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Fix Office Deployment Tool Missing CAB Files on a NAS
Question details
The user needs to resolve an issue where the Microsoft Office Deployment Tool (ODT) fails to download or install CAB files when using a NAS as the source path.
- Product
- Microsoft Office Deployment Tool
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Downloading or installing Microsoft Office via ODT using a network-attached storage (NAS) drive as the source path.
- Observed behavior
- Office downloads correctly to a local drive but omits CAB files or fails during installation when the source is stored on a NAS network path.
Verify that your NAS device is powered on, connected to the same network as your deployment machine, and that your Windows account has full read and write administrative privileges for the network share.
Verify Network Permissions and Map the Drive
Map the NAS share to a local drive letter and ensure proper read/write permissions for the setup account to prevent missing CAB files.
The Office Deployment Tool requires stable and continuous access to the source files. System accounts used during installation often fail to authenticate correctly against a raw UNC network path on a NAS.
Mapping the network share to a local drive letter and running the installation locally ensures the installer can reliably access all necessary CAB files.
Open File Explorer, click on 'This PC', select 'Map network drive' from the top menu, choose an available drive letter, and input your NAS UNC path (e.g., \\NAS_Name\Office_Share).
Right-click the newly mapped drive or folder, select 'Properties', navigate to the 'Security' tab, and confirm that both your user account and the 'SYSTEM' account have full Read and Write permissions.
Copy 'setup.exe' and your 'configuration.xml' file to a local folder (like C:\ODT). Open Command Prompt as Administrator, navigate to that folder, and run the setup command while the XML's SourcePath points to the mapped network drive.
Validate and Recreate the XML Configuration
Fix syntax errors in the configuration.xml file, specifically within the SourcePath attribute, which often cause CAB file omissions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does ODT work on a local drive but fail on a NAS?
The Office Deployment Tool relies heavily on Windows system accounts during the installation process. If the local system account lacks network access privileges or the NAS requires specific user credentials that aren't passed by the setup tool, the download or installation of CAB files will fail.
How do I correctly format the SourcePath for a NAS in ODT?
The SourcePath in your configuration.xml should use the strict UNC format, such as SourcePath="\\ServerName\ShareName". Make sure there are no trailing backslashes and that the specified network share is accessible with read permissions.
Can I pre-download the CAB files manually directly to the NAS?
Yes. You can run 'setup.exe /download configuration.xml' from a local machine with internet access to download the Office files directly to the NAS path specified in the XML. You must ensure the machine performing the download has write access to the NAS.
What is the Office Customization Tool (OCT)?
The Office Customization Tool is a web-based configuration interface provided by Microsoft. It allows IT administrators to easily customize deployment settings visually and export a properly formatted configuration.xml file, significantly reducing manual syntax errors.
