Every time I try to upgrade I get a screen that says I have to quit SyncServices Agent

Anonymous
2011-01-18T06:01:10+00:00

Every time I try to upgrade I get a screen that says I have to quit SyncServices Agent but there is no way to open or close that application. And there's no way to stop the annoying screen from flashing in front of everything else I try to do after I abandon the upgrade. What is sync Services agent and can I just put it in the trash so I can upgrade or is there a way to bypass it and/or at least quit it?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For home | Other

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Anonymous
2011-06-28T16:56:02+00:00

Many of the provided answers do not address the fact that SyncServicesAgent starts itself right up again after quitting it in the Activity Monitor.

I've no clue how to use terminal... and seriously don't want to restart the computer for this.

Here's the very-low-techie solution I found:

(1) Open Finder/Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office

(2) Drag SyncServicesAgent.app to the desktop (this keeps it from restarting!)

(3) THEN open Finder/Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app

(4) Find SyncServicesAgent in the list and quit it.

(5) Click the Continue button on the installer pop-up.

(6) When the application finishes installing, drag SyncServicesAgent.app back to Finder/Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office

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Anonymous
2013-09-19T22:00:30+00:00

Install Basics

Not only should Safari be quit but all browsers and hidden Microsoft processes like the Microsoft Database daemon and SyncServicesAgent.

Use the Microsoft Autoupdater (MAU) to update Office 2011

  • Open any Office application and select "Check for Updates" under Help in the Menu bar. Once MAU is launched, select "Keep in Dock". You can remove after completing upgrades.
  • Log out/in as described below.
  • Select the MAU in the Dock and download the updater.
  • After it downloads, quit the MAU then install. Leave in Dock until there are no more updaters.
  • RESTART
  • Repeat until there are no more updaters.
  • Log out under the Apple in the Menu bar
  • Log in and hold down the Shift key (this disables all startup items including the hidden ones like Sync Services)

Note for the MAU and MERP updaters you do NOT have to restart after updating. These are found in the root Library:

 /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/

Why Restart?

The Restart after updater will force a file that stores the version info to update. This should happen automatically but sometimes it doesn't. The next updater will fail and you will have to re-install Office. The restart is a quick step that will save time in the long term.

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Anonymous
2011-12-05T13:44:37+00:00

Hello All,

PLEASE READ THIS ANSWER.  Here is the PROPER way to do this:

  1. Begin the update for Microsoft Office 2011
  2. Open "Activity Monitor" (Go --> Utilities, or search in Spotlight)
  3. Find "SyncServicesAgent" and highlight, and "Quit Process" with the stop-sign.
  4. Quickly press "Continue" or "Retry" on the updater / installer before the process begins itself again.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2482074

This does not require one to open terminal, or mess up any other configuration of your computer.

Thank you for your time.

-- Morris

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-06-22T15:38:47+00:00

    This information may also work and be helpful if you do not want to deactivate the Sync Services:

    If you have downloaded the updater from Microsoft Downloads

    1. Download updater.
    2. Under the Apple in the Menu bar, select Log Out.
    3. Hold down the Shift key when logging in. This disables all login items including the hidden ones.
    4. Select the updater and install.
    5. RESTART

    If you want to use the Microsoft Autoudater (MAU), follow these steps:

    1. Open any Office application and select “Check for Updates” under Help in the Menu bar. Once MAU is launched, select “Keep in Dock”
    2. Log out/in as described above.
    3. Select the MAU in the Dock and download the updater.
    4. After it downloads, quit the MAU then install.
    5. RESTART

    FAQs updating Office 2011.

    [Q] How do I quit Sync Services agent? I get this error :

    “You must stop the following programs and services: Sync Services Agent”

    [A] You can quit in the Activity Monitor found in Applications/Utilities, but the best way to quit Sync Services agent and other applications that need to be quit is to follow directions above to log out/in with Shift key down.

    I got this information from here: http://www.officeformachelp.com/2011/06/microsoft-releases-office-2011-for-mac-14-1-2-update/#updatel\_faqs

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-06-22T15:35:33+00:00

    I was having the same problem and found these forums to not be helpful at all. This is what I did:

    1. Open Outlook > Click on the Tools menu > Click on Sync Services...
    2. Uncheck all the options in the window that comes up
    3. Quit Outlook
    4. Restart your computer to quit the SyncServicesAgent after you have essentially deactivated it by uncheck the boxes in step number 2
    5. Proceed to update the Microsoft Office Suite

    When I did exactly this, the SyncServicesAgent did not relaunch when I restarted my computer.  Apparently if you have these boxes checked to use the Sync Services, it automatically launches the program whenever your computer is on.  I hope this works for you too!

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