Windows Installer 3.1 fails to install

Problem:
Windows Installer 3.1 fails to install from Windows Update.

Background:
I built my system about 3 yrs ago, and installed an legal Windows OEM cd of XP 1a . When SP2 came out I installed that. Everything was fine, but over the years the pc has gotten buggy. Norton Antivirus 2004 was not working right, the Security Center firewall could not be started, and other problems.

I thought about doing a complete reformat and reinstall but then found out about the Install/Repair option, so I did that. I read that SP2 had to be removed first, so I uninstalled that only, not Hotfixes or other updates. I followed this procedure with the Windows XP cd in the drive:
(I did the Install and not the Recovery )

On the Welcome screen I clicked "Install Windows XP ",
Clicked "Upgrade" in the box,
Accepted the License Agreement,
then I entered the Product Key,
then followed the rest of the instructions.

I can't get any farther than this in my updating. I have gone to Add/Remove and removed Installer 3.1, but it still won't install.

What can I do know?

TIA,
Kent

 

I should say everything seemed to update fine, except installing 3.1 seems to be the bug. Norton 2004 got fixed doing this and is working great.

 

Pete,
The Windows Installer 3.1 Redistributable (v2) did not work. I did it twice, once saving it and once running it.

When I ran it I got a message that said it had to stop Windows Installer and restart it, so I pressed 'continue'. It then started to update the system but gave me an "Access Denied" message, I clicked OK.
Then it gave me a "Setup Error" message saying "installation did not complete, select 'OK' to undo changes that have been made ", I clicked OK.
The Software Update Wizard runs, and then another Setup Error message that says "Windows Installer has been partially updated and may not work properly" I click OK and the computer shuts down and restarts.

Also I have Windows Update set to automatically get updates, and the icon is always there in the bar. It wants to keep updating for 3.1. Should I shut the updater off for now until I get this fixed?

This link is below, someone else having a different problem with Installer. It's suggested to do the SFC system file checker....will that help me?
http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=46917


Kent

 

If your XP CD is and upgrade, you need a previous version install CD or floppies, e.g. windows 3.1, 98, ME or 2K. First fdisk the drive from a win98 boot floppy, removing the c: partition and remaking it. Then reboot to the floppy and format the partition fat32. Install the previous version of windows and then run your XP OEM CD, which will now work.

If it's not an upgrade, just omit the use of the previous edition of windows. You could try doing all this from the XP CD, i,e. delete the partition and remake it before continuing, but some OEM CDs only run on 'new' computers without an OS, although yours doesn't sound like one.

 

I'm not sure I follow you sparrow. I'm not sure how to delete a partiton. I split my 120G hd into 5 partitons, C,E,F,H,I. Windows is on C. Do I delete the C drive?

 

Hello khallsten,

http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/howto-24.html how to run sfc.

I'm not sure what sparrow meant. Don't delete any partitions, especially not C that would mean an OS re install which seems a little drastic at this point

Regards - Charles

 

It's quite simple to delete the c: partition, which is the lowest numbered partition on the HDD. It's a good idea because of the multiple problems you described. It rewrites the system areas of the disk as well as removing the OS so you start with a clean slate.

If for some unlikely reason you made a single logical partition originally, removing the "c: drive" would have the same effect. Since you say you built the computer, I would be surprised if this applies to you, but you'll know,

It has NO effect on other areas (E,F,H,I) of the disk where you have hopefully stored your data. For the process to take effect you must reboot the computer unless you're using the XP CD, and then reinstall XP; the CD will reformat the partition anyway you tell it, NTFS or fat32, before it reinstalls XP.

Edit: Since you made the partitions, just use the same program to remove c:

 

Sparrow,

Maybe you need to reread the original post. khallsten is not having a problem installing Windows. The problem is with 'Windows Installer' (two completely different things).

B

 

Ahhh, thank you Mr. B.. I see what sparrow was trying to tell me. Yes I do not want to install Windows and reformat C: unless I have to. It's reassuring to know my whole hd will not be wiped if I do this just my C: drive. But that is why I have this problem with Installer now, because I decided to do the Repair/Install of Windows to get my Security Center working again.

Hey, (off topic,) would it be worth it to create a C: drive that just holds Windows XP? I have a Partition Commander program that I run once in a while to balance my drive sizes.....

Back to the problem, I ran the sfc /scannow and it got the buttons working on the Windows Installer properties box in the Services folder, they were greyed out. So I tried downloading and installing 3.1 again and it still failed. I also tried to install 3.0 and that failed.

I have searched around in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and do not find anything like this problem. Could it be some type of setting that causes the failure to install? I have tried installing with Norton shut off, and maybe I can install it in Safe Mode?

I went to Safe Mode and see a choice, called mmm, "Directory Services repair....something" Sorry I didn't write it down. Let me go back to Safe Mode and get it.

OK - it's called "Directory Services Restore Mode (Windows domain controller only) "
Would this be something that would help here? I do not know what it is or what would happen if I choose this in Safe Mode. Will it restore Services like Windows Installer?

 

Does this look like a program that would fix my problem?

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/395b6a42-335f-4559-8068-d11a40941dea1033.mspx

I am after all trying to install an updated Windows INstaller.. This taken from the web page is exactly what the error messages are telling me.

You can use Msicuu to correct the following installation failures:

• A Windows Installer installation, uninstallation, or rollback is interrupted or fails unpredictably. Because the installation did not complete successfully, Windows Installer will not uninstall or reinstall the program, or install any another programs.

• Registry entries for a product have been deleted or changed, damaging the operation of the products and preventing you from uninstalling or reinstalling the product.

 

khallsten,

The Windows Installer utility has fixed several different problems and I don't believe it would hurt to try it for your situation. My guess is... it will solve the problem.
As for your question about a C: partition for windows alone, personally that is my preference. I have Windows on C, programs on D, plus several other partitions for storage. I find it easier to 'image' smaller partitions for backup and recovery purposes. There are others on this board that prefer one large partition for everything. There's really no right or wrong it's just whatever works best for you. HTH

B

 

Hi Mr. B,

Correct if I'm wrong, but I think your answer should have been C: partition, which is what I think you meant, and I agree about OS only partitions, not drive in answer to this from khallsten Hey, (off topic,) would it be worth it to create a C: drive that just holds Windows XP?.

The OS would take up at the most 20 GB's. That's a lot wasted space if the OS was on a drive by itself, but up to the user.

Regards - Charles

 

Charles,

You are absolutely correct... I meant C: 'partition'. I edited the other post to reflect that fact. Thanks.

B

 

Re above: drive = disk = partition in most cases. Like HDD when I mean hardware.

Thought that more than enough reason to reinstall, but to each his own. Have always been impressed by how well things work after a clean reinstall, and do it about every yr. or so.

I have done the repair install, but for problems it's not been satisfactory, so I usually do the clean install if all the hardware drivers are on hand. Sometimes,if I have it, I'll use an image to restore the OS.

 

I think I shall do a clean re-install of Windows on the C: partition. Some questions and assumptions on my part before this happens...

Big question - Can I even do a re-install with an OEM cd of xp, or do I need to buy a new cd of Windows?

1: A clean reinstall to C: will wipe out all data on C: and install a fresh Windows XP OS, correct?

2: I have Partition Commander and would consider making C: smaller, to just hold the OS and a few GB's more, so how large would C: need to be, to run comfortably? ?

3: When should I resize C:, before the re-install or after?

4: I'm used to seeing programs automatically try to download to C:, and I can tell it to go to E:.. if I'm not around when my kids download something that automatically wants to go to C:, well,, is there some way to force downloads to go to another drive than C: ?

5: Where can I get more info about doing a re-install, or is it simple enough to follow the prompts on the Windows XP cd?

6: sparrow mentioned "hardware drivers on hand" so should I find my cd's that came with the printer, monitor, hard drive, cd burner and load them into one of the other partitions? Or will they work fine with default drivers until after the re-install, or even later...? I'm not so sure I can locate some of those discs, but I could try to get the drivers off the internet. What's best here?

 

Hello khallsten,

Big question - Can I even do a re-install with an OEM cd of xp, or do I need to buy a new cd of Windows?
The OEM disc should do, you will then be asked to activate it: http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.php

If its pre SP2, that will have to be installed on top.

1: A clean reinstall to C: will wipe out all data on C: and install a fresh Windows XP OS, correct?
Yes.

2: I have Partition Commander and would consider making C: smaller, to just hold the OS and a few GB's more, so how large would C: need to be, to run comfortably?
This thread I think will answer your question: http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=40176&highlight=Ideal+size

3: When should I resize C:, before the re-install or after?
Can be done afterwards, but I would do that before.

4: I'm used to seeing programs automatically try to download to C:, and I can tell it to go to E:.. if I'm not around when my kids download something that automatically wants to go to C:, well,, is there some way to force downloads to go to another drive than C: ?
I don't think you mean program installs - they would install to C anyway.

Where files are downloaded depends on where files were downloaded the last time - XP remembers. It really will take intervention to direct the download to partition and folder(s) if you want to change that.

One way to handle that is to have a special download folder on lets say E, and consistently direct all downloads to that folder and then disperse the contents where you will.

5: Where can I get more info about doing a re-install, or is it simple enough to follow the prompts on the Windows XP cd?
The cd will prompt - for more info: http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/

6: sparrow mentioned "hardware drivers on hand" so should I find my cd's that came with the printer, monitor, hard drive, cd burner and load them into one of the other partitions? Or will they work fine with default drivers until after the re-install, or even later...? I'm not so sure I can locate some of those discs, but I could try to get the drivers off the internet. What's best here?
You should find the original drivers that came with your system, and if there are updated drivers since, you should download them and have them at hand.

If you can't find updated drivers, there is an excellent chance that XP's will do. Usually, printers need specific drivers.

Regards - Charles

 

Thank you Charles, and everyone else. I checked out that link, and tonight I will do some resizing and move most software off C: , then do a clean XP install. My hdd is 120gb, so if I make C: 20gb that should give me enough space to accept software installs before finding a new partition to move them too.

I'll post back after I get this completed.

Kent

 

Nice summary, Chas., but

I've found it rare that a program can't be installed on d: or e: - anyware but c: . It usually takes three keystrokes when the installer shows where it thinks the program should go: home > d > del the 'c'.

If the installer doesn't have the path highlighted, you can hit browse first, and rarely it's necessary to chose custom for the installation.


To answer the question about kids, NO, there's no way to force installs away from c: , but you can remove the program and reinstall on d: yourself. Sometimes a simple program can be just moved to d:, but it's better to reinstall it there..

 

Hi sparrow,

I wasn't being very clear

Sure, software installations can be directed to the non C partition, but they do need intervention for that, and as far as I know can't be on auto pilot the way a C installation would be.

I've never run into a program that couldn't be installed on a non C partition - I have an OS on D, and it does default to D where the OS is. Programs always want to install to the partition that the OS is on.

Regards - Charles