Problems uninstalling

[Bus429]

Have a PC that came preloaded with Office 2000 Professional. Have discs for same but not those used in the original load up. Tried to uninstall so that I can install Office 97 since I am working on an ACCESS data base at home and at work. Office 97 installs OK. When opening Word 97, however, I get messages about registry problems.
Cannot uninstall either now. Office 97 asks for the disc to be inserted and then proceeds to reload. Office 2000 Pro asks for the disc to be loaded but then says cannot locate. Cannot load my Office Pro discs since it says it there is another version installed! HELP!!!! :(

[goldballs]

Registry problems can be a pain in the proverbial. One solution I have used in the past is to restore my registry to a date when I knew that everything was OK, then start again with a clean sheet.

If you are running Windows me, look in accessories/system tools/system restore and restore your system to an appropriate date. For earlier versions of windows, restart your pc in dos mode and at the C prompt type scanreg/restore. You will then be presented with a selection of dates to restore your registry to. This has worked for me on the many occasions I have screwed up, but someone out there with a bit more knowledge may have a better idea.

[Narada]

Back up all important data first. Then try out RegVac from superwin.com (http://www.superwin.com/regvac.htm)

There is a Novice mode which helps too. In the worst case I'd (reluctantly) recommend that you delete the Office directories (all files in both Office 2000 and Office 97 versions) and run RegVac. Then reboot and install Office 97 fresh. {RegVac can undo everything it did as well - but it won't restore files you manually deleted.}

Start with backing up everything you consider important. Good luck.