Thursday 18 August 2011

How to Solve “Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed”

How to Solve “Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed”


Windows Installer is a very important component of all Windows operating systems that is used to install, uninstall, and support applications and software. If the Windows Installer is corrupted or if the service has stopped for an unknown reason, then an error message comes up. The error message typically appears as: “The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running Windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance.”






The error message may happen if you are using Windows XP in Normal mode and the Windows Installer Service in Windows XP is damaged or unregistered. It can also occur if the default authentication level is set to None in the DCOM permissions, and the default Impersonation level is on Anonymous. The error might also occur if the Windows Installer is attempting to access a folder or registry key that the system account does not have Full permissions on, but this occurrence is only NTFS-specific.



Methods to Fix “Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed”



There are five specific methods to fix the error message: “Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed.” The method you use depends on the specific issue. Before you use these methods, verify that you have the service pack installed. For Windows 2000, SP2 should be installed. For Windows NT 4.0, SP6 should be installed. The methods may not be effective if the appropriate service pack is not installed. Below is a list and description of the five methods used to fix the error message.



Method 1: Unregister and re-register the Windows Installer



   1. Click on Start, then click Run. Type MSIEXEC /UNREGISTER and then click OK. It may look like nothing happens at this stage.
   2. Click on Start, then click Run. Type MSIEXEC /REGSERVER and then click OK. It still may look like nothing happens, or you may see an hourglass.
   3. The method is complete. Attempt to use your Windows Installer-based application again.



Method 2: Verify the DCOM Permissions



   1. Click on Start, then click Run. Type dcomcnfg and then click OK.
   2. Go to the Default Properties tab. Click Connect in the Default Authentication Level list. Click Identify and then click OK in the Default Impersonation Level list.
   3. Click on Start, then click Run. Type explorer /select, %windir%\system32\msisip.dll and then click OK.
   4. Rename the Msisip.dll file to Msisip.old.
   5. Reinstall the Windows 2000 Service Pack 3.



Method 3: Give Full Control Permission to the SYSTEM Account



   1. Start Windows Explorer. Right-click your computer’s root hard drive. Then click Properties.
   2. Click on the Security tab. Then click on Add.
   3. Click the SYSTEM account in the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box. Click on Add, and then click on OK.
   4. Click to select the Full Control check box under Allow. Then click OK.
   5. Click the TEMP folder and confirm that the SYSTEM account has full control.



Important Note for Method 4 and Method 5



Method 4 and Method 5 both entail using the registry. It is extremely important to back up the registry before completing these methods because there is a possibility that all of your files will be deleted when modifying the registry. If you back up the registry, then your files will be safe in case of an error.



Follow these steps to back up and restore the Windows registry:



   1. Click on Start, then click Run. Type regedit into the Open box. Click OK.
   2. Click on this registry hive: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.
   3. Click on Permissions on the Edit menu.
   4. Add SYSTEM to the Group or User Names list if it is not listed already. Then click Add.
   5. Verify that the local computer name is in the From this Location box.
   6. In the Enter the Object Names to Select box, type in system. Click OK.
   7. In the Group or User Names list, click on SYSTEM.
   8. Under Allow in the Permissions for SYSTEM box, select the Full Control check box.
   9. Click on Apply. Click OK. Exit the Registry Editor.



Method 4: Verify the Registry Permissions



   1. Click on Start. Click on Run. Then type Regedt32.
   2. Follow these steps for each of the registry hives:

a. Select the hive.

b. For Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4, click on Permissions on the Security menu. For Windows XP, click Permissions on the Edit menu.

   3. Confirm that the SYSTEM account has been added and that the account has Full control. If the SYSTEM account does not have Full control, then add the SYSTEM account with Full control.



Method 5: Fix the Broken Security Key for the MsiServer Service



   1. Start up the computer by using Windows 2000.
   2. Click on Start. Click Run. Type regedit.exe.
   3. Rename the key below to Old_Security: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSIServer\Security
   4. Restart your computer.
   5. Run Instmsiw.exe for installer 2.0 again.


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