Office install hangs up

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Office install hangs up

Frank 0

Through a reseller I bought Microsoft Office LTSC Standard 2024. The installation routine stalls midway through. I've done these things to try to fix it:

Obtained the 25 digit activation key.

Downloaded the Office Deployment Tool and ran it to extract setup.exe and a sample configuration.xml file.

Used the Office Customization Tool to create a custom configuration.xml file.

From the command prompt (running as administrator), ran setup.exe /download customconfig.xml.

This successfully downloaded about 2Gb of files to a new folder.

Ran setup.exe /configure customconfig.xml. This generated an error which said that OneNote and Microsoft 365 had to be first uninstalled. (This is a new Windows 11 machine that apparently came with OneNote and 365 pre-installed.)

These two programs were uninstalled without incident through the Control Panel.

After re-booting the computer, I ran setup.exe /configure customconfig.xml again. This time the install routine ran for several minutes and the progress bar advanced about 1/3 of the way. At this point it stalled and did nothing. After about 40 minutes of waiting with no progress I closed it.

Tried again and got the message "Please wait - Microsoft 365 and Office are already being installed." Error code 0-2035-0. It was stalled dead at this point.

I closed it, rebooted, then downloaded and ran the Support and Recovery Tool Scenario to uninstall all Office products. This attempt failed with a message "Something went wrong" exit code 1 (unknown error).

Any ideas as to what I can do to get this installed?

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Answer 1

Thank you @Sophie N, I tried all of your suggestions, which were quite useful, but was still failing to get Office LTSC Standard 2024 installed. I tried many things, many times.

I ran the SARA uninstall program (both versions), neither of which could find any evidence of an installation.

I deleted temp files.

I disabled Defender Firewall and AV.

And of course rebooted a number of times.

I used the ODT Office Deployment Tool to get the setup.exe file and a sample .xml file.

I used the OCT Office Customization Tool to create a custom .xml file.

I ran the setup.exe from the command line to download the installation files, and again to configure. I noted that even after successfully downloading the installation files, upon running /configure the program was attempting to again download the files. It was at this point the routine would stall.

I read somewhere that the installation files would be used by /Configure if they were already downloaded, which they were. I figured out later that the .xml config file should have a line to specify the path to the downloaded files, even though they were located in the same directory as the .xml config file (which did not need the path to be specified.) With the path line now in the .xml config file setup apparently used those files and did not attempt to download again from CDN, which was where the routine had been stalling.

After working on this for the better part of six days, Office was finally successfully installed. I think that entering a line in the .xml config file for the path to the installation files is what finally made it go.

Many thanks for your help.

Answer 2

Sophie N 12,500 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear @Frank

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. After reviewing them, we have integrated these excellent points into a more comprehensive action plan to resolve the installation issue.

The problem you are facing strongly points to deep-seated conflicts from the pre-installed Office versions, combined with potential interference from system settings or other software. Since the automated uninstall tool failed, a more thorough, step-by-step approach is required.

To help me narrow down the cause, could you please provide the following details?

Have you checked the task manager to see if there’s any background process related to the Office installation that might be hanging?
Are you using any other Microsoft Office applications or versions on the same machine?
Have you encountered any errors in the Windows Event Viewer related to the installation process?

In the meantime, please try the following official troubleshooting steps which usually resolve issues with basic issues:

Step 1: Completely Uninstall Existing Office Versions

Since the Support and Recovery Tool encountered an error, let’s use Download Enterprise Version of Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant from Official Microsoft Dow…tool specifically designed to troubleshoot Office installation issues.

Download and run the SaRA Office Uninstall scenario from this Microsoft article.
Follow the on-screen prompts to remove all Office products, including pre-installed OneNote and Microsoft 365.

Step 2: Prepare Your System for a Clean Installation

After the manual uninstall is complete, prepare your computer to ensure a smooth installation.

A. Run Windows Update: Ensure your Windows 11 is completely up to date. Go to Settings > Windows Update and install all available updates. A fully patched system can prevent many common installation errors.

B. Clear Temporary Files: Leftover installation files can cause conflicts.

Press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
Type %temp% and press Enter.
Select all files and folders in this directory (Ctrl + A) and delete them. Skip any files that are currently in use.

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C. Temporarily Disable Security Software: Your antivirus or firewall software could be blocking the installation. Temporarily disable your third-party antivirus and firewall programs just before you begin the installation process. Remember to re-enable them immediately afterward.

Step 3: Reboot and Re-attempt Installation

Once you have completed all the cleanup and preparation steps above, reboot your computer. This is essential to finalize the changes.

After restarting:

Right-click the Command Prompt icon and select Run as administrator to open an elevated session.
Navigate to the folder containing your Office Deployment Tool files (setup.exe and customconfig.xml).
Execute the installation command: setup.exe /configure customconfig.xml

I truly hope you understand that the initial steps I suggested may not have completely resolved the issue, as there might still be underlying causes we haven't uncovered yet. Please know that I’m here with you every step of the way, ready to work together and do everything I can to help troubleshoot and find the best solution.

Please let me know the result. I am here to assist further if needed.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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Frank 0 Reputation points

2025-10-10T20:37:27.1766667+00:00

Thank you Sophie N for your detailed suggestions. Here’s what I’ve done:

I looked at the running processes under Task Manager. There was a process running for Microsoft Teams, and another for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Nothing else that seemed to be involved with Office.

I looked at the startup programs and saw that Microsoft Teams add-in was listed. I disabled it from startup. Copilot was listed too but I left that as it was. Rebooted, then looked at Task Manager processes and noted that Microsoft Teams was no longer a process.

There are no other Microsoft Office programs installed. None listed under control panel Programs.

I looked at the Event Viewer. There were 2 critical: Kernel Power; 174 errors, and 701 warnings. There were several errors for “Application Error”, and several for “.NET Runtime”. None of the other errors or warnings seemed to have anything to do with Office or installation, but it’s hard to know what they all mean.

I ran Sara per your Step 1 #1. The message was “Office uninstall failed. There are no supported office products installed.” I then ran the enterprise version, SaraCmd_17_01_3658_000. From a command prompt (as administrator) ran saracmd.exe –s officescrubscenario –accepteula. This ran and gave the message “We could not find any office version. Please rerun this scenario specifying the correct office version … Finished with exit code 68, which I looked up, means couldn’t find office version. I read somewhere that Sara isn’t designed to remove Office 2024.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t find any evidence of Office anywhere. I had already removed OneNote and Microsoft 365 yesterday from the control panel.

Following your Step 2, I looked at Windows Update and found an update, and installed it. I also deleted temp files as you instructed. I also disabled Microsoft Defender firewall and antivirus. I don’t run a 3rd party product.

Following your Step 3, I ran (as administrator) setup.exe /configure customconfig.xml. This opened a window which says “Please stay online while your apps download.” “We’ll be done in just a moment.” (This is a strange message, as I already downloaded 2 Gb of various .cab files by running setup.exe /download customconfig.xml)

The progress bar started moving and after about 8-10 minutes it reached about 1/3 of the way. At this point it stopped and it’s been at the same point for over 2 hours with no movement. This is the identical behavior as yesterday.

I am very much appreciative for your help thus far. We’ve eliminated several possible problem areas. What else can I try to get Office LTSC Standard 2024 to finish installing?
Sophie N 12,500 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-13T03:12:37.6266667+00:00
Dear @Frank

Thank you so much for your detailed update and for all the steps you've taken so far. I truly appreciate your patience and thoroughness in troubleshooting this issue. Based on what you've shared, it seems we've ruled out several potential causes. Since the installation still stalls at the same point, I’d like to suggest a couple more steps that may help:

Sign in via the Web Portal

Please try signing in at https://portal.office.com using your licensed account to check if the Office LTSC Standard 2024 package is available for download or activation. This can help confirm whether the license is properly assigned and active.

Try Installing from a New Windows Profile

Sometimes, user profile corruption or permission issues can interfere with installations. You might consider creating a new local Windows user profile with administrative rights and attempting the installation from there. This can help isolate whether the issue is profile-specific.

If the issue persists even after these steps, please let me know. I’ll be happy to escalate this further or explore alternative solutions with you.
Sophie N 12,500 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-15T02:28:17.86+00:00

Dear @Frank

I hope you’re doing well. I just wanted to check in and see how things are going with the steps I shared earlier. If you ran into any difficulties at any point or if something is unclear, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I completely understand that these processes can sometimes be tricky, and I’m here to make it as easy as possible for you.

Feel free to share any details or questions you might have, I’m ready to listen and assist you further.
Sophie N 12,500 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-17T00:05:48.87+00:00

Dear @Frank,

I hope this message reached you.

This is my second time reaching out to check if your issue has been resolved. I really want to make sure your experience is as smooth as possible. If your issue persists or if you encounter any new difficulties, please share more details about the current steps you are taking. I am always happy to assist you whenever you need.

While waiting for your response, I will also be monitoring other customer questions on the forum to assist them. If you have any further questions or updates, please tag (@Sophie N) in the reply so I can assist you more promptly and thoroughly.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sophie N 12,500 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-17T04:24:01.5633333+00:00

Dear @Frank

I'm really glad to hear you finally got it working what a journey! It sounds like you put in a tremendous amount of effort and persistence over those six days, and I can only imagine how frustrating it must have been to troubleshoot each step. That detail about specifying the path in the XML file is such a valuable insight thank you for sharing it. Hopefully this helps others avoid the same roadblock. Well done for sticking with it, and thanks again for the thoughtful update!

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Office install hangs up

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