Hi

I am trying to install any program on my PC and i get "windows 11 the windows installer service could not be accessed" as you can see in the image here. This started a while back and i wonder how this can be solved. I have had a problem installing applications a while now.

Outro log dism.log

Hi Michael,

The Windows Installer service seems to have been deleted. Please follow the steps below to reinstate the service:

• Download w11-msiserver.reg.txt
• Rename w11-msiserver.reg.txt to w11-msiserver.reg
• Double-click w11-msiserver.reg and click Yes to confirm.
• Restart Windows.

Check the status of the Windows Installer service.

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Reference: Windows Installer Service Missing; Error “The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed”

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Hi Michael,

Please see if you start the Windows Installer service using the Services MMC, as mentioned by the Volunteer Moderator. If you receive an error when doing so, mention the error message here.

Also, run the following commands from an admin Command Prompt window and post the output here.

sc.exe qc msiserver

net start msiserver

sfc /scannow

sfc /scanfile=c:\windows\system32\msiexec.exe

Post the output.

Hi

i got the following

C:\Windows\System32>sc.exe qc msiserver [SC] OpenService FAILED 1060: The specified service does not exist as an installed service.

C:\Windows\System32>net start msiserver The service name is invalid. More help is available by typing NET HELPMSG 2185.

First check if the service is running and set it to start up correctly. Open the Run dialog box by pressing the Windows Key and R together, then type services.msc and press Enter. Scroll down the list until you find the item named Windows Installer and double-click it. In the properties window that opens, look at the service status section, click the Start button if it is currently stopped, and then click OK to save the changes.

If starting the service manually does not resolve the issue, you can re-register the installer engine through the command line to fix potential file mapping corruptions. Click on your Start menu, search for cmd, right-click the Command Prompt icon, and select the option to run it with administrative privileges. Once the black window appears, type the following command and press Enter to unregister the service components.

msiexec /unregister

After that command finishes, type the next command and press Enter to re-register the components back into the operating system.

msiexec /regserver

After executing both commands, close the window and restart your computer before attempting to run your software installation files again.

Another common cause for this error is corruption within the core system files, which can be repaired using built-in Windows diagnostic tools. Open the Command Prompt as an administrator again, type the system file checker command, and press Enter to scan for broken files.

sfc /scannow

Allow that process to complete fully, then input the deployment image servicing command to repair the underlying Windows image.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Restart your machine after both operations finish to ensure all repairs take effect.

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hth

Marcin