"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.
>


If you're unable to get this resolved for your user account you might want to
log on with the Administrator account, create a new user account that's a member
of the administrators group, and see if the problem persists. If it doesn't
happen with the new account you might consider abandoning your old account and
copying your old files to the new account. Log on as Administrator and use the
procedure outlined in this article to copy files from one account to the other.

How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/811151

As noted in the article, you'll have to manually move email messages and
recreate any accounts.

Good luck

Nepatsfan