Well about 20 minutes and a 1.8GB (yes, "Giga") log file later - it still
doesn't work.

I kind of feel like I should not have run that script. What the heck did it
do - change permissions on pretty much everything to be default, or wide-open
to everyone?

Anyway, thanks for the reply but - any other ideas?

Mark.

"Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:

> Aaron Stebner's WebLog Solving setup errors by using the SubInACL tool to
> repair file and registry permissions:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archi...04/739820.aspx
>
> --
> Please use the Communities guidelines when posting.
> http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales...help_en-us.htm
> Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
> https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson
>
> "Mark_Melvin" <Mark_Melvin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:F507A6EB-5E6F-4CC7-8F38-642FE8135DE2@microsoft.com...
> > Hi There,
> >
> > I have a problem with my machine (Windows XP 32-bit SP3) that has just
> > appeared and I have tried everything I can possibly think of with no luck
> > (I
> > am quite computer literate...so you are not dealing with a noob here).
> > I'm
> > looking for some expert help here because it is driving me insane.
> >
> > So, the problem is I cannot install *anything* that uses Windows Installer
> > (.msi) under the covers. This includes many third party software packages
> > that I use, as well as Windows XP packages and updates themselves. What
> > happens when I run an .msi file is I see the Windows Installer dialog
> > briefly
> > flash up on the screen and nothing happens. There is no error or even any
> > event in my event logs, and if I run the .msi file using msiexec with all
> > logging and debug info turned on, I get nothing in the log file except a
> > single line indicating it started.
> >
> > The weird part is this just started to happen one dayu so obviously
> > something has changed on my system to screw things up. After much beating
> > my
> > head against the monitor and desk I attempted to run one of the failing
> > installers "as Administrator" and it worked. Wha..? I *am* an
> > administrator, so why does running it as Administrator make any difference
> > whatsoever?
> >
> > Anyway, the *only* way I can get anything based on Windows Installer to
> > install now is to open a dos prompt and type:
> >
> > runas /user:Administrator "msiexec.exe /i c:\full\path\to\installer.msi"
> >
> > This prompts me for my password and runs the installer just fine. But I
> > am
> > and always have been an adminstrator! I don't get it. Here is a list of
> > things I have tried recently to fix this:
> >
> > -Install all available Windows updates
> > -Remove all .NET versions and re-install as required
> > -Remove Silverlight
> > -Remove Windows Installer and re-install
> > -Update to Windows Installer 4.5 (I think that is what this is -
> > WindowsXP-KB942288-v3-x86.exe)
> > -Roll back to an earlier date
> > -Undo the roll back
> > -Install Windows XP SP3
> > -Yell and scream
> >
> > So, now I am posting here. The only possible thing I can think of that
> > may
> > have any bearing on this whatsoever is that originally my username did not
> > have a password associated with it. At some point in the past I changed
> > my
> > account to have a password associated with it and if I recall correctly
> > this
> > changed permissions on a bunch of files. My user password is now the same
> > as
> > the administrator password on this machine. The only thing I can think of
> > is
> > that some system file or directory got its permissions all screwed up and
> > is
> > the root of the problem. I'd be happy to provide any additional
> > information
> > if requested as I would love to solve this one. It is shortening my
> > life-span...
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> > Mark.
> >