Old Microsoft Office Assistant for MS Word does not work in Windows 10

To whom may solve this problem,

Since the most recent major Windows 10 update, nothing but trouble and annoyances at several levels.

A galling one is the total disappearance of the well-know MS Office Assistant (whether or not using the animated figures like the paperclip, wizard, etc.).

I am still using an old version of Word (installed when I was still running on XP SP3) - simply because I am used to it and do not like the so-called bells and whistles coming with the newer Office.

Since Windows 7 (whose demise I very much regret because I found it far more stable and less prone to problems than Windows 10), the Office Assistant had been "deprecated" (to use Microsoft's quaint euphemism). But through Windows 7, 8 and 10 prior to that dreadful latest major update, which played havoc with many of my installed programs, there was a way around that particular "deprecation" by downloading and installing a hotfix, using MsAgent 2.0 among other things.

That is no longer the case. Even when downloading Microsoft's still available hotfix, there is no way to regain access to that useful assistant. When trying to install said hotfix installer, one gets an error message saying: "Installer encountered an error: 0x80096002". And no way to get around that error!

When trying to install an available MsAgent 2.0 exe, even by setting its compatibility to a former OS, one gets the error message that it is no longer compatible with Windows 10 (please note that prior to the mentioned recent major Win10 update, there was no problem whatsoever).

Be all that as it may, and whatever reason behind all these Microsoft shenanigans (this one being one of the less obnoxious ones), what else could I do to recuperate my cosy old Office Assistant? I don't use it for help as such, but mostly for grammatical explanations in English (this module was quite clever and helpful on that aspect).

So if someone can help me with a workable roundabout to get this fixed, I'll be most grateful. I have not much hope, because other Win 10 annoyances have not been resolved (like the near impossibility to avoid the dreadful Edge with pdf files, or Paint 3D with usual graphic files - whatever one may try to force Win 10 to behave otherwise). But one can always hope.

haku

There is a free TTS program Claude which installs MSAgent on Windows 10 together with 40 Characters. After you install this program Office Assistant should work.

Scaphonyx said:

There is a free TTS program Claude which installs MSAgent on Windows 10 together with 40 Characters. After you install this program Office Assistant should work.

Thanks. Unfortunately, after installing that patch and clicking on Assistant within Word, Word crashes...

Best regards,

haku

Strange... After I installed Claude, I installed Office 2003 Pro SP3 (11.8411.8450) and all assistants show up.

The default assistant is Clippit. During installation Office puts it to InstallationDirectory\OFFICE11\CLIPPIT.ACS
Perhaps, in your case Office didn't put any assistants to anywhere. So, when you select "Show Assistant" Office crashes because it can't find path to CLIPPIT.ACS
My advise would be re-installing Office 2003. When you'll be presented with Parameters dialog, select "Custom Install". In next window check on "Choose advanced customization of applications." checkbox. Next, expand "Office Shared features", then expand "Office Assistant" and enable Clippit.

Hi again,

Once more, thanks for your prompt answers. New discovery: while invoking "Help Assistant" worked, as said, without a hitch on Win7 and 8, then, with a patch (don't remember which one) for a while on Win 10, now, just trying to call up the assistant crashes the whole Word! This is quite recent, say since the latest big update. It seems that this update has caused many other problems, now quite documented on the Internet: deleting older programs without asking the users if they agree (that was already the case before with simple apps like Solitaire, heaven knows why). Worse, now linking current pdf or common graphic files like jpg or png to applications the users desire proves completely impossible. Whatever one does to redirect the files to the chosen apps, Windows redirects them almost immediately to their own clunky Edge and their even clunkier Paint 3D apps. All these shenanigans and treatment of users as if they were nonsensical children are getting extraordinarily annoying.

I'll simply forget about the Assistant. The matter is not important enough to consecrate your or my time to it any longer.

Oh, and yes, I tried your re-install suggestion. Nothing doing.

Thanks again and best regards,

HK

haku said:

Whatever one does to redirect the files to the chosen apps, Windows redirects them almost immediately to their own clunky Edge and their even clunkier Paint 3D apps. All these shenanigans and treatment of users as if they were nonsensical children are getting extraordinarily annoying....

This is a known bug in both 1803 and 1809. A fix is expected by the end of the month.

After installing this update, some users cannot set Win32 program defaults for certain app and file type combinations using the Open with… command or Settings > Apps > Default apps. In some cases, Microsoft Notepad or other Win32 programs cannot be set as the default.

In some cases, attempting to set application defaults again will succeed. Microsoft is working on a resolution and estimates a solution will be available in late November 2018.

Cumulative Update KB4467702 Windows 10 v1803 Build 17134.407 - Nov. 13
Cumulative Update KB4467708 Windows 10 v1809 Build 17763.134 - Nov. 13

Thanks! That's quite a relief.
Now, I remain surprised that MS just doesn't test its updates.
And since I'm at it: since they more or less obliged me screaming and kicking to update from Win 7, which was almost without faults, to Win 10, I have actually been bugged by some file types not sticking, so to speak, to chosen apps. Rather more exotic is the following: I have a Win 10 version in Dutch. However, whatever I try or do or complain about, some of MS's own applets (like calculator, Paint 3D and Edge) or even some forms in their settings help app (like when wanting to send feedback etc.) are in French (the other national language in Belgium). I don't find this dreadfully annoying like the not-sticking problem between files and apps, because I know both languages fluently. But it is still aesthetically ugly. No way to get MS to do something about this - their only solution being a reinstall! I don't bother anymore and live with that snag. But still...

Thanks again,

Best,

haku