How to Fix Background Installation Ran into a Problem on Windows 10?

Microsoft Office is a suite package that includes all the productive applications to be used for office or business use. Users may come across an error while trying to install Microsoft Office 2013, Office 365, or Office 365 Preview. The error notification appears to be:

Once the user faces this error, it prevents any further Microsoft program executions and each program shows the same notification i.e. “Background installation ran into a problem”.

What Causes Background Installation Ran into a Problem?

Since its an installation error, the reasons could be arbitrary. After our thorough research and feedback reported by the users, it can be any of the two:

• Office Activation Services:  Application may be incapable of communicating with the office activation services. This will bottleneck the product license verification and activation which will result in the prevention of further installation process.
• System Registry settings: Application may be having an issue with system registry settings or arrangement of files and results in failing the installation process.

Solution 1: Using Event Viewer for Reviewing Microsoft Office Alerts

This solution involves reviewing Microsoft Office Alerts because the error may arise due to Office Add-ins. Office Add-ins are third party programs that may not allow Office programs to open or get registered properly. Whenever the error occurs, it gets logged and we can access the logs by looking at the Event Viewer to get an idea of what’s causing the problem.

1. Click Start and type Event Viewer in the search bar. Right-click and choose Run as Administrator.
2. Locate Application and Service Logs and double-click on Microsoft Office Alerts.
   You can read local descriptions and find out what’s exactly causing this error.
   
3. If it is a system-related error, click Start and search cmd in the search bar. Right-click and choose Run as Administrator.
4. Copy-paste the following command and hit Enter.

   sfc /scannow

   

Your issue should be resolved now. If it doesn’t, please proceed with the next solution.

Solution 2: Repairing Office Installation

This method involves the utilization of self-integrated troubleshooting by Microsoft Office. It will fix any corrupt files found in the Microsoft Office installation which should resolve the issue you are facing. The steps are as follows:

1. Click Start and open Apps & Features.
2. Select the Microsoft Office product you are getting an error with, click Modify. This will open the repair prompt.
   Note that even if you choose a single application such as Microsoft Word, the whole Microsoft Office Suite will be repaired.
   
3. The type of repair prompt depends upon your copy of Office. It can be any of the two: Click-to-Run or MSI-based install. Proceeding options are different for both, given below.
   Click-to-Run:
   1.  In the window How would you like to repair your Office Programs, select Online Repair.
   2.  Click Repair to make sure everything gets fixed.
   

   MSI-based:
   1.  In Change your installation, select Repair
   2.  Click Continue to make sure everything gets fixed.

   
4. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the repair. Your issue should be resolved now. In case the issue remains, proceed with the next solution.

Solution 3: Updating Microsoft Office

Sometimes, logs in the version may get corrupted which can be fixed by simply updating the Microsoft Office version. Microsoft offers support for Microsoft Office 2013 or above. Follow these steps to make sure your Microsoft Office product is up-to-date:

1. Click Start and open any Microsoft Application such as Microsoft Word.
2. Click on Blank Document.
3. Click File.
4. Click Account (or Office Account in case you opened Microsoft Outlook).
5. Choose Update Options > Update Now.
   Note that you may need to click Enable Updates first, in case you don’t see the Update Now option. Your issue should be resolved now. In case the issue remains, proceed with the final solution.
   

Solution 4: Reinstalling Microsoft Office

You will need to uninstall the existing Microsoft Office Suite completely first and then re-install a fresh copy. Follow these steps:

1. Click Start and open Control Panel.
2. Select Uninstall a program under Programs.
3. Type Office in the search bar, right-click on your Microsoft Office product, and choose Uninstall.
4. Install Office from Your Account Page. This solution should finally resolve your problem.