CCleaner cleaning causes MS Office Products to Self-Install

[EmmttGlnn2002]

Running CCleaner 5.44, but this problem began with earlier versions.

Something that CCleaner is removing results in Windows not recognizing that MS Office products are installed.

For instance, I run CCleaner with all the same recommended items ticked -- the same items I have had ticked since CCleaner was invented.  After cleaning, if I try to open "Excel," I get a dialog that says, "Wait a moment while Excel installs."  It self installs, then runs fine.  As long as one MS Office "re-installs," none of the other products produce the dialog when I open them.

For example, after conducting a CCleaner cleaning, if I open MS Outlook, I get the message, "Wait a moment while Outlook installs."  It installs just fine.  Then, if I open MS Excel, I do not get the "re-install" message.

This scenario plays out when I right-click on the Recycle Bin and select "Run CCleaner."  I am not using the registry cleaner.  The problem also happens when I open CCleaner and simply run the Cleaner tool.

Just in case CCleaner was removing reg keys, I excluded the following lines after they showed up during a Registry cleaning:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\Folders\C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\Groove\XML Files\Space Templates\

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\Folders\C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\STARTUP\

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\Folders\C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\XLSTART\

The above entries began to appear after version 5.42, as far as I know.  They definitely showed up in version 5.43.  I added the lines to be EXCLUDED from scans, but excluding them did not stop the Office products from "re-installing" after a cleaning.

What must I un-tick to prevent CCleaner from causing Office products to re-install after a simple cleaning?

Thank you!

[mta]

what is you OS and Office versions?

have you unticked all the Office entries under the Application Tab, in the Application group?

[EmmttGlnn2002]

Never had this problem before, just reminding you.  Thanks.

I've never had to un-tick the MS Office entries before.

I'm running Windows 7 64-bit.  I have MS Office Suite 2010 installed (64-bit).

I will try un-ticking all of the Office entries under the Application Tab and see if the problem persists.  I will add a comment to let you know the results.

[EmmttGlnn2002]

After un-ticking all Office entries under the Application tab and performing a cleaning, I opened Excel.  I received the same dialog, asking me to wait until Office Professional installed itself.

Again, I did not perform a registry cleaning.

Strange a bug like this should suddenly pop up.

I will check one other thing.  Since installing CCleaner (a couple of versions ago), I created "Custom Files to Delete" under Options>Include

C:\*.sfk

C:\*.sfl

E:\*.sfk

E:\*.sfl

"E" is a backup (external) drive.  The *.sfk and *.sfl files are temporary files generated by Sony Vegas and Sony Sound Forge.

I will remove these temp files from the Custom Files to Delete under Options>Include and perform another cleaning.  I will then try to open Excel or Outlook or Word and see if I get the message that Office is re-installing.

[EmmttGlnn2002]

Removed the "Custom Files to Delete" entries under Options>Include.

Happy to report the issue of having to re-install MS Office products has been eliminated.

Thank you for your guidance in finding the cause of this curious problem.  I'm not a programmer.  I can't tell you WHY this happens.

But note that I had CCleaner deleting the temp files from two locations:  My hard drive and a backup drive, where I back up the work I save on the hard drive.

Thanks!

Love Piriform!

Sincerely,

EmmttGlnn2002

[mta]

glad you solved it.

[EmmttGlnn2002]

It's not really a solution, though, is it?

Adding additional files to be deleted during cleanup should not cause the message, "Please wait while MS Office Professional installs" to come up after every time CCleaner is run.

A bug was introduced somewhere along the way.  Either that, or it always existed -- but no one caught it because no one has ever used the "Include additional files to be deleted every time CCleaner runs" option.

I discovered the issue only because I grew tired of having to manually delete the temp files generated by the video and audio programs, "Vegas Pro" and "Sound Forge" and then having to delete them again off my external backup hard drive that is synced to the Vegas and Sound Forge folders on my laptop's hard drive.

No, CCleaner appears to be removing something -- an association file; a registry entry; Something -- during a typical Cleanup routine that is breaking Windows' ability to recognize that MS Office is installed.

I solved the problem for me, but I'm no longer able to delete the temp files using CCleaner, which I believe shows there's a problem with CCleaner's programming.  "Workarounds" are not the same as permanent fixes.  As a moderator, MTA, perhaps you have the authority to bring up the curious issue with the programming team.

I'm not complaining.  I'm simply informing you and anyone else reading this thread that a bug was discovered -- if, indeed, it is a bug.

Thanks!

Emmett Glenn - Proudly using CCleaner since it got off the ground.