JSI Tip 10403. When you upgrade from Windows 98, you receive 'Office can't start FindFast, would you like to repair this feature now'?

After upgrading from Windows 98 to Windows XP, or Windows 2000, you receive the following when you restart your computer:

Office can't start FindFast, would you like to repair this feature now?

If you press Yes, Windows Installer hangs.

This behavior occurs if you had Office 2000 installed on Windows 98, because FindFast is NOT needed or supported on Windows NT 5.X.

To resolve this behavior:

1. Open a CMD.EXE window.

2. Type REG ADD HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\OSA\AutoStart /V NotFindFast /T REG_DWORD /F /D 1 and press Enter.

NOTE: REG.EXE is built into Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and later operating systems, or installed from the Windows 2000 Support Tools.

NOTE: See OFF2000: What Is the OSA9.exe File and What Does It Do?