How To Repair Windows Installer Error 1706

Learn how to migrate from older versions of Windows to Windows 10 & 11

1706 Error

The 1706 error occurs when you use the “InstallShield” application when installing Microsoft Office onto your computer. This error is caused by several issues with the Office installer, and has its roots with the likes of having administrative privileges, having corrupt / damaged files, or just not using the CD properly.

You may receive an error that looks similar to the following:

“Error 1706. Setup cannot find the required files. Check your connection to the network, or CD-ROM drive. For other potential solutions to this problem, see C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\1033\Setup.hlp.”

What Causes The 1706 Error

There a several causes of the Installer Error 1706, of which here are the most common:

• You originally installed Microsoft Office from a network administrative installation.
• The network administrative installation is no longer available to you.
• You are trying to use an Office CD-ROM when you are prompted by the Windows Installer for an Office source location.
• You click Cancel when you are prompted to Insert the CD
• You have registry errors on your PC

The Windows Installer cannot work out the difference between two source types, because the files in an administrative installation are uncompressed, and the files on an Office CD-ROM are compressed.

How To Fix The 1706 Error

Step 1 – Download The Latest Version Of Install Shield

Install Shield often receives updates to ensure it can with stand all of the latest files. If you are receiving the 1706 error, then it is likely that your InstallShield could possibly be out of date, and recommended that you update it. To do this, you need to be able to download the latest version of InstallShield from their website.

Step 2 – Make Sure You Click “Setup.exe” (Not The MSI File)

Clicking on the “MSI” file will result in the 1706 error, as it will not have the range of options needed to run. To fix this you should click the Setup.exe application that the program will have. Setup.exe will utilitize the MSI file, and will bring all the different connections together, allowing your computer to run much smoother with the installer working as well as it should.

Step 3 – Use An Alternative Network Solution

Not having the correct network permissions can result in the 1706 error, because some networks have different protocols. If you don’t have the correct network permissions then the permission barriers can prevent you from installing the programs you need, making it a recommended step to use a different network solution. To use an alternative network follow these steps:

1. Click Start and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type a command line similar to the following, and then click OK
   new network path\Setup.exe /fvm package name.msi

   where new network path is the full path to the alternative network administrative installation, and package name is the name of the Windows Installer .msi package on the root of this administrative installation (for example, Proplus.msi).

3. Click OK when the update is finished.

Note After you follow these steps, the Windows Installer uses this new server location whenever it needs to reinstall, repair, or add a feature to your Office installation.

Step 4 – Clean Out The Registry

• Download this registry cleaner

Another way to fix this error is to use a ‘registry cleaner’ application to repair the various damaged settings the right might have. The registry is a database inside the Windows system which stores important settings & options for your PC. Unfortunately, this database is continually being damaged, preventing the installer from being able to use it correctly. To fix this problem, it’s highly recommended you use a “registry cleaner” program to fix any of the damaged settings that are inside this database. Not many people realize it, but this could be the reason why the 1706 error is appearing.