Attempt to install Desktop Experience failed with error code 0x8000FFFF in windows server 2008

This is a Windows Server 2008 hot issue found in the technet forum.

In Windows Server 2008, you want to install windows mail or windows media player, so you enable the desktop experience feature.
But later for somewhat reason, you disable the desktop experience feature. After that if you want to get this back, you will encounter an error:

<Error>: Attempt to install Desktop Experience failed with error code 0x8000FFFF. Catastrophic failure (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8000FFFF (E_UNEXPECTED))

This issue can be caused by windows updates: e.g. KB973540, KB968816, KB954155. After uninstalling them, desktop experience will be successfully enabled again. Then you can reinstall these updates.

The updates are for Windows Media Service. They were pushed through Windows Update when Desktop Experience is enabled and Windows Media Service is enabled. However, the updates were not removed together with Desktop Experience removal. When enabling Desktop Experience again, it will detect the files are newer, thus Desktop Experience failed to install.

Forum threads reference:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/winservergen/thread/2e0b2192-3a9f-4b35-8cf6-0ff5cb7c1452
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winservergen/thread/155ebac6-7695-49c2-a1be-8a8b5b5ef794
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsserver2008r2general/thread/ef2451e6-411c-44b3-9ab8-43afc88fbb7b
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/winservergen/thread/efeea383-4e67-4c50-9420-cdf28044e302

 

Edit: We have published a Knowledge Base article for this issue: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2500700/en-us

Comments

• Anonymous
  January 01, 2003
  You may check the KB released to Desktop Experience like Windows Media Service.

• Anonymous
  January 01, 2003
  @Marcus, you can check the update released to Desktop Experience like Windows Media Service, and uninstall them, then re-enable the desktop experience.

• Anonymous
  January 21, 2011
  Hi, I don't have either of these KBs installed on my server. Are there other KBs that could be causing this issue?

• Anonymous
  June 27, 2011
  Hi, I have exactly this problem, I have unistalled the updates as suggested without success, any other ideas? Thanks...M

• Anonymous
  May 29, 2013
  Doesn't work either.. .no KBs related to Desktop Experience or Windows Media.

• Anonymous
  May 26, 2014
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 08, 2014
  How about a novel concept... fix it! It's always, do this or do that, oh here's a workaround... No, just fix it. I wonder why Windows licensing is tanking. Instead of releasing a new version so you don't have to fix a problem, how about you have longer release cycles and fix the ***!