Mac Office 2011 Update 14.2.4: "Error encountered installation failed".

Anonymous
2012-09-20T03:41:05+00:00

I have tried installing the latest update of Mac Office 2011 which is version 14.2.4, however, at the end of the installation I get a message "error encountered installation failed".

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Anonymous
2012-09-27T23:51:01+00:00

Hi everyone!

Thanks to everyone who sent installation logs for this issue.  There are two separate 14.2.4 installation issues that have shown up in this thread.

The first issue (and most common in this thread) stems from re-installing on top of existing installations. In general, don’t do this. Re-installing on top of existing installations can re-introduce files that should not be present. If you need to re-install, please be sure to remove Office 2011 as described on the following links:

Video | Uninstall Office 2011

Step-by-Step Instructions | How to completely remove Office for Mac 2011

One workaround for the 14.2.4 update that has helped some users is to temporarily move or rename the /Library/Automator folder. You can do this by following the steps below:

  1. With Finderopen, choose Go > Go to Folder...
  2. Type in the following path and then click Go:

/Library 3. Find the Automator folder, select it, and then click the name of the folder again to Rename the folder. Name the folder Automator_OldNote: OS X may prompt you for your password. This is normal. 4. Attempt to install the 14.2.4 update again. 5. If the update installs correctly, rename the Automator_Old folder back to its original name: Automator

If that solution does not work and you know you have re-installed Office 2011 on top of an existing Office 2011 installation, you’ll need to remove Office 2011 properly and re-install. 

The second issue was some users changed the size of the /tmp/ directory on their machine which was too small for the update to fully install. Re-sizing the /tmp/ directory resolved the install issue for these users.

If you're still experiencing issues installing the 14.2.4 update, please create your own thread by choosing **Ask a question...**at the top of this page. Be sure to include details about which solutions you've already tried.

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-10-04T13:56:08+00:00

    Hey David,

    Not being on the product team myself, I can't make any promises. However, Microsoft is fully aware of this issue.

    It's worth pointing out that if you're going to reinstall Office, properly removing Office by following the steps mentioned in my Answer post should prevent this type of error from occurring in the future.

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-10-03T09:17:07+00:00

    Hi Cody,

    Thank you for the concise summary.

    Moving the /Automator folder worked for me.

    Can we be assured that this problem will be fixed in future updates?

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-10-02T02:15:02+00:00

    You have an intensive work around for what should have been an easy upgrade.

    I  have a time machine backup and I used that to restore Office 2011 to pre 14.2.4. I am now enjoying tool bars that make sense and have resolved issues with the update.

    I was considering completely uninstalling 2011 and reinstalling it until I had my epiphany.

    I would suggest to anyone who installed this update to use your back up and restore to your previous version. It took about 20 minutes and it now works perfectly.

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  4. Anonymous
    2012-09-29T18:49:20+00:00

    If I attempt to reinstall the software and re-input my product key is that going to use up another one of my installations?

    Hi bdwaldie1,

    As long as some time has passed between installs, the Microsoft Activation system should have no problem activating Office again. Since you're reinstalling on the same machine, this type of activation does not count against your used licenses.

    In the unlikely event that the activation does fail, there's a phone number that the Activation system provides that you can call to have it manually activated. If you run into any issues with this, create a new thread here on Answers and we'll get you set up with the right people.

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