(Windows Vista Business, X1 Client Version 6.2.1 Build 3618)
I recently had some numerous crashes when clicking on WinWord documents in the preview pane or Outlook messages. Uninstall, Reinstall, Modify, Repair didn't fix it. I then also experienced some errors during Windows Vista Update processes, and found some msi*.log files in hidden system directories with error messages, pointing to a faulty registry permission system.
I don't know what screwed up the registry, and I know that the below code can basically ruin your OS pretty badly if something goes wrong, but it helped for me

I downloaded the Microsoft Windows Resource Kit Tool "subinacl" (google it), copied the below text into a .cmd file, and ran the file as administrator. It ran a long time and fixed my problems.
- Code: Select all
"C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\subinacl" /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /setowner=administrators
"C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\subinacl" /subkeyreg HKEY_CURRENT_USER /setowner=administrators
"C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\subinacl" /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /setowner=administrators
"C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\subinacl" /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f
"C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\subinacl" /subkeyreg HKEY_CURRENT_USER /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f
"C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\subinacl" /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f