Windows Installer Service could not be access

JudySis, on Wednesday February 13, 2008 10:22:12 AM

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Hi, all!

I'm running Vista Home Premium on my PC. I tried to install a game (Bioshock) and at the very beginning of the setup, my computer blue-screened...

When I restarted my computer, a number of programs that I have set to run at startup crashed (including Skype, MSN Messenger, iTunes, Bitcomet, and even Windows Media Player)!

I tried to install the game again, and the same blue screen appeared. After another restart, all programs crashed again...

Also when I'm trying to start them manually, I got the following message: "Windows Installer Service could not be accessed".

I found an article on Microsoft support: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315346.

Went through method 1. This did not solve the problem. However, when I tried to install Bioshock, I only got an error message (the setup never got started like before, but on the plus side I did not get another blue-screen).

Next I tried method 2, but when I completed point 3, cmd only said "file not found - dllcache".

Following advice given on an other forum I went to Add/remove programs to see if windows installer was actually there. And, guess what... It was not. So I downloaded Windows Installer, but when I tried to install it, I got the following error: "Not enough storage is available to process this command." I have about 200 GB of free space on my hard disk and 2 GB of RAM, so that seemed pretty strange to me.

Lastly, I downloaded windows installer cleanup, but when trying to install it, I got the same old error message "Windows installer could not be accessed."

I would really appreciate any help as this problem is driving me crazy.

Thanks a lot,

Best answers for « Windows Installer Service could not be access »

101 answers 12 3 Next

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Zack, on Sunday February 24, 2008 07:43:15 PM

I have no same exact freaking problem, Vista was a waste of money and time.

Reply to Zack

Jason, on Tuesday February 26, 2008 08:42:39 AM

+10

Click Start/Run and type:

net start MSIServer

press ENTER and try installing again.

Reply to Jason

kathypray, on Wednesday July 9, 2008 04:40:06 PM

+56

Hey jason,
i tried doiong that and it still says windows installer could not be accessed...any other suggestions

Reply to kathypray

Anand.Periyasamy, on Thursday April 2, 2009 09:56:52 AM

Hi

I got the sam error in win 2000.
Solution :

1) Boot OS in Safe Mode.
2) Then in Run Command type msiexec\regserver
3) restart in Normal Mode

Now can install.

Reply to Anand.Periyasamy

yicker124, on Thursday April 2, 2009 02:33:43 PM

Many thanks for that tip: it worked for me! Outstanding, Anand!

yicker124

Reply to yicker124

Tom, on Tuesday April 21, 2009 11:18:29 AM

+13

Hi...I'm having the same problem you had back in July 2008 and ran across these posts. I am trying to install iTunes version 8 and it says that my installer is missing a program needed to run. I was reading the posts that you had been making and the advice that you took but none of it worked for me. I'm running Windows XP with SP 3. Can you tell me how you solved your problem? I tried everything and now I cannot install new software on my computer. It's like having a disposable computer. Any advice you can give me would be appreciated.
Thank you...
Tom
tdemicke@rio.odn.ne.jp

Reply to Tom

olani, on Friday May 15, 2009 04:23:22 PM

This worked thanks

Reply to olani

Prescious, on Wednesday June 17, 2009 08:58:03 PM

Hi, I tried rebooting in safe mode and typing in msiexec\regserver BUT it said cannot be found with the big letter X
First you must know that I do not have xp or 2000, I have windows vista 64bit. Please help I am trying to download windows installer but it keeps saying not enough storage.

Reply to Prescious

ch23, on Sunday June 21, 2009 01:41:54 AM

There was an error in the command. The correct command is msiexec (insert space) /regserver. This works in xp MCE 2005 with SP3, and it may also work for you. Thanks!

Reply to ch23

midwestcubs, on Thursday June 25, 2009 08:58:02 PM

Thanks...............................you, I had been trying everything for about two days to finally stumble on what you said and it worked. I had no space at first the I tried everything spaced and it didn't work. Until I did it this way. Thanks once again. My computer was a Toshiba 6100 laptop with Windows XP 2000 and 32bit.

Reply to midwestcubs

Oscar, on Monday July 28, 2008 02:21:00 PM

Just wanted to thank you Jason - I tried your trick and... well, it worked for me!
My Installer is now working. Take a bow!

Reply to Oscar

Drgnmaster, on Saturday August 16, 2008 11:09:53 AM

Thank you so much Jason, I was having this problem because of viruses and needed to install an antispyware program, I did what you said and tried the installer again and the installer started, thank you again.

Reply to Drgnmaster

Kit, on Saturday November 1, 2008 05:21:33 PM

Well Jason, amongst the 11 other things I've tried(including an upgrade install of XP) That didn'y work for me. I'm pulling my hair out, and I don't have much to begin with.

Reply to Kit

happyman, on Wednesday November 19, 2008 07:45:42 PM

Thanks man greatest been trying to work out this error for ages now it works thanks alote!

Reply to happyman

dimv, on Wednesday December 3, 2008 09:46:27 AM

Wow, after 2 hrs of trying all the other solutions (reinstalling and registering the installer) only this one did the trick.
GREAT thank you!
only now after installing the applications, there is an error message saying that the dll was not registered and the application will not work properly.

Reply to dimv

Chris n Georgia, on Saturday December 27, 2008 08:52:12 PM

Well I'm not sure if you still check this or not but I tried going in an activating the 'installer' on my crappy VISTA and then set it to automatic, rebooted etc....then typed in what you suggested for the error (Windows Installer...blah blah) and when I typed in what you suggested it took it but nothing visible happened....I've been trying to download itunes 8, just got a new ipod and it's been the cause of this whole issue....if you have any other advice, i'd appreciate it. Merry Christmas and hope 2009 is your best year yet...I'm not a computer savvy guy, stumbling around a bit. Any help is appreciated.

Chris

Reply to Chris n Georgia

help, on Tuesday January 6, 2009 12:14:46 AM

I'm trying to download itunes 8.0 and I am getting this message...There is a problem with this Windows installer package a program required for this install to complete could not be run contact your support personal...pls help

Reply to help

sandy, on Wednesday January 21, 2009 08:10:56 PM

Hey!
ok i had the exact same problem for like a month. i was SOO pissed! i went to this website and downloaded this: http://www.microsoft.com/...

what happened was i restarted, and deleted my previosly downloaded itunes. and EMPTY THE RECYCLE BIN.
download a NEW itunes.
you will still receive the error message, but iTunes downloaded anyway! i was SOOO happy.

Reply to sandy

Jose, on Thursday January 8, 2009 11:17:39 PM

All hail Jason!!! Thanks man, problem was driving me nuts trying to install printer drivers.

Reply to Jose

ziggy, on Sunday January 25, 2009 12:17:40 PM

Thanks Jason. Trying to reinstall QuickTime. The message was always 'could not access Windows Installer Service'. Downloaded and installed the Service, to no avail. Your formula started the QuickTime installer. All then worked well. Thanks a lot.

Reply to ziggy

Shorty, on Wednesday March 18, 2009 04:42:49 PM

I have been trying to download windows live messenger on my computer and im using vista software and the program is not installing what should i do

Reply to Shorty

itsme, on Tuesday April 7, 2009 01:28:44 AM

Thank you Jason for your simple solution. You're great!

Reply to itsme

dave, on Wednesday March 5, 2008 05:19:25 AM

I had this problem for a few weeks until I read the following article:

http://firsttube.com/read/The-Pain-of-Vista

Check your C:\Windows\System32 folder for msiexec. You should have msiexec.exe, but if you also have msiexec with NO extension (and 0 Kb in size) then this is causing your problem. I did what the article suggested and added the extension .old, allowing me to start my Windows Installer service.

Hope this helps.

Reply to dave

Jarvichi, on Sunday February 8, 2009 10:46:32 AM

Amazing, fixed my problem thanks.

Reply to Jarvichi

Shorty, on Wednesday March 18, 2009 08:22:36 PM

That solution did not work for me what can be another option

Reply to Shorty

Shorty, on Wednesday March 18, 2009 08:42:15 PM

The file you sent me to is not blank. i want to know what can be another solution

Reply to Shorty

wasim, on Friday March 7, 2008 11:04:40 AM

Dear freinds
pls give me the solution,
when iam going to share the foldres it's showing one error (server service is not start)

Reply to wasim

Deepan, on Friday June 27, 2008 10:34:54 AM

Click Start-->Run-->type services.msc press Enter
in the Service window select Server.
if its stopped please start it and if its running please restart the service.

Reply to Deepan

JENJEN, on Wednesday April 23, 2008 01:10:58 PM

Go to My Computer, Right click, click on manage
New window opens
In left look for Services, click to open
In right go down to Windows Installer
Double click
In drop down bar make the Service Automatic, close
In right pane of window click on Start to start this service.

Windows Installer is now started & will work when you need it to

Jen

Reply to JENJEN

octotroph, on Tuesday April 29, 2008 05:14:38 PM

Thank you Jenjen! I knew it had to be something simple since this is a new laptop and I have installed a limited number of programs, mostly business.
Works for me!
Thanks again!

Reply to octotroph

dirk, on Thursday May 15, 2008 03:31:46 PM

Hi

i went to the computer management and i clickt the star buttom but i get the error message :
Could not start the windows installer service on local computer
Error 3 : the system cannot find the path specified

i installed before Registery mechanic , did the run but nothing changes
i can still not remove are install a program

do you have a idea

greets dirk

Reply to dirk

IMPULSE, on Wednesday April 22, 2009 04:16:50 PM

HEY DIRK,I'M ALSO HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM DID YOU GET ANY IDEAS FROM ANYBODY TO FIX THIS???IF YOU DID,PLEASE SHARE IT WITH ME.E-MAIL ME AT ebyprasad@gmail.com

Reply to IMPULSE

kathypray, on Wednesday July 9, 2008 04:53:26 PM

Hey jen jen,
i did the steps but the computer is saying could not start windows installer service...error over lapped I/O opperations in progress...is there anything else i could do...thanks

Reply to kathypray

Brentbb, on Monday July 14, 2008 03:59:08 AM

Bravo!

Thank you so much for this. It was driving me CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep up the good work.

Reply to Brentbb

fano, on Wednesday September 3, 2008 05:18:28 PM

Hi, thank you very much for your so useful tip!!!
it works really... wow

Reply to fano

wyghtlyon, on Friday September 5, 2008 03:01:00 AM

Thank you so very much. It was a simple fix, but it has plagued me for weeks. Thanx again.

Reply to wyghtlyon

lockie-mac, on Monday November 10, 2008 05:28:26 AM

Thank you thank you thank you

Reply to lockie-mac

fox, on Saturday January 17, 2009 03:49:52 PM

I do not have windows installer in the manage/service

Reply to fox

Matei, on Sunday January 18, 2009 07:17:50 AM

Thanks this solution worked for me !

Reply to Matei

bean, on Wednesday January 28, 2009 02:19:55 PM

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! after hrs of aggravation... finally prob solved

Reply to bean

cubic, on Saturday April 11, 2009 10:46:30 AM

Hey i did everything as written but i came to this error "windows could not start the windows installer on local computer", man it's driving me crazy. i can't install any software on my computer, i really need some help.
i'm runing Windows Vista Home Premium service pack 1, 32-bit operating system.

Cubic....................

Reply to cubic

johnnyz, on Friday April 24, 2009 09:54:15 PM

Wow it worked thank you so much

Reply to johnnyz

Krishhhhhhh, on Thursday May 14, 2009 06:28:50 PM

Thanks a lot man...........the problem was such a disgusting one s.......earched for solutions in various sites..... yours is the only one worked for me........ Thanks a lot

Reply to Krishhhhhhh

me, on Sunday May 24, 2009 09:10:50 PM

Jen, worked perfectly!

Reply to me

100

Me, on Thursday July 2, 2009 07:58:21 AM

Just found this page via Google and I had to post to say thanks as your fix did the trick for me!

God bless the internet!

Reply to Me

dave, on Wednesday April 23, 2008 05:56:35 PM

Just an additional note to JENJEN's reply (and relating back to my previous reply). You will not be able to start the Windows Installer service if "msiexec" exists twice in your C:\Windows\System32 folder (one with .exe extension and one with no extension). Be sure it only exists as "msiexec.exe".

Reply to dave

Jeni, on Wednesday May 28, 2008 08:10:58 PM

How do I get rid of the 2nd file without extension it keeps coming back

Reply to Jeni

no idea keith, on Monday December 29, 2008 04:32:57 AM

Only got the msiexec nothing with extentions, now got itunes setup on desktop but unable to start,help would be great

Reply to no idea keith

hightimes, on Tuesday May 20, 2008 01:29:57 AM

http://www.vistaheads.com/...
here is the fix that worked for me
i had same problem

Reply to hightimes

varex, on Wednesday June 18, 2008 11:24:17 PM

I was going nuts with that windows installer error but that link that you post also fix my problem, than you dude.

Reply to varex

S, on Wednesday May 28, 2008 10:15:45 AM

Or just use the dial a fix tool which is free and can fix multiple problems.

1K22-1867-0795-66M4-5071-4299-A43M

Reply to S

HappyGuy, on Friday June 6, 2008 01:17:02 AM

I have tried almost all the methods suggested and all in vain. VISTA is a total freaking OE. Almost everything hang.
Can't :-
Add and Remove Applications
Internet Explorer - No display.
Window Mail - No images or pictures display.

VISTA is a waste of resources, money, efforts and time.

Gone case.

Reply to HappyGuy

AuntNeicy, on Saturday June 21, 2008 10:00:02 PM

JenJen, you are da bomb! Thanks so much for your answer (for which I had to say "duh" and slap myself on the forehead...)!!!

Reply to AuntNeicy

BB, on Friday June 27, 2008 11:54:19 PM

Supposedly, Windows XP already comes with 2.0 and should not need the installer engine added; however, I have a
Windows XP Media Center and this was initially true. I had no problems with the installer. Then several weeks ago, I began getting the referenced message infrequently, and then all the time. I went thru the update steps and was told I had the current update for the installer, yet the problem continues. Please help!!!!!!

Reply to BB

sania, on Sunday June 29, 2008 03:24:57 PM

The same thing is happenin to me.. im using xp. I was trying to uninstall eset security but failed. so i removed the folder but the file is still in my programs and features. can't remove it. tried all registry 'mechanics'. cant even use windows clean up utility

Reply to sania

Me, on Saturday July 26, 2008 01:59:17 AM

I had the same problem and FINALLY found the solution here:

http://www.winhelponline.com/...

Reply to Me

GaryB, on Thursday August 7, 2008 09:05:07 AM

Hello. Had similar issue with a client running Windows XP SP2 and pretty much worked through suggestions here to no avail.
What eventually got it working.
Under Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services
Right click on the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Service
Select Log In Tab
Select Log As "Local System account" and tick "Allow service to interact with desktop"
You'll get a message that settings wont take effect until you restart the service. To do this you'll need to reboot your PC.
After reboot installer service seems to behave itself again.
Took me 2 hours to find this so hopefully my pain will save someone some time.

Reply to GaryB

HOCH, on Monday November 10, 2008 11:14:39 AM

Thank you very much my dear friend, you saved my life.

I tried all the things like re register, re install installer, registery edit etc.

this is the only one worked for me

thank you thank you.

Reply to HOCH

greg, on Tuesday November 25, 2008 10:48:01 AM

Yeah, I had a similar problem with Installer on XP SP3, and the only thing that fixed it was to tick the interaction with desktop. This was not one of the top 10 solutions provided by microsoft. I had to figure this one out on my own.

Greg

Reply to greg

kholil, on Sunday February 1, 2009 12:43:13 PM

Hi Greg,

I can't get to administrative tools to follow your suggestion.

I tried everything else but nothing has worked.

Could you help please?

Cheers

Kholil Uddin

Reply to kholil

willy, on Tuesday January 6, 2009 04:17:14 PM

I have tried every method on this page, including yours. In addition, I also tried Microsoft's "solutions." None of these changed the behavior of my system in any way (including re-installing XP). I still get the error message whenever I try to install anything using MS installer service. I am using XP SP2. Like others, this problem was first intermittent, then persistent. Others have suggested it is a virus, but NOD32 finds nothing suspicious. I have been working on this for a month and am almost ready to throw the whole damned system away or scrubbing the disks. Unfortunately, that is not an option. I am a professional developer with over 3 million files on my system...including hundreds of very large programs that would take weeks (months) to re-install even if it worked, and I have no way of knowing if even THAT would work!

Reply to willy

Deo Galvano, on Friday January 9, 2009 01:20:14 PM

Hello GaryB,

I was delighted to read your solution for the problem that the Windows Installer Services cannot be accessed.

I was already very desperate and was on the breaking point to start all over again with format C and install Winsows all over again.

Thank you very, very much!!!

Greetings from The Netherlands

Reply to Deo Galvano

kholil, on Sunday February 1, 2009 12:34:55 PM

Hi Gary,

This may sound stupid but i can't find administrative tools anywhere.
Please help, I brought a new game but cannot install it.
I tried everyone elses suggestions!

Reply to kholil

Gambit, on Tuesday May 12, 2009 03:57:57 AM

Thanks man i did what you say and works perfectly !!
thanks

Reply to Gambit

Jon XP, on Tuesday June 2, 2009 07:22:36 AM

Gary B,

U ARE THE MAN! thanks for your advice I am able to resolve this issue which has taken me two whole days of googling!

Best Regards!

Reply to Jon XP

ARE3NA, on Monday August 25, 2008 09:16:13 PM

TOOK ME 3 HOURS TO FIX THIS SHAIT AND HERE IS THE SOLUTION FOR U THAT GET ERROR THAT IT CANT FIND THE PATH BLA BLA BLA

1. Download msiserver.zip and save it to Desktop.
http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/msiserver.zip

2. Unzip the file and extract msiserver.reg to the Desktop.
3. Right-click msiserver.reg and choose Merge.
4. Click Yes when asked for confirmation.
5. Restart Windows. (i DIDN´T :D) WORKED RIGHT AWAY

Reply to ARE3NA

Swarna, on Friday November 28, 2008 04:53:27 PM

It worked for me too .... Vista what a buggy software !!!!

Reply to Swarna

willemKaye, on Saturday December 6, 2008 02:04:56 PM

Hi,
i had this problems for months and tried everything, until i followed what you posted, and it worked!!!

Reply to willemKaye

arclight, on Thursday September 4, 2008 07:49:13 AM

GaryB, your solution worked for me. Had this problem for months!!!

Reply to arclight

Anth, on Wednesday September 10, 2008 03:08:11 AM

This workeD!!!

http://www.winhelponline.com/...

Reply to Anth

Shamshel, on Sunday October 19, 2008 11:04:35 PM

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315353

Worked

Reply to Shamshel

Diezel619, on Wednesday March 25, 2009 08:23:43 AM

Shamzel - thanks for that! I was looking every where for an MS KB article. Mines working now.

Reply to Diezel619

millertime199, on Wednesday May 13, 2009 09:11:47 PM

If the command msiexec\regserver does not work you can try msiexec /regserver and see if that works. If you get a mesage saying there is "...already an installation in progress" open task manager and end the "msiexec" process then try again.

Reply to millertime199

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