Installation Error: 0x80040707

Question

Hello,

When trying to install three different games (from three different publishers) on my new Windows 7 OS, I receive the error message:

"Internal Failure: Error: 0x80040707 Description:(blank)"

I have browsed the forums on the Windows Support Site as well as the individual game publisher's support forums for suggestions, and have exhausted all options.

The steps I have taken are as follows:

1. Run setup.exe file with administrator privilages
2. Run setup.exe file in compatibility mode with operating system that I know the game has installed on before
3. Delete all temporary files and empty recycle bin before installing
4. Copy the contents of the game on to a folder on my hard drive and attempt to install from that location
5. Start computer in Safe Mode and attempt to install
6. Run an SFC scan (no integrity violations)
7. Update hardware drivers (already updated)
8. Contact individual game publishers for support (received one personalized response that basically referred me back to Windows support)
9. Any and every combination of the above options

Extreme frustration is beginning to set in. I installed these games on Windows XP on a different computer with no issue. Anyone out there have any suggestions? Please help! Thanks

Answer 1

I was still having problem even though all the above were setup properly in the registry.

One other thing you have to make sure is that the folders do exist where the path is configured to.

In my case, I didn't have a folder name "Startup" in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. After creating that folder, I was able to install the program as intended.

Hope this saves you some time and headaches. :)

Answer 2

I have just check the registry value and since they were all there about to look for other things to try. Then I saw your reply about making sure each folders are actually there. I was missing "Startup" in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. You are a life saver ! :)

Answer 3

Hi,

1. “When trying to install three different games” Which games are they?

2. Are you able to install any other application or program?

Let’s try the below steps and check:

Step 1: Check the minimum system requirements for those games to get installed.

Step 2: Check if the issue persists in clean boot state.

Putting your system in clean boot state helps in identifying if any third party applications or startup items are causing the issue.

Try the steps provided under Step 1 in the below article to put your computer in clean boot mode.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Step 3: This error may occur if there is a missing or invalid path in the registry.

Registry Disclaimer:

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

Let’s check for invalid registry entries and correct them.

a. Click on start button, type regedit.exe and press enter.

b. Go to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\User Shell

c. Check to see if the keys contain (at least) the following values in their Name and Data columns:

• Common Desktop = “%PUBLIC%\Desktop”

• Common Programs = “%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs”

• Common Startup = “%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup”

• Common Start Menu = “%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu”

d. If a key is pointing to an invalid path, follow these steps to correct it:

• Right-click the registry key whose path is invalid and select “Modify”.

• In the Edit String dialog, type a valid path in the Value data field.

• Restart the computer.

e. If a key is missing, follow these steps to create it:

• Right-click in an empty area of the right pane and select “New > String Value”.

• Type the name of the missing key, for example, Common Programs.

• Right-click the registry key you just created and select “Modify”.

• In the Edit String dialog, type a valid path in the Value data field.

• Restart the computer.

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Thanks and Regards

Umesh P - Microsoft Support. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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Answer 4

Thank you for the reply, Umesh.

1. The three games that have given me this error are Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 (published by Frontier & Atari), Baldur's Gate 2 (BioWare), and Sim City 3000 (Electronic Arts). All of these games loaded successfully on my old laptop, which only had a 1 GHz processor and 2 GBs RAM. The operating system was Windows XP.
2. Most other applications and programs have installed without issue, however on my first installation attempt of Microsoft Office 7, I received the exact same error message (0x80040707). The second attempt installed without any errors.

As for the three additional steps you suggested:

Step 1: My computer more than meets the minimum system requirements. My laptop has an m370 2.4 GHz processor, 6 GBs RAM, 400+ free GBs on my hard drive. My new operating system is Windows 7.

Step 2: The games still failed to install in a clean boot state.

Step 3: My registry key paths in the location (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\User Shell) contained the proper values in their Name and Data columns. My path had "User Shell Files" instead of just "User Shell."

Unfortunately, none of your suggestions corrected the problem. Can you think of anything else I might try? As I stated earlier, all of these games loaded on my old Windows XP OS. Thanks again.