14 DAY TRIAL // Customers which upgraded to Office 2010 Service Pack 1 but need to go back to the RTM Build of the productivity suite can leverage a free tool from Microsoft designed to streamline the process of removing SP1. The Microsoft Service Pack Uninstall Tool for Microsoft Office 2010 Client Applications is designed to uninstall all Office 2010 SP patches, and only keep the Office 2010 RTM installation in place.
In the official description of the tool, the software giant doesn’t refer specifically to SP1, but since there is only one service pack released for Office 2010 it’s not that difficult to make the connection.
“Administrators and advanced users in organizations that have installed Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) can use the tool to return Office 2010 to its pre-SP1 state. The Uninstall Tool enables them to uninstall the service pack without having to reinstall the complete Office 2010 product,” a member of the Office team revealed.
It’s a good idea for customers intending to take advantage of the Office 2010 SP1 Service Pack Uninstall Tool to at least be familiar with command line tools.
According to the Redmond company, although the utility is only available in English, it’s designed to play nice with all localized versions of Office 2010 SP1.
Although provided as a standalone download from the Microsoft Download Center, the Service Pack Uninstall Tool for Office 2010 is actually packed into Office 2010 SP1 by default.
“The 2010 SP Uninstall Tool is contained in a package called Office2010SPUninstall.exe, which is a self-extracting executable file. The tool itself is a single file that is named OARPMan.exe. No installation is required for the tool,” the company said.
As the full name implies, the Office 2010 SP1 Service Pack Uninstall Tool only uninstalls client-side flavors of Office 2010 SP1, not server updates. It’s also useless on any upgrades except Office 2010 SP1, including Office 2007 service packs for example.
On the “Microsoft Service Pack Uninstall Tool for Office 2010” page on TechNet Microsoft is offering free guidance to help customers get the best out of the utility.
The Microsoft Service Pack Uninstall Tool for Microsoft Office 2010 Client Applications is available for download here.
Microsoft Office 2010 (KB2460049) 32-bit Edition Service Pack 1 (SP1) is available for download here.
Microsoft Office 2010 (KB2460049) 64-bit Edition Service Pack 1 (SP1) is available for download here.