How to safely remove Office 07 MSOCache

Hey guys

I'm on Vista, and I want to know how to safely remove the MSOCache folder

I deleted it last time and ended up having to re-install

Thanks

 

First you ONLY want to do this IF and ONLY IF you have access to the original Office install media. Otherwise a future service pack may render Office unusable.

Now having said that, you go into disk cleanup. Do that by going to a Windows explorer window, right click on the drive and select "Properties" from there hit the "Disk cleanup" button. Wait for the list to appear. One of the options will be the "Office Setup Files". This will delete the MSO cache and more importantly adjust the registry so future office updates will know that the MSOCache is gone and ask for the original install media if required.

Trust me you do NOT, I repeat you do NOT, want to do this if you don't have access to standalone Office install media. For example if Office came preinstalled on your machine and you were not given separate Office install disks. In that case do not touch the MSOCache!!!

Gary

 

Thanks for the warnings, Gary, but I have the install disks with me, and I knew that you need them

I read the same thing online however the option to remove office files doesn't appear for me under Disk Cleanup

This is all I see


Any ideas on what i should do now?

Thanks

 

No, sorry. It looks as if it thinks Office isn't even installed OR it doesn't find an MSOCache. If I remember correctly there is an app from Microsoft that you can use to do this as well. But I do not remember the specifics of what it is named or where to find it.

Gary

 

Are you by any chance NOT running under an admin enable account? This might explain what you saw.

Gary

 

You have to delete it manually, but first you have to go to folder options and choose the option to show hidden files and folders.
You do it by typing Folder Options into Vista Start Search box and open Folder Options. From there you choose the View tab, and then find and check the 'Show Hidden Files and Folders' and click Apply.

The MSOCache can be now found under your Local Disk C: Just right click it and Delete.

 

Not a safe thing to do. This can really hose up application of future service packs. For Office 2003 the Listool.exe would let you move the location or even get rid of it: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...a3-695b-42c3-9045-b812ba0fed3e&displaylang=en

For Office 2007, things have apparently changed significantly.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924616
and
http://forums.techarena.in/office-setup/841700.htm

I know under Office 2003 if you just deleted the MSOCache, a latter Service pack would not install until you used Listool.exe to clean up the mess created by not using Disk Cleanup to do the job the right way. I had to help a client thorugh that very issue on a handful of machines.

But I didn't realize that even that fix was no longer available in Office 2007. Bottom line, don't delete it if you have Office 2007.

Gary

 

Yes, read my reply above this one. Apparently it is no longer an option with Office 2007. Which explains why you didn't see the box in disk cleanup.

Gary

 

Did you install 100% of all the options in MSOffice? If you did that you can be safe. If not there is a real danger with doing this. Trust me I had to bail out a client who had issues because someone deleted the MSOCache. Whether you had trouble or not, there are known issues with this that can occur.

Gary

 

Ah well, since there is no option to safely remove it guess I will just leave it

I mean I can see it when I navigate to C:/, but it doesn't show up under disk cleanup

Thanks ayway

 

it should be a hidden folder, not?

 

Yup

I mean, I know a bit about computers myself, and after searching most results involved disk cleanup to remove the folder correctly, as Gary mentioned in his first post.

However this doesn't seem to work so unless there is another "recognized"way so Windows knows that the folder isn't there (say for instance when updating), I'll just leave it

 

me, i never do. they normally never are needed to be seen.

 

I just set it to hide it... now it doesn't bug me by being there and visible

It's simple solution to the problem, and doesn't affect Office. Therefor, I believe it is the best solution (unless you REALLY need that 800MB of free space...)

 

I like to keep hidden files shown, so I can see whats going on with my system under the hood

Anyway, even if it shows it doesn't bother me because, now that I have a new 1TB I have tons of free space

I just like maximizing my space, but don't want to mes up Office by deleting it

SO IT STAYS

 

Just to clarify. Under Office 2003 it was possible to use Disk Cleanup to get rid of MSOCache. But with Office 2007 that option no longer exists. Microsoft has changed the way the MSOCache works in Office 2007. And it must remain in place, because of this change.

Gary

 

So you can't "officially" remove it at all now?

Thanks for clearing that up gary (+rep)

 

That's right. If you have Office 2007, moving or deleting MSOCache is no longer supported. The deleting part I can MAYBE understand but the moving it part is ridiculous. (I posted a link earlier in this thread to a Microsoft website that spells out the details.)

Gary