MDT Deployment Application Return Code: 1603

Question

My MDT Deployment used to work fine however recently, most applications give a "1603" return code eror upon deployment. To increase verbosity of logging I added a function into the command line parameters within the application on MDT to create a log for example: "msiexec /i 7z2201-x64.msi /qn /l*v c:\windows\logs\7zip.log".

Some applications install successfully with no issue however within the log of the failed installation I am now seeing this error (Google Chrome is the example here) :

"Product: Google Chrome -- Error 1719. The Windows installer service could not be accessed. This can occur if the Windows Installer is not currently installed"

This doesn't really make much sense as other .msi applications are installing fine and I have checked and the Windows Installer Service is set to manual. The timestamps for the installations are also spaced out enough that I don't think stuff being installed at the same time would be an issue...

PLEASE HELP

Answer 1

Hi @Taylor Crowley ,

1, The command can be used in MDT if we can run it manually. I've done some tests. We may try to use the following command:

> msiexec.exe /i c:\7z2201-x64.msi /l*v c:\windows\logs\7zip.log /quiet

My test screenshots for your reference:

I have tested the command you provided on my test client. However, it didn't work. Can it be used in your environment?
The screenshots for your reference:

2, If this command still does not work. Please try to remove /quiet from the command before running it. In this way we will be able to see the reasons why the installation failed. For example(In this test, I don't have permission to modify c:\windows\logs\ so that the test fails):

3, For Error 1603, you may receive this error message if any one of the following conditions is true.

• Windows Installer is attempting to install an app that is already installed on your PC.
• The folder that you are trying to install the Windows Installer package to is encrypted.
• The drive that contains the folder that you are trying to install the Windows Installer package to is accessed as a substitute drive.
• The SYSTEM account does not have Full Control permissions on the folder that you are trying to install the Windows Installer package to. You notice the error message because the Windows Installer service uses the SYSTEM account to install software.

For more information, please refer to this link:
MSI installation error 1603 - Windows Server | Microsoft Learn

Looking forward to your feedback.

Best regards,
Cherry

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Answer 2

Hi @CherryZhang-MSFT

Within MDT the file location is predefined as seen here:

As you can see above this is the application I have set up for 7Zip on my MDT Deployment.

Running the command line locally on the server with the quiet command yields a successful silent install of the application:

All applications are set up the same way but only two of them manage to install however they are set up no differently

Answer 3

Hi @Taylor Crowley ,

1, According to the logs your provided, some applications install successfully with no issue, some applications did not install successfully with return code: 1603.
Please help confirm which installation packages that were not successfully installed are not corrupted. Try to install it manually. For example, Google Chrome, Keepass or Forticlient VPN…

2, Please try to install it use the setup.exe. This similar thread is for your reference:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MDT/comments/ayy8en/adobe_acrobat_2017_install_fails_during/
Note: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you understand the problem. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

Thank you for your time and patience!

Best regards,
Cherry