Remove and Disable the 2464617 update for PowerPoint

Suddenly last week, our installation of PowerPoint 2002 (XP) started acting weird. Some presentations and templates started showing blank white placeholders instead of showing up transparently over the background. PowerPoint also seemed to behave as if these presentations were corrupt, but these same presentations worked without any display problems in newer versions of PowerPoint such as PowerPoint 2007 and 2010. Figure 1, below, shows an example of one such seemingly corrupt presentation in Slide Sorter view.

Figure 1: PowerPoint showing an open presentation with defective slides

We later discovered that this was caused by an overzealous new PowerPoint update. Someone at Microsoft forgot to test this update with presentations or templates that had picture backgrounds inserted. Until Microsoft releases an update to resolve this issue (they are aware of this bug), you have to remove the 2464617 update for PowerPoint 2002, and see if the problem gets solved. Thereafter, disable this update so that it does not get automatically updated again!

To uninstall the recent update and to disable it, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button and run Control Panel. From the Control Panel, select the Add or Remove Programs option. Doing so opens Add or Remove Programs window in which you have to check the option that says: Show updates. The list of programs may refresh after this, then scroll down to locate Security Update for PowerPoint 2002 (KB2464617): POWERPNT, as shown in Figure 2, below. Select this update and click on the Remove button, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2.
2. 
   Figure 2: Add or Remove Programs window
2. Now, you will see a confirmation window, as shown in Figure 3, below, asking whether you are sure about removing that update. Click the Yes button.
3. 
   Figure 3: Confirmation window to remove update
3. This action opens another window to indicate the progress of removal process, as shown in Figure 4, below. While the uninstalling, you might be asked to insert your Office XP CD or DVD. This may not happen all the time but just in case, it is a good idea to keep it around. Once the update is removed, the window will close. You may also be asked to reboot or not. Either way, it is a good idea to reboot.
4. 
   Figure 4: Update being removed
4. Now, launch PowerPoint and open any presentation. You will see that everything is back to normal. If you want to prevent this update from being installed next time, click the Start button and select All Programs. From the resultant menu, select Windows Update, as shown in Figure 5, below.
5. 
   Figure 5: Windows Update
5. Doing so will take you to the Microsoft Update web page. In that page, click the Custom button that is shown highlighted in red within Figure 6.
6. 
   Figure 6: Microsoft Update web page
6. Doing so shows you the list of pending Microsoft updates for your computer. Locate the 2464617 update, shown as KB2464617 in Figure 7, below. You will see a check box and a plus sign in front of it. Uncheck the box with green check mark and click on the plus sign, as shown in highlighted in red within Figure 7.
7. 
   Figure 7: High-priority updates
7. This action gives you more information about that update and also an option stating Don't show this update again. Check that option, as shown in Figure 8, below, to prevent that update from being installed in the future.
8. 
   Figure 8: Don't show this update again option selected

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