Configuration process (after installation) of Microsoft Project Professionnal 2010 fails

Question

On Windows Vista Business 32 (English, SP1), I downloaded en_project_professional_2010_x86_515560.exe from MSDN and installed it.  The installation process completed successfully and asked to reboot my computer.  After rebooting, I start Microsoft
Project 2010 from the start menu and it starts an initial configuration process which goes into a repeating loop 3 times and fails.  Here are the details (when starting Project 2010):
1. Microsoft Project Professionnal 2010 popup: Configuration Progress splash screen with progress bar and yellow wave at bottom.
2. Microsoft Office Project MUI (English) 2010 popup: Please wait while Windows configures Microsoft Office Project MUI (English) 2010, then disappears.
3. Microsoft Project 2010 logo popup with green wave at bottom.
4. Steps 1-3 repeated 3 times.
5. Microsoft Project popup: There is not enough memory to complete the operation.  To free up available memory, close programs, projects, or windows you aren't using, and try again.
I suspect this is a false error message because all my applications are closed and I have over 1GB of free memory.
If I retry:
- Microsoft Project popup: Project failed to start correctly last time.  Starting Project in safe mode will help you correct or isolate a startup problem in order to successfully start the program.  Sme functionnality may be disabled in this mode.
 Do you want to start Project in safe mode?
I click Yes, but the same sequence of popup occurs and it fails with the same error message.
I then installed Microsoft Office Project 2007, as a work-around.  But starting Project 2007 gives identical results, except with 2007 popups instead of 2010 popups.
I called Microsoft Technical Support for a case, but they suggested I try posting my question to this forum first.  
Thanks for any assistance.

Answer 1

Hi all,
To my experience, this kind of problems is typically caused by a conflict with another software component. That is why a reformat and re-install will most likely fix the problem. In most cases this is caused by the virusscanner or firewall.
For those of you who cannot or do not want to reformat and reinstall everything (which I can understand), find below some steps to troubleshoot the issue and find the conflicting piece of software:
 Make sure your computer is up-to-date with all service packs and updates for Windows, Office, Project, Internet Explorer, ...
If this doesn't fix your problem:
Go into add/remove programs, select your office version and do a repair
Into add/remove programs, do a repair of Microsoft Project (or uninstall and reinstall)
If this doesn't fix your problem:
Try to run Microsoft Project with different compatibility settings (e.g. Windows XP SP3). Make sure to reset the compatibility setting after performing your tests!
If this doesn't fix your problem:
Perform a full system scan for viruses and other malware
Remove any malware/virus that has been found
If this doesn't fix your problem:
Disable all 3rd party security products (virusscanner, firewall, anti spyware, ...). If you don't feel comfortable leaving your computer unprotected while being online, simply disconnect your pc from the internet (unplug the cable).
If this doesn't fix your problem:
Uninstall all 3rd party security products (virusscanner, firewall, anti spyware, ...). (Yes, this is different from disabling it as some programs have anti-shutdown protection and still have low-level protection even when disabled).
If this still doesn't fix your problem:
Restart your computer in safe mode and try to open Microsoft Project.
If this still doesn't fix your problem:
See if you have a similar computer available with Project installed that doesn't has this issue. Compare the software installed on both computers and remove the software on the computer having the issue one-by-one to try to find the conflicting software.
And if the problem still exists, please report back onto the forum with detailed information about the problem (version of Windows, Office and Project + Service Pack level), exact error messages you receive and steps you have taken to try to troubleshoot
the issue.
Also keep in mind that these forums are not an official Microsoft support channel, so if none of the above fixed the problem, you might want to open a case with Microsoft Support to have them look into the problem.
I hope this helps,
Hans
My EPM blog: Projectopolis