Outlook Web Access starts Windows Installer when you click the New Message icon

When you log on to a Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server computer or a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 computer by using the Outlook Web Access (OWA) Web client on a computer that has Microsoft Outlook 2000 installed, if you click the New Message icon to create a new message, OWA may start Microsoft Windows Installer.

This problem occurs because Microsoft Office 2000 creates the following entry in the registry when it is installed on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 2000 Server: These registry keys point to Windows Installer. Therefore, every time the DHTML Edit control (that is already installed by Microsoft Internet Explorer) is accessed on the client computer, Windows Installer starts.

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods:

Method 1

To work around this problem, point Windows Installer to a valid Microsoft Office 2000 installation point. The correct files are then copied to your system. If a valid source is not available, use the workaround that is described in the following Knowledge Base article:

Method 2

To work around this problem, remove the string in the Inprocserver32 value so that the value is blank.

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

1. Start Regedt32.
2. Locate the following registry key:
   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{010E6CBE-FE2B-11D0-B079-006008058A0E} \InprocServer32 key
3. Locate the following value on the key:
   InprocServer32, a REG_MULTI_SZ value
4. Expand the value, and then remove the entry in the value so that the value is blank.
5. Note The string typically is similar to "26!!gxsf[Ng]gF.........."
6. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for the following path:
   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{438DA5E0-F171-11D0-984E-0000F80270F8}
   \InprocServer32\InprocServer32
7. Restart the client computer.

After you have taken the steps that are described in this article, the DHTML Edit control works as expected, and you can start and edit a new e-mail form in the OWA client without starting Windows Installer.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft Office 2000 Setup.