Office 2003 Local Installation Source Tool

Ed Bott's Windows Expertise - A useful Office 2003 troubleshooting tool

"If you use Office 2003, you should know about the Office 2003 Local Installation Source Tool. You may never need to use it, but if you do run into a problem with the Local Installation Source (LIS), it can save you hours of frustration. (If you use Office XP or Office 2000, see the note at the end of this post.)

A brief explanation: When you install Office 2003, all of the setup files are copied to your hard drive in a hidden folder called Msocache. This uses about 400MB of space but allows you to repair your Office installation or add new features without having to track down the original CD.

The problem occurs if the Msocache folder gets corrupted, or if you delete it the wrong way (using Windows Explorer), or if the disk on which it's located becomes unavailable for any reason. ..."

Ed Bott has posted about a "when you need it you REALLY need it" Office 2003 utility. From time to time I forget what MSOCache folder is and consider nuking it... Then I remember it's the Office install cache.

There's about a zero-to-one percent chance my family will know that. And my Dad likes to "clean up" his hard drive from time to time... :|

So this utility might come in handy.... ;)