Thanks again - I'll have a read but it looks like nothing I have not seen
before. The problem is - I have no error message to go off of. Nothing.
Zip. Nada. It just fails to execute with no error or any other helpful
information whatsoever.

Mark.

"Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:

> 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/
> --
> 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" <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.
> >> >
>