[SOLVED] Office 2013 installation error (pre-release or beta version detected)

[stichy]

I just tried to install Office 2013 on my Windows 8 Pro laptop and I got an error message saying:

"We found a problem. There is a pre-release or Beta version of an Office product on your computer. Please uninstall any pre-release Office software using the Programs and Features item in your Control Panel and try installing again."


It's a brand new laptop with a fresh copy of Windows 8 Pro on it. There's no trial version of Microsoft Office (or any version for that matter). Microsoft has a Fix It Tool that's supposed to automatically fix this error, but it didn't work for me. I tried using the tool and it said Microsoft Office was successfully removed, but when I ran the setup EXE for Office 2013, I got the same error message.

Anyone wanna help me out with this problem? It's incredibly frustrating and driving me crazy. Thanks in advance!

 

[stlcardinals]

Have you tried doing a factory restore?

 

[Cal166]

Usually a brand new laptop has Office pre-installed and all you need is the license key to just activate it. Go to your C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15(should be office 2013) to see if there's a existing folder.

 

[Ketchup]

What laptop do you have? Not coming with a trial version of office is not the norm nowadays, unless it's special-ordered that way.

 

[stichy]

I actually have a Macbook and did a clean install of Windows 8 on it through Boot Camp, so it shouldn't have any preinstalled programs or bloatware (at least not that I know of). The Fix It Tool was supposed to remove any version of Office. I seriously don't have a single trace of Office on my PC yet I'm getting this error message.

 

[Ketchup]

Ah, Gotcha. As a guess, I would start looking up registry entries for Office, since that is most likely what that message is looking at.

Although this doesn't directly apply to your situation, see if the edits referenced on this page help any:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...g-office/418b1fa5-9f7b-4942-90fe-c560949966bf

 

[stichy]

Nvm I fixed the problem. Thanks for the help everyone!

For those of you who have the same problem, download the Microsoft Fix It Tool for getting rid of all Office suites. You have to save the EXE installer first and then double click it on your desktop. Clicking "Run" directly won't work. Even if you think you don't have Microsoft Office installed, run it anyways.

 

[Kaido]

Nvm I fixed the problem. Thanks for the help everyone!

For those of you who have the same problem, download the Microsoft Fix It Tool for getting rid of all Office suites. You have to save the EXE installer first and then double click it on your desktop. Clicking "Run" directly won't work. Even if you think you don't have Microsoft Office installed, run it anyways.

Yeah I've run into this before, including on freshly-installed machines. Part of the horribleness is that the Fix It tool doesn't always work either

Also quick tip, you can change the theme in 2013 to dark gray to break it up a bit (especially in Outlook); the all-white look with minimalist borders drove a lot a people nuts:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/change-the-office-theme-HA103355148.aspx