Here’s what you do to fix the problem. First, you’ll need a special Click2Run cleanup tool that has seemingly disappeared from Microsoft’s server. You can download it here:
Once in possession of this tool, take the following steps to correct the problem:
- First, be sure to have a copy of the required installation files for Office 2010. Make a backup of them if you don’t have access to them elsewhere by copying the following directory to another location:
- %PROGRAMDATA%\Microsoft\OEMOffice14\OStarter\en-us
- Execute the CleanC2R.exe file from the zip archive provided above to completely remove C2R, including the virtual Q: drive containing the relevant install files.
- Reboot the PC, then execute the CleanC2R.exe tool a second time.
- Reboot once more, then execute the offcln.exe tool to completely remove Office 2010 Starter.
- Reboot yet again, then navigate to the ProgramData directory containing the Office Starter installation files (they must be located in the exact directory detailed above for the installation to work properly). Right-click the SetupConsumerC2ROLW.exe file and choose Run as Administrator to install C2R once again, along with a fresh copy of Office 2010 Starter.
This should finally correct the issue. If you happen to be missing the installation files for Office 2010 Starter, you can actually find them available for download in various places. Downloading the files and installing the suite is perfectly legal as long as it was already once provided with the PC new by the OEM.