ohotfix.ini

So I'm right about these only being installers, right? If so, do I need to edit anything in order for them to work on all updates? Here's the contents of the ohotfix.ini file from sp3:

; Microsoft Office Hotfix Installer ohotfix.exe information file
;
; This file contains the settings that can be modified by the user to control
; the behavior of ohotfix.exe and the Windows Installer service.
;
; If this file is found in the same directory as ohotfix.exe, it will be used
; to set ohotfix.exe's behavior.  If this file is not found, the following
; default settings will be used:
;
;   IsNormalUpdate=1
;   AdminUsesShortFilenames=1
;   AdminPath=
;   MessageTitle=
;   CopyFilesToRerun=1
;   ShowSuccessDialog=1
;   RunSetupWatson=1
;   RequireAllPatchesNeeded=0
;   RequireAllProductsAtMinVersion=0
;   MinMsiVersion=
;   UpgradeMsi=0
;   MsiUpgradeURL=
;   MinProductVersion=
;   OHotfixLogLevel=v
;   MsiLogLevel=v
;   OHotfixUILevel=n
;   MsiUILevel=n
;   RebootInQuietMode=0
;   FeatureToCheck=
;
; All of the fields are required, all of the fields with a value specified
; above must have a value, and all of the values must be valid.  Otherwise,
; ohotfix.exe will shut down.

[OHotfix]

; Ohotfix.exe can apply both normal/client updates and administrative updates.
; 1 = This is a normal/client update.
; 0 = This is an administrative update.
;
IsNormalUpdate=1

; In an administrative update, the names of the files being updated can use
; either the short format or the long format.
; 1 = Use short filenames (must be used for Office).
; 0 = Use long filenames (must be used for Visio).
;
AdminUsesShortFilenames=1

; In an administrative update, the path of a valid Windows Installer
; administrative package must be specified (for example, c:\adminimage\visio.msi).
; The path can be specified here using AdminPath; or, if no path is specified
; here and OHotfixUILevel is set to n, ohotfix.exe will prompt for a path.  If
; no path is specified here and OHotfixUILevel is set to q, ohotfix.exe will
; shut down.  Ohotfix.exe will also shut down if OHotfixUILevel is set to n
; but no path is specified at the prompt.
;
AdminPath=

; The title displayed in ohotfix.exe message boxes can be specified.  If no
; title is specified with MessageTitle, a default title is used.  To display
; no title, specify a space for MessageTitle.  Ohotfix.exe messages are only
; displayed if OHotfixUILevel is set to n.
;
MessageTitle=Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)

; If a system restart is required but more patches need to be applied,
; ohotfix.exe can copy the necessary files to a safe location, restart,
; and then run itself again to apply the remaining patches.
; 1 = Copy the files to a safe location and try to restart and rerun.
; 0 = Do not copy the files and do not try to restart and rerun.
;
CopyFilesToRerun=1

; A final dialog can be displayed to indicate that the update was applied
; successfully.  This dialog will only be displayed if ShowSuccessDialog is
; set to 1 and OHotfixUILevel is set to n.
; 1 = Display the success dialog.
; 0 = Do not display the success dialog.
;
ShowSuccessDialog=1

; Microsoft's Setup Watson can be used to report to Microsoft certain
; errors encountered during the update process.  Setup Watson displays dialogs,
; which will appear even if OHotfixUILevel is set to q.
; 1 = Use Setup Watson to report errors to Microsoft.
; 0 = Do not report errors to Microsoft.
;
RunSetupWatson=1

; Some updates require that all of the patches be either needed by or already
; applied to the product being updated.
; 1 = Require that all of the patches be either needed or already applied.
; 0 = Do not require that all of the patches be either needed or already applied.
;
RequireAllPatchesNeeded=0

; Some updates require all of the products being updated to be at or above
; a certain version (for example, at or above the SR1 level).  To invoke
; this requirement, RequireAllProductsAtMinVersion must be set to 1 and
; MinProductVersion must specify a valid product version.  If
; RequireAllProductsAtMinVersion is set to 1 but MinProductVersion is not
; set, ohotfix.exe will shut down.
; 1 = Require all of the products being updated to be at or above the
;     specified version.
; 0 = Allow the update to be applied regardless of the products' versions.
;
RequireAllProductsAtMinVersion=0

; If RequireAllProductsAtMinVersion is set to 1, MinProductVersion must
; specify a valid product version using the standard version format (for
; example, 10.1.0).
;
MinProductVersion=

; Some updates may require that the Windows Installer service be at or above
; a certain version (for example, at or above 1.1.0).  Ohotfix.exe can check
; the Windows Installer service's version and shut down if the version is too
; low.  To invoke this checking, use MinMsiVersion to specify a valid Windows
; Installer service version.
;
MinMsiVersion=2.0

; If the Windows Installer service's version is checked and is found to be too
; low, ohotfix.exe can launch a Web site from which the Windows Installer
; service can be upgraded.  To enable this, UpgradeMsi must be set to 1,
; MsiUpgradeURL must specify a valid URL, and OHotfixUILevel must be set to n.
; If UpgradeMsi is set to 1 but MsiUpgradeURL is not set, ohotfix.exe will
; shut down.
; 1 = Launch the upgrade Web site if the Windows Installer service's version
;     is too low.
; 0 = Do not launch the upgrade Web site.
;
UpgradeMsi=1

; If UpgradeMsi is set to 1, MsiUpgradeURL must specify a valid URL that is 259
; or fewer characters in length (for example, www.microsoft.com).
;
MsiUpgradeURL=http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=20610

; Log files are always created to record the progress of ohotfix.exe and
; the Windows Installer.
; v = Log all ohotfix.exe actions/messages.
; n = Log only normal ohotfix.exe actions/messages.
;
OHotfixLogLevel=v

; v = Log all Windows Installer information, including the verbose information
;     (/L*v+).
; n = Log Windows terminal properties and Windows Installer status messages,
;     nonfatal warnings, startup of actions, and error messages (/Lpiwae+).
;
MsiLogLevel=v

; The user interface level can be set for both ohotfix.exe and the Windows
; Installer service.
; n = Display ohotfix.exe messages.
; q = Do not display ohotfix.exe messages.
;
OHotfixUILevel=n

; n = Display the basic Windows Installer user interface.
; q = Do not display any Windows Installer user interface.
;
MsiUILevel=n

; If OhotfixUILevel is set to q and IsNormalUpdate is set to 1,
; Ohotfix can automatically reboot the computer if a reboot is required
; to complete the installation.
; 1 = Automatically reboot the computer if a reboot is required in quiet mode.
; 0 = Do not automatically reboot the computer if a reboot is required
;     in quiet mode.
;
RebootInQuietMode=0

; Updating can be blocked if a product's feature is not installed locally
; (for example, do not apply an update if the Program_Files feature is not
; installed locally).  This can be used to prevent mixed local/run from
; source configurations.  To invoke this capability, specify the name of a
; feature found in the products being updated.  This check is performed only
; for normal/client updates, not for administrative updates.
;
FeatureToCheck=

I appreciate any help I get on this. And I'm sure I won't be the only one.

EDIT: Nevermind... I'm dumb. Apparently the hotfix files are unnecessary and can be ignored (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). @Mods: feel free to delete this post. LOL

[niceguy]

Hi guys

i'm not sure this the the correct place to post this..... but since some1 else has open a topic on this i thought i'll just add on

MS just released 8 new hotfixes, ms05-023 is for ms word. i've extracted the following file from it :- ohotfix.exe, ohotfix.ini, ohotfixr.dll & WINWORDff.msp.

since the patch is a msp file, i think it is possible to integrate the patch into MSoffice admin installation source and deploy MSoffice fully patched right?

this should work right?

eg: msiexec /p c:\winwordff.msp /a c:\office\std.msi

i haven't tried it out yet ... if anyone has can you pls feedback?

my applogy if i shouldn't have post it here

regards

[TheJerk]

Actually, you want to integrate it into pro.msi or proplus.msi (depending on which you have). See this for details.