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Creating a local installation source on users' computers
When users install Office from a DVD or from a network installation point, Setup creates the local
installation source by using a program called the Office Source Engine (Ose.exe) to copy required
installation files to a hidden folder on the local computer. The default location is \MSOCache\All Users
at the root of the drive on which Office is installed.
Each package that consists of an Office product, both the language-neutral core package and one or
more language-specific packages, has a separate download code. The package is cached in the
subfolder under MSOCache\All Users. Setup always caches a complete local installation source, which
includes all the files that are associated with the product that is being installed. If the installation point
includes multiple languages, Setup caches only the packages for the languages that are installed on
the user's computer.
When additional Office products are installed on the user's computer, those products are cached in the
same local installation source.
Note:
If a user installs a second Office product on a different drive, Setup creates a second local
installation source at the root of that drive. In this scenario, shared files might be duplicated
between the two local installation sources. However, this design makes sure that each local
installation source is complete and functions correctly.
Users cannot unintentionally delete the local installation source or remove it by using the Setup user
interface or the Windows Disk Cleanup Wizard. If the MSOCache folder is deleted or corrupted, Setup
automatically re-creates or repairs the folder the next time that a source is required. If users do not
have sufficient disk space, they are prompted to free up space. You can rely on the fact that every user
has access to a source when you distribute new updates or customizations.
Note:
Once the local installation source is created, its location on the user's computer is fixed. Unless
the user specifies a different drive, additional Office products installed later are always added to
the existing MSOCache\All Users folder.
Deploying the local installation source by itself
Because Setup performs the installation of Office from the local installation source, you can minimize
the demand on the network by deploying the installation source beforehand. For example by using your
usual method for running Setup on users' computers, you can distribute the local installation source to
one group of users at a time. After all users have a precached source, you can have everyone run
Setup to install Office at the same time. In this scenario, most of the installation activity occurs on the
local computer instead of over the network.
For more information, see Precache the local installation source for Office 2010. This information also
applies to Office 2013 Preview.
You can also run Setup directly from the local installation source on the local computer. Running Setup
locally means that no activity, even loading Setup files and reading metadata, occurs over the network.
In this scenario, you must identify the subfolder in MSOCache\All Users that contains the core product
that you want to install. Each core product subfolder contains a copy of the Setup program, and running