Re: All .msi Installers Fail Silently Unless "runas /user:Administ

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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/vista-the-windows-installer-service-could-not-be-accessed/
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Please use the Communities guidelines when posting. http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales/help/help_en-us.htm
Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson

"Mark_Melvin" <MarkMelvin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:7582C128-F726-4BD4-9145-A48B38D6BB72@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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/archive/2006/09/04/739820.aspx

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Please use the Communities guidelines when posting.
http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales/help/help_en-us.htm
Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson

"Mark_Melvin" <Mark_Melvin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:F507A6EB-5E6F-4CC7-8F38-642FE8135DE2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 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.
>
.

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