When I start Excel I get an error message about the installation of VB Express.

Question

"When I start Excel I get an error message about the installation of Visual Basic Express: Please wait while Windows configures Microsoft Visual Basic...."

When I start Excel you get the following message:

Please wait while Windows configures Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition.
The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable.

Browsing to the appropriate folder doesn't solve the problem.

Answer

This is a very uncommon problem, but still we want to address this in the FAQ here.

It is caused by a bug in VB Express/Visual Studio or more precise, the Windows Installer.

Solution

This can be solved by doing a repair of your MS Office installation.

Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista

1. Close Excel if it is open.
2. In the Control Panel choose "Programs and Features"
3. Select Microsoft Office in the list
4. Click on the Repair button at the top.  If you only see a "change" button, then choose this and then in the next screen choose "repair".

Windows XP and Windows 2000:

1. In the Control Panel choose "Add or Remove Programs"
2. Select Microsoft Office in the list and click on the Change button.
3. Choose "Repair"