Some users are faced with the fact that applications are not installed and a message pops up saying that the Windows installer is not installed or is not running. How to solve this problem and install the necessary utility will be described in this article.

Checking if the service is running

One of the main reasons for such failures is stopping the installer service. To check this, you need to launch the Run utility, which can be done through Start, and then enter the services.msc command into it, which can be seen in the image.

After this, a window will open in which all services, both active and not, will be displayed. You need to find a service called " InstallerWindows" and open it. The parameters should be the same as in the picture.

In seven you can try changing the startup type to automatic; in eight this action is not available. If the user changes the startup type, the device should be rebooted after this. However, you should try to run it in both versions. Then you need to start installing the program again.

Correcting errors manually

If the previous method did not help correct the situation, then you can re-registration of the service on one's own. To do this, you will need to run the console as an administrator. This can be done through the Start menu. IN command line will need to enter the following operators:

Such commands are required for 32-bit operating system. And these will need to be used for 64-bit Windows. After completing the work you will need to make restarting the device and try again to install the necessary utilities. The installer service should start.

Using the registry to reset parameters

It is also possible that the error lies in the registry. You can use one of the programs to recover records, but it is not a fact that they will help. It is better to open the registry editor yourself and find the following entry there:

This folder should check the ImagePath entry, the value of which should be the same as in the image. If this is not the case, then it is worth editing it.

For 64-bit operating systems, it is also worth carrying out file checkWOW64. There should be a hexadecimal number system, and the value should be 0.

After editing the registry, you should restart your computer and check its functionality.

Windows Installer- a service responsible for installing, removing and modifying *.msi format programs on your computer. If you try to install a program and receive the error message "Cannot access the Windows service Installer. Windows is running in protected mode or the Windows Installer service is not installed correctly. Contact support", use the guide below to fix the normal operation of this service. There may be several reasons for the problem, so we will consider each case separately.

Access to the Windows Installer service is denied because you are under account with disabilities. Try installing the program with administrator rights.

The Windows Installer service is not running. Check your service settings:

1. Go to “Control Panel” -> “Administration” - “Services”

2. In the “Services” window we find: “ Windows Installer"(or "Windows Installer") and double-click on it.

3. In the window that appears, on the “General” tab, make sure that in the Executable file field the following is indicated:

C:WINDOWSsystem32msiexec. exe /V

In the Startup type field, “Manual” is selected.

On the Dependencies tab, under This service depends on the following components, there should be "Remote Procedure Call (RPC)".

Check the program association for files with the extension. msi

Open “Control Panel” -> “Folder Options”, go to the “File Types” tab.

Highlight the MSI extension and click the Advanced button. There should be three actions in the Actions section: Restore, Delete, Install. If they don't exist, you need to create them.

Action: &Restore the application executing the action:

"C:WINDOWSSystem32msiexec. exe" /f "%1 %*

Action: &Delete the application performing the action:

"C:WINDOWSSystem32msiexec. exe" /x "%1 %*

Action: Install an application that performs the action:

"C:WINDOWSSystem32msiexec. exe" /i "%1 %*

Register msiexec

Go to “Start” -> “Run”, type the command: msiexec /unregister and click “OK”. Then run the command in the same way: msiexec /register

After the above steps, the problem should be resolved.

Windows installer error is one of the most common pop-up problems encountered by users of the Windows operating system.

The error may appear regardless of your OS version.

Reasons for the error

You can scan the OS using the Sfc /scannow command. You need to enter it into the command line window.

You can also launch the command line in two other ways:

• Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt.
• Start -> Run and enter the program name cmd.exe

In a few minutes you will be provided with detailed information about OS disks, corrupted files, problems with services and other system programs.

The command line will not only find corrupted and corrupted files, but also replace them with functional ones.

After scanning, close the command prompt and reboot your personal computer or laptop. Try running the installation process of any executable file.

Microsoft also offers users an automatic utility that can solve the problem with the installer.

Go to the web address of the company's official website https://support.microsoft.com/ru-ru/mats/program_install_and_uninstall

In the window that opens, click on the “Run Now” button. The utility will restore the correct configuration of the installer.

It is worth noting that the utility does not work with the eighth version of the operating system.

Configuring installer access to msi files

The installation problem may be caused by the installer not having access to msi files. The user can resolve this problem independently.

Follow the instructions below:

• Find your installation file and right-click on it;
• Select the properties window;
• Go to the security settings tab;
• In the groups or users text box, check to see if there is a user named "system". If it is not there, you need to add the user manually;

• To add a new user, click on the Edit button and then on the Add button;
• In the text field for the names of the selected object, write the word “system” (without quotes). If you are using the English version of the operating system, enter the word System;
• The entered word should instantly become underlined, as shown in the figure below;

• Check the box next to Full access and now click on the OK button;

The installer will now be able to access executable file. The installation should complete without problems.

Please note that in some cases antivirus software may block access to the installation file.

To solve this problem, you need to log into the operating system under an administrator account, turn off the antivirus and enable compatibility with other OS versions in the antivirus properties settings, as shown in the figure below.

Windows Installer Error - Troubleshooting

Errors when installing applications from files with the .msi extension are one of the manifestations of problems with the Windows Installer service (in the Russian version, the Windows Installer). Users of all versions of this OS, with the exception of the earliest ones, encounter a similar phenomenon. Until now, the problem with the installer is one of the common reasons why users decide to reinstall the system. Let's try to figure out how to avoid this. The reason that Windows Installer does not work may be the following:

• viral infection, and removing the virus does not always solve the problem;
• incorrect installation Windows updates;
• a malfunction of the security software when, instead of blocking one suspicious msi file, the installation service is blocked entirely;
• changes in computer security policies;
• damage system files or the registry for reasons not related to viruses (removal of installer components, unqualified editing of the registry, crooked software, malfunction hard drive etc.).

Checking the integrity of the Windows Installer structure

The Windows Installer consists of the following components:

• file C:\Windows\System32\Msiexec.exe - directly by the installer application itself;
• file C:\Windows\System32\msi.dll - Windows Installer library;
• Msiserver service, whose settings are stored in the registry key.

Before diagnosing, it is important to make sure that both of these files are present in the system, that the above section is in the registry and its parameters have normal values ​​(the values ​​can be viewed in the registry of a similar, working system). Also open the list of services (press Windows + R and enter the command services.msc in the "Open" line of the "Run" application). Find "Windows Installer" and make sure it starts. If the files are missing, copy them from another system of the same version or from the installation disk. If a registry key is missing or damaged, also move it from working system. To do this, on a working computer, run the registry editor (C:\Windows\Regedt.exe) and find the above section. Right-click the context menu of the msiserver folder and click "Export". Save the file in .reg format and transfer it to the problem machine. Double-click this file and agree to add data to the registry. Restart your computer. If the Msiserver service still does not start, check that the RPC (Remote Procedure Call) service on which it depends is running. You can re-register the installer files and restart the service using a set of special commands on the command line. For convenience, you can create a batch file: paste a set of actions into Notepad and save it as a .bat extension. To launch a file, simply double-click on it. For the changes to take effect, click on the desktop and press F5.

Checking security settings and access rights

Windows Installer may not work because it is blocked by security software or the operating system does not have the necessary rights. First, let's look at the software. If you have an antivirus installed, temporarily disable it. Each product has its own methods of disabling, but most often this is done through the context menu of the antivirus icon in the system tray. Now let's take care of the rights. Open the context menu of Msiexec.exe and expand its properties. View the list of groups and users on the Security tab. Among them must be “System” and the “Trustedinstaller” service, and the latter must have full access to the file and be its owner. The system must have "read" and "read and execute" permissions. The Trustedinstaller service first appeared in Windows Vista, so in Windows XP full access must be granted to the system. Everything written below applies to versions released later than XP. To check who owns Msiexec.exe, click the "Advanced" button on the same tab. In the next window, expand the "Owner" tab. Set the owner to the Trustedinstaller service if something else is specified as the owner. If it is not in the "Change owner to" list, click the "Change" button, and then click "Other users and groups." Enter Trustedinstaller in the "Enter names..." field, click "Check names" and OK. Return to the previous window. On the "Effective Permissions" tab, assign the necessary rights to Trustedinstaller and the system. The msi.dll library should have exactly the same security settings. Now let's check if there are any restrictions for the "System" user to access the following:

• system drive (usually drive C);
• temporary folders (these are C:\Windows\Temp and C:\Users\Current_User\AppData\Temp);
• folder C:\Config.Msi;
• the folder where the msi file from which you are trying to install the program is located.

The system must be given full access to all these objects. This is done in the same way as we discussed above. After these operations, in most cases the problem with the installer is successfully resolved. If our advice did not help you, the cause of the failure lies in something else and specialists should deal with it.

I have had a couple of laptops damaged by “optimizers” and filled with programs installed together with them. Inexperienced users still believe in “optimizers” and don’t look at the checkboxes when installing, but that’s not the point. After cleaning, I started updating the software and unexpectedly (for the first time in my life) encountered the following error during installation:

The Windows Installer service could not be accessed. Windows Installer may not be installed. Contact support for assistance.

The error occurred during installation from msi (for which the service itself, among other things, is responsible). Maybe the service is turned off? We go to Control Panel - Administration - Services and do not find the one we need in the list. Did the optimizers optimize? We google for a long time, read a bunch of advice that doesn’t apply, study the question along the way and come to the following:

1. Let's check whether Windows Installer actually exists on the system. Press Win+R, in the “Run” window that appears, write msiexec, click OK. If the Windows Installer Help window opens, the service is in place. But why is it not in the list of services?
2. Let’s re-register the service in the system: open the “Run” window (Win+R) and write msiexec /unregister , then “Run” again and msiexec /regserver .
3. Go to Services (Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Services), find “Windows Installer” (Windows Installer for the English version).
4. Everything is ok. We check by installing from msi. If not, then my method did not help you, Google will help.