Buggered profile

Teligence · Jul 31, 2024

My main profile won't let me run any my Office 2016 apps (Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, Publisher, Visio, etc.) unless I "Run as Administrator".
No other apps have any trouble - just the Office 2016.
It started after one of the "Patch Tuesday" updates earlier this year - not sure exactly when.
I've done all - and I mean ALL - the possible Office 2016 scans, fixes, reinstallations, etc. with no effect.
It's not a permissions issue.
Other profiles work fine - whether administrator or user.

Possible options?:
1. Migrate my main profile content to another profile.
2. Run an in-place reinstallation to try and correct the corrupt component.
3. Something else?

I would MUCH prefer to find the actual culprit and fix it - if for no other reason than a predisposition to never resign to defeat!

glasskuter · Jul 31, 2024

Teligence said:
Possible options?:
1. Migrate my main profile content to another profile.
2. Run an in-place reinstallation to try and correct the corrupt component.
3. Something else?

1. I wouldn't do that unless I created a test user account first. There's a good chance the same thing will happen in a new account as well.
2. in-place upgrade won't help user or app settings. It replaces Windows files only. I think you woud be spinning your wheels to do an upgrade.
3. You can uninstall and reinstall office 2016. Be sure to use the office uninstall tool, then restart before reinstall.

Uninstall Office from a PC - Microsoft Support

Learn how to uninstall Office from a PC using the Control Panel or with the uninstall support tool.

support.microsoft.com

OR you can leave it like it is, Go to the individual exe files (or click on the shortcut to each of the office apps) for each of the Office apps, right click on it, select properties, advanced, check run as administrator OK

dacrone · Jul 31, 2024

if you just want the cheap/easy solution.. use winaero tweaker to create elevated shortcuts to the office apps. you can remove winaero tweaker after creating the shortcuts if you want (winaero is portable btw)

antspants · Jul 31, 2024

Teligence said:
My main profile won't let me run any my Office 2016 apps

Hi there. If you go into Control Panel> Programs and Features can you see Microsoft Office 2016? If so, you should be able to right click on that then select repair or modify.

It might be worth a shot before you do anything else. If there is an online repair option, you can choose that.

To uninstall 2016 properly, you have a few choices:

You can use this tool available on Major Geeks:

Download Uninstall Office 2016 - MajorGeeks

Uninstall Office 2016 lets you uninstall or manually remove Office 2016, 2016 Preview and Office 2013 or Office 365.

www.majorgeeks.com

Use Control Panel>Programs & Features to uninstall

Use the Microsoft Uninstall tool

https://outlookdiagnostics.azureedge.net/sarasetup/SetupProd_OffScrub.exe

Teligence · Aug 8, 2024

Thanks for your responses, but I've done all - and I mean ALL - the possible Office 2016 scans, fixes, removal, repairs, reinstallations, etc. without any errors shown - all to no effect.

Again, I would MUCH prefer to find the actual culprit and fix it - if for no other reason than to beat this thing!
I have no problem "mucking" around the registry if the culprit is hiding there. However, I could use some guidance on what to check or where to look.

Again, my main profile is the only one that has the issue. All other previous or new profiles run the office apps without trouble.

glasskuter · Aug 8, 2024

Teligence said:
my main profile is the only one that has the issue. All other previous or new profiles run the office apps without trouble.

That definitely tells you that there is corruption and/or conflict within the registry settings of your user account, not within the Office installation.

Teligence said:
I would MUCH prefer to find the actual culprit and fix it - if for no other reason than to beat this thing!

Sometimes you have to let go of your OCD and realize you're wasting your time beating a dead horse. There are hundreds of thousands registry entries and there's no way we could advice you which one. Running Office elevated is no huge deal, or migrate your data into a new user acccount and call it a day. Just know that the latter option has to be done correctly to avoid permission problems with your files.
You must copy files to external media from the old account, log in to the new account and copy the files from external media into it.
You CAN NOT MOVE them.

Steve C · Aug 9, 2024

I suggest you backup you PC in future which let you recover from such problems in a few minutes. Try Macrium Reflect Free Download Macrium Reflect FREE Edition - MajorGeeks

Teligence · Aug 9, 2024

@https://www.elevenforum.com/members/steve-c.46/
Yeah, but that doesn't benefit this issue.

Steve C · Aug 9, 2024

Teligence said:
@https://www.elevenforum.com/members/steve-c.46/
Yeah, but that doesn't benefit this issue.

That's what 'in future' means.

LesFerch · Aug 9, 2024

Teligence said:
Possible options?:
1. Migrate my main profile content to another profile.
2. Run an in-place reinstallation to try and correct the corrupt component.

1. Since you've established that other profiles are fine, that sounds like a reasonable solution to me, but I would try (2) first.

2. Nothing to lose and there are some profile specific issues that process can fix.

Skeptic Mike · Aug 11, 2024

You don't say what error messages you get, or what you found in event viewer. I don't use MS Office, but I thought that it had its own section under Applications and Services in event viewer.

If you want to try to resolve the problem by investigation you need some useful tools. Sysinternals - Sysinternals has the classic tools. You might see something by examining the permissions in your accounts Office registry entries using AccessEnum. The classic tool is Process Monitor. Don't attempt to use it without looking at the tutorials and videos. It's really a tool for IT professionals. Enormously powerful, but requires considerable understanding and practice to use.

Teligence · Sep 14, 2024

@ Skeptic Mike - Thanks for the reminder of Sysinternals. It's rare that I can't find or create an actual fix without tools like that - I've been "mucking around" the Windows registry even before there was one. (Remember the old ".ini" files that were the precursors to the hive?)

As to my "OCD" mentioned by someone else , I just assume that they are simply ignorant of the fact that some people actually prefer to fix the cause rather than work around a problem. As Yoda might say - "short-sighted and lazy they are!"!

glasskuter · Sep 14, 2024

Teligence said:
I just assume that they are simply ignorant of the fact that some people actually prefer to fix the cause rather than work around a problem. As Yoda might say - "short-sighted and lazy they are!"!

Meaning no offence but neither any shortsidedness or laziness happening here. Only realistic in opinion when it comes to permissions. It depends on what is corrupted and level of corruption that one can dig his hole even deeper as well as miss something that can and will bite him in the butt later.It has always been so with permissions but even more so with today's windows. You asked for opinions and I gave mine. The most 100% dependable way of being completely clean is a new user and definitely the easiest for most people to accomplish. Or, if you want to spend a lot of time and effort to prove how proficient you are in the registry, then go for it. Your computer, your time, your effort. I happen to look at troubleshooting a little more sensibily and think the path to least resistance is a better path than to prove my own ability to fix things. I'm old and way past that.

dacrone · Sep 14, 2024

If you’ve jacked permissions up that badly… good luck fixing them in the registry. More likely to do more damage. If a removal/reinstall of office nor a repair install of windows doesn’t fix the entries (which I doubt the latter will), you should start making a weekly clone of your pc. Quick, easy and eliminate 99.9% of all future issues.

Teligence · Sep 19, 2024

So, what I'm getting here is that nobody really understands the intricacies of Windows and Office enough to actually help identify the cause. Kinda like if your car has trouble then you buy a new one instead of taking it to a mechanic for repair (who would actually identify and remedy the cause.
Yes, I can create a new profile and everything works fine,
Yes, maybe an in-place OS reinstallation will fix the permissions,
But neither of those identifies the specific culprit. I much prefer the scalpel approach as compared to the "blunderbuss"...
I'm not necessarily interested in a quick fix, but more aptly - a targeted fix.

glasskuter · Sep 19, 2024

Teligence said:
but more aptly - a targeted fix

Good luck with that. Me, If I have a problem, I just want a solution so I can move on.

Teligence said:
So, what I'm getting here is that nobody really understands the intricacies of Windows and Office enough to actually help identify the cause.

Take it as you will. But don't harp on us because you don't like or appreciate the answers given.. This is not our job. We are volunteers with no association to MS at all. We are not programmers who know every little in and out of the guts of the Windows OS. If you want to press the issue, take it up with MS and see how far you get. I think Ofc2016 is in support until 10/14/25. They get paid the big bucks to know those intricacies you speak of.

Steve C · Sep 19, 2024

Teligence said:
So, what I'm getting here is that nobody really understands the intricacies of Windows and Office enough to actually help identify the cause. Kinda like if your car has trouble then you buy a new one instead of taking it to a mechanic for repair (who would actually identify and remedy the cause.
Yes, I can create a new profile and everything works fine,
Yes, maybe an in-place OS reinstallation will fix the permissions,
But neither of those identifies the specific culprit. I much prefer the scalpel approach as compared to the "blunderbuss"...
I'm not necessarily interested in a quick fix, but more aptly - a targeted fix.

As mentioned it's far quicker to recover from a backup than to faff about trying to fix the root cause that maybe only Microsoft engineers understand. It's not our fault you lack the nous to backup your PC.

LesFerch · Sep 19, 2024

Did you do a search on the issue? There are some reports of CCleaner and WindHawk causing this problem. Have you used either of those programs?

Teligence · Sep 19, 2024

Thanks for the continuing interest, but:
1. I'm not interested in a quick workaround - I'm looking for an identification of the cause, then I can fix it myself.
2. I've already eliminated all 3rd-party influences as suspects.

Torus · Sep 19, 2024

I would download Process Monitor, start capturing a trace and then try open one of the applications which is causing you a problem. It might at least indicate if there is any application-specific logs that are getting written to, or if any particular error code is being returned when you attempt to run one of them.

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