How to resolve Common Windows Installer Problems:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555175/en-us
Error “The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed” in Windows
Vista:
http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/vi...t-be-accessed/
--
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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" <MarkMelvin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7582C128-F726-4BD4-9145-A48B38D6BB72@microsoft.com...
> 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.
>> >