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Windows Installer (msiexec.exe) fails to start with Application Error 0xc0000142

Anonymous
2022-11-10T01:14:46+00:00

For some reason, Windows Installer has stopped working recently, showing the following error:

258951-image.png

This error shows when attempting to launch the Windows Installer manually. If I attempt to do so via the Windows Installer Service, it simply hangs there for a while before failing. I cannot unregister and re-register the service, as doing so means I need to launch msiexec.exe, and that simply fails. I have tried the following:

  • Using the sfc and dism commands
  • Running an in-place 'upgrade' of Windows
  • Deleting msiexec.exe and letting sfc replace it

Whenever msiexec fails, an event is generated in Event Viewer, which shows as follows:
258896-image.png

Anything I can find online usually has a piece of software I don't have installed causing the problem, or the same unregister and re-register commands which won't work for me.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-11-10T05:57:25+00:00

    This did not help, though I have found that the problem does not exist in Safe Mode. I have since found a crash dump, which shows the following:

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  2. Ramesh 176.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2022-11-10T06:49:59+00:00

    Primarily, the Safe mode disables your display driver and loads the basic display driver. As gdi32full.sys (a graphics-related module) is implicated in the event log, and the error doesn't occur while in Safe mode, I guess your display driver is the culprit. Please try reinstalling or updating the graphics drivers.

    The Safe mode loads a limited set of drivers/services. The SafeBoot drivers/services list is kept in the registry.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-11-10T06:36:28+00:00

    The problem persists upon disabling 3rd-party services, but msiexec functions as expected in Safe Mode. What does safe mode disable other than 3rd party services?

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  4. Ramesh 176.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2022-11-10T06:31:26+00:00

    Pls try disabling 3rd-party services as a part of the official clean-boot procedure.

    Try running msiexec.exe in a clean boot environment.

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  5. Anonymous
    2022-11-10T02:04:52+00:00

    Good day! I'm Raniel. I understand your frustration regarding this issue and I'll do my best to help.

    I suggest that you perform the additional methods on this article to troubleshoot the issue: https://thegeekpage.com/windows-installer-not-w...

    Another option is to enable the built-in administrator account to isolate the issue

    1. On the Windows sign-in screen, press and hold the Shift key, then select Power > Restart
    2. After your machine reboots, click on "Troubleshoot" under Choose an option
    3. Click on "Advanced options" > select "command prompt"
    4. On the command prompt window, type net user administrator /active:yes and press Enter
    5. Reboot your machine, then login to your admin account, and check if you'll encounter the same issue.

    Note: If you don't encounter the issue on the built-in administrator account, I suggest that you create a new user account (go through the steps under "My computer is in a workgroup") . Please refer to this article as a guide: https://support.microsoft.com/help/14039/window...

    I hope this helps. Good luck!

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