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General discussion

How do I remove Outlook 2010 64bit and install 32bit instead

Sep 26, 2010 10:15AM PDT

I recently upgraded to Office 2010 and as my PC is 64bit, I went ahead and selected the 64bit version of Outlook to install.
I've learnt that this has a number of compatibility issues, particularly with syncing calendars and would have been better off installing the 32bit version.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to uninstall Outlook 64bit through the Remove Programs section in the Control Panel. I've reopened the installer, which offers the following options:
"Add or remove features"
"Repair"
"Remove"
"Add a product key"

I tried clicking "Remove", but this gives me a dialogue box asking if I want to remove MS Office Professional Plus 2010 (instead of just Outlook).
So I clicked "Add or remove features" and selected "Not Available" for Outlook. It seems to uninstall and disappears from my programs, but when I go to reinstall it, it doesn't offer the option of 32bit - it goes straight to installing 64bit again.

Can anyone suggest how to let me do a 32 bit reinstall?! Would love to get this working, working!

Cheers
Gus

Discussion is locked

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That's the way it works
Sep 26, 2010 9:08PM PDT

If you want to remove any component of Office, you need to click that "Remove" for Office 2010. Windows should then ask you for your Office CD, and then you remove the 64 bit version of Outlook.

You could then install the 32 bit version of Outlook whilst you are there, (although I didn't know the Office CD had both 32 bit and 64 bit versions), but I would be cautious. I would remove the CD once the uninstall has completed, then restart the computer, then insert the CD and add the 32 bit version of Outlook at that time.

Mark

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Tried, but failed.
Sep 27, 2010 9:40AM PDT

Thanks for the suggestion.

Did the full "Remove", which took out all of MS Office. Did a reinstall, but it didn't allow the option of 32bit for Outlook. Bizarre as there are a number of references on the Internet to ensuring that if you do an install to opt for 32bit for Outlook, due to the calendar sync issue.

Not sure what to do now. This is painful!

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I'm stumped.
Sep 27, 2010 8:22PM PDT

The research I did found that;

"The 32-bit Office client is supported as a WOW64 installation. This is the default installation on 64-bit Windows operating systems. The 32-bit Windows-based applications run on 64-bit Windows, which allows for compatibility with 32-bit Office applications and add-ins".

Now, I don't have Office 2010 so I can't test, but it seems to me that both the 32 bit and the 64 bit version of Office 2010 is available on that Office 2010 setup CD, and that, unless you make a conscious choice during setup, the 32 bit version is installed by default.

It looks like you can't 'mix and match'. By that I mean you cannot install the 64 bit version of Office 2010 but with 32 bit components, like Outlook. It is either, all of 64 bit, or all of 32 bit.

it seems you have to make that choice right at the start, ie, which version of Office 2010 do you want installed?

Mark

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Okay...
Sep 27, 2010 11:00PM PDT

I see what you mean about not mixing and matching. I assume that when I did the original install, I simply opted for 64bit, but now there are config files that tell it to simply opt for this (for Outlook, as well as the other Office programs). If that's the case, how do I simply get it to allow me to opt for 32 or 64?!

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Not sure.
Sep 28, 2010 6:11AM PDT

Are you sure this Office Setup CD holds both the 32 bit and the 64 bit options?

If you have uninstalled Office, have you rebooted your computer since? Doing so may update the registry where such information is kept.

If that doesn't work, look for any Office folders on the hard drive and delete them, then reboot again. I would then use a cleaner utility like CCleaner, from http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner to clean out any temp files.

What is the exact error message you see when you try to install Office 32 bit?

Mark

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Have 32bit
Sep 28, 2010 10:36PM PDT

I managed to find details of the install and it's showing that 32bit is now installed. Seems to work semi-fine (I've stuffed up some of the data file paths, so have to tinker around with them, but at least I've got 32bit installed!) Thanks for your help!!!!! I really appreciate it.

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(NT) Good work and glad you got it sorted.
Sep 29, 2010 2:34AM PDT