Repairing the Windows Installer service on a 64-bit OS

Article
2006-07-20

A customer recently contacted me due to a problem they were experiencing while trying to install the .NET Framework 2.0 on the x64 version of Windows Server 2003. I took a look at the verbose log file for this scenario and saw the following error:

Action start 9:16:59: CA_InstallAssembly.3643236F_FC70_11D3_A536_0090278A1BB8.
MSI (s) (B0:F8) [09:17:03:906]: Product: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 (x64) -- Error 1719.The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running Windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance.

Usually when I see error 1719, I recommend that the user try to repair the Windows Installer service. However, in this case, that didn't seem to help, and I had to refer this customer to the Microsoft technical support team for further assistance.

Our technical support team looked at this scenario in more detail and found that there was an additional set of steps needed to repair the Windows Installer service on a 64-bit OS.

Here is a complete set of steps that should allow you to repair the Windows Installer service on a 64-bit OS:

Click on the Start menu, choose Run, type cmd and click OK
Run this command: %windir%\system32\msiexec.exe /unregister
Run this command: %windir%\syswow64\msiexec.exe /unregister
Run this command: %windir%\system32\msiexec.exe /regserver
Run this command: %windir%\syswow64\msiexec.exe /regserver
Restart the computer

After executing all of the above steps, you can try to re-run the failing setup and hopefully get better results.

Note that this workaround is documented in this knowledge base article, but the extra steps that are needed on 64-bit operating systems are somewhat buried in the middle of that article and can be easy to miss.

Comments

Anonymous
April 30, 2008
here is the solution when everying else fails:I suddenly became unable to install some applications. Whenever I would try,I would get the following:"Error 1719. The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This canoccur if you are running Windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer isnot correctly installed. ..."The solutions I found in the MS KB were not effective for me.solutionThe paths I use assume that Windows is installed in the C:WINDOWS folder. Change thepath to match your installation if necessary.In Registry Editor, navigate to:HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesMSIServerthen change the DisplayName value to:C:WINDOWSSysWOW64msiexec.exe /VClose registry editor, then register the installer by opening a commandprompt and running:C:WINDOWSSysWOW64msiexec.exe /regserver
- Anonymous
  November 06, 2016
  Where can you find HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesMSIServer in the Registry editor?
  - Anonymous
    November 07, 2016
    Hi Random - You can run regedit.exe, then use the tree view on the left of the Registry Editor tool to expand Computer, then HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then SYSTEM, then CurrentControlSet, then Services, and you should find msiserver as a child of the Services node.
    - Anonymous
      January 13, 2017
      neither HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesMSIServer and C:WINDOWSSysWOW64msiexec.exe /V not exist
      - Anonymous
        January 17, 2017
        Hi 251ad12 - I'm not sure how it would be possible for the registry key at HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSIServer and the file at C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64\msiexec.exe to be missing from your PC. That registry key and file should be installed as a part of Windows and there isn't a way to uninstall them.Here are some steps that you can try to repair Windows to see if that will restore this registry key and file:1. Install the latest Windows service pack and updates if you haven't yet.2. Try to run the System Update Readiness Tool from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947821.3. Try to repair the files that are a part of your OS by using the steps listed at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2007/03/26/how-to-repair-the-net-framework-2-0-and-3-0-on-windows-vista.aspx.If none of the above help, you might need to repair/re-install Windows to fix this type of error. It might also help to post a question on one of the Windows forums at http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows to see if someone there has any additional suggestions for you to try before you resort to re-installing Windows.
Anonymous
January 15, 2011
THANK YOU.I struggled for hours trying to get this repaired - all I could find was the re-registering of the System32 versions and not the sysWOW64 versions. This fixed ALL my installation issues.THANK YOU.
Anonymous
May 30, 2012
This also fixed my issue, on Win7 64 bit. After cleaning up a bad SQL Server 2005 install & registry editing, the Windows Installer service was hosed. I tried everything else... The secret was, as the other commenter observed:In Registry Editor, navigate to:HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesMSIServerthen change the DisplayName value to:C:WINDOWSSysWOW64msiexec.exe /VClose registry editor, then register the installer by opening a commandprompt and running:C:WINDOWSSysWOW64msiexec.exe /regserverAfter I rebooted, everything worked again! (It didn't work before reboot)
- Anonymous
  March 02, 2016
  thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks
Anonymous
July 04, 2012
Excellent work Aaron!Successfully installed SQL Server 2005 on Windows 7 64bit without a hitch.
Anonymous
July 22, 2012
In Registry Editor, navigate to:HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesMSIServerthen change the ImagePath value to: (Do not change the DisplayName value ^^)C:WINDOWSSysWOW64msiexec.exe /V
Anonymous
January 16, 2013
Thanks......this is the only solution which worked....
Anonymous
January 31, 2013
when i am installing ms office i will get this below message please give some solution for this ......"error 1719. this windows installer service could not be accessed. this can occur if the windows installer is not correctly installed.contact your support personnel for assistance."
Anonymous
February 01, 2013
Hi Nicholas - What version of Windows are you running when you see this error? If it is Windows Vista or newer, then I'd suggest trying the steps in the Knowledge Base article at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495 and the blog post at blogs.msdn.com/.../10165211.aspx.
Anonymous
April 27, 2013
FINALLY a solution that works on Windows 7 64-bit!! I thank you VERY much.
Anonymous
May 27, 2013
THANK YOU!
Anonymous
September 07, 2013
how do I get to the registry editor? Where do I find it?
Anonymous
September 08, 2013
Hi Sue - You can run regedit.exe to launch the registry editor.
Anonymous
November 01, 2013
Finally your solution worked Thanks
Anonymous
January 31, 2014
Thank you all,Worked for me As belowWindows key and R , in the opened Run window type regeditIn Registry Editor, navigate to:HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesMSIServerthen change the ImagePath value value to:C:WINDOWSSysWOW64msiexec.exe /VClose registry editor,Press windows key and type cmd in search. when cmd opens copy the below locationC:WINDOWSSysWOW64msiexec.exe /regserverPress enter and RebootAfter I rebooted, everything worked again! (It didn't work before reboot)
Anonymous
March 16, 2014
I followed Aaron Stebner's instructions to a T, and it worked. After trying to re-install my Windows Installer for 3 years, IT WORKED! Thank you, Aaron.
Anonymous
March 25, 2014
how do U change the system path without changing the msiexec.exe for windows 7 ultimate 64 bit system
Anonymous
March 25, 2014
I tried the above and found I didn't have CurrentControlSet/Services/MSIServer at all.I coun't even find msiexec.exe. Can U please help me.
Anonymous
March 26, 2014
Hi darleneartist - Windows Installer (which includes msiexec.exe and the MsiServer service) is a part of the OS on all versions of Windows. I don't know how to explain why you're not seeing that file or service registered on your computer. You might want to try to repair the files that are a part of Windows by using steps like the ones at blogs.msdn.com/.../how-to-repair-the-net-framework-2-0-and-3-0-on-windows-vista.aspx. Those steps refer to the .NET Framework, but they apply equally to all files that are a part of Windows.Those steps won't restore the service registration though, so you might need to manually re-create the service registration by adding the keys with regedit.exe. You can look at the keys in regedit on another Windows 7 PC to see what they need to look like.
Anonymous
April 09, 2014
friend. do these steps work in windows 7 64-bit ??????????????????????????????????????? if they don't let me know plz
Anonymous
April 10, 2014
Hi Aarya - The /unregister and /regserver commands appear to work, but do not actually do any re-registration on Windows 7. There is a knowledge base article at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495 with some steps you can use to re-register the Windows Installer service on Windows 7.
Anonymous
April 29, 2014
Just had this problem and tried Aaron's solution but it did not work. Luckily, Jimmyklrn's solution did. I'm glad that for some, Aaron's advice worked though. Thanks to both Aaron and Jimmyklrn!
Anonymous
June 10, 2014
it worked for me!!!thanks alot Aaron!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous
July 01, 2014
Hi i have window 8.1 and i am looking for window installer for window 8 but i am not getting please suggest me how to get the window installer
Anonymous
July 01, 2014
Hi abhishek - The latest version of Windows Installer is included as a part of the OS on Windows 8 and 8.1, and there shouldn't be any need for you to install it separately.
Anonymous
July 02, 2014
I tried all the above suggestions. Restarted my system after each try, but it still doesn't allow me to install or uninstall any application.Any suggestion is most welcome.System is windows 64 bit home premiumAnother thing I noticed was that the services are not visible in extended view , but appear properly in standard view.
Anonymous
July 02, 2014
I tried all the above suggestions. Restarted my system after each try, but it still doesn't allow me to install or uninstall any application.Any suggestion is most welcome.System is windows 64 bit homeAnother thing I noticed was that the services are not visible in extended view , but appear properly in standard view.
Anonymous
July 02, 2014
Hi John - What is the exact error message that you see when you try to install/uninstall applications on your computer? Also, you said that you have Windows 64-bit Home, but what exact version of Windows is it - Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, etc?
Anonymous
July 02, 2014
Hi Aaron, thanks for replying. You are doing a great job.I am using Windows 7.The common error is "The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running Windows in safemode, or if the Windows Installer is not correctlyinstalled. Contact your support personnel for assistance."For some application it says that the files are missing.I am guessing that the installer is corrupted, but I don't know how I should go about it.Any help is appreciated...Thanks !
Anonymous
July 04, 2014
Hi John - I'd suggest trying the steps in the knowledge base article at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495 to see if they help solve this problem on your computer.
Anonymous
July 11, 2014
Hi Aaron, sorry it took me long to reply.I have already tried the steps on that link.I am able to start msinstaller, but whenever trying to install or uninstall a MSI based software, I get MSI 1015 warning and 1014 error.Also I am not able to start IE, can these both issues be related ?My IE flashes for a msec and exits.Thanks for your help !
Anonymous
July 12, 2014
Hi John - Based on those symptoms, it sounds like Windows Installer isn't correctly installed on your computer. If the steps in the knowledge base article didn't help, then the only other thing I know of to do to solve that type of problem is to repair/re-install Windows.I'm not very experienced with troubleshooting Internet Explorer issues, but I'd suggest trying to install/repair the latest version of IE (which is IE 11) on your computer to see if that helps resolve that issue.
Anonymous
July 21, 2014
i can not find the MSIServer in the register edit what can i do ????
Anonymous
July 22, 2014
Hi mohamed tohamy - The repair steps for this problem are different depending on what version of Windows you have on your PC. What version do you have on your PC?
Anonymous
August 05, 2014
Why I can not find the MSIserver in the register edit, my PC version Win7 prof 64 bit..can you help me..thanks before..
Anonymous
August 06, 2014
Hi atvir - I'm not sure why you're not seeing that information in your registry. This is where it is located on my Windows 7 64-bit PC: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetservicesmsiserver.Are you seeing specific errors when trying to install .msi files on this computer?
Anonymous
August 09, 2014
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
August 09, 2014
Hi Controller44 - I'd suggest trying the repair steps listed at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495 to see if they help solve this problem.
Anonymous
August 10, 2014
Hello. Thanks for replying so quickly. I have tried the steps in that post. They ask me to save the file I stated above as "Msirepair" on my desktop in Notebook and then right click the saved file and press run and to follow the prompts. When I right click I do not get the ability to "run" or the prompt to identify "administrator" credentials. The only thing on the drop down menu when I right click is to Merge, merge with what? When I physically search for the file "Msiserver" it isn't in my system at all. From the "regedit" My "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetservices" goes from "msisadrv" to "Msiscsi" then "Mskssrv". It is strange that I have had this computer for 6 years and the entire file just suddenly disappears. Thanks for your time, if you can help it would be much appreciated.
Anonymous
August 10, 2014
Sorry, the file saved on my desktop was saved as "Msirepair.reg".
Anonymous
August 10, 2014
Hi Aaron..thanks for your solution.Finally I successfully install ms office 2013 on win7 64 bit..
Anonymous
August 11, 2014
Hi controller44 - That step in the knowledge base article isn't correct. You should right-click on the file and choose Merge to add the information to your registry. Hopefully this helps.
Anonymous
August 11, 2014
I apologize Aaron for not being clear and taking up so much of your time. I did try to merge to no effect as my computer did not have the file to merge with. When merge was selected it just opened the file as a Notebook Document. Again, sorry I am so challenged.
Anonymous
August 12, 2014
Hi controller44 - Sorry that I misunderstood your previous reply. I'm not sure why the Merge menu item didn't work correctly. What happens if you just double-click on msirepair.reg? Also, can you please double-check that the file isn't actually named msirepair.reg.txt? Windows has a setting that will cause it to hide file extensions for known file types, and that can cause .txt files to not have ".txt" on the end of them.
Anonymous
August 12, 2014
Thanks for the info, I never thought to confirm it wasn't saved as .reg.txt. But no it wasn't.Properties shows the file as .reg and lists it as a registry file. When I double click the file opens as a notebook document, same as when I merge. I looked for the file in HKEY again and there is nothing more than what was stated a couple of posts ago. I very much appreciate your efforts and do not want to monopolize your time. I'll keep searching and if I find a solution I will post it here for all.
Anonymous
August 12, 2014
Hi controller44 - It sounds like the file registration for .reg files might not be working correctly on your computer. Does it work if you right-click on msirepair.reg, choose Open With, then choose regedit.exe?
Anonymous
August 13, 2014
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
August 13, 2014
Hi controller44 - Can you please try these steps and see if they help? Right-click on msirepair.reg and choose Open with. Click the Choose default program... option. Click the Browse... button. In the Browse dialog, go to c:windows, choose regedit.exe, and click Open. Select Registry Editor in the list of programs afterwards.
Anonymous
August 15, 2014
Well Aaron you are a genius. My registry now has a msiserver folder with appropriate files. Thank you very much for your assistance.
Anonymous
August 15, 2014
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
September 25, 2014
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
September 26, 2014
Hi ron - The /unregister and /regserver commands do not do anything in versions of Windows starting with Windows Vista. There are some alternative repair steps listed at support.microsoft.com/.../2438651 that replace those commands on newer versions of Windows.However, in most cases, the type of error that you're seeing is caused by a problem with the application's setup program and not with Windows Installer itself. The knowledge base article that I linked in the previous paragraph contains information about how to enable verbose logging so you can try to reproduce the setup failure with logging enabled and then hopefully use the log to narrow down the root cause. You can also search on the application manufacturer's web site to see if they have any known issues or workarounds for the installation issue that you're seeing.
Anonymous
October 22, 2014
Hi,in my case the file msi.exe was no present on %windir%syswow64 folder.Juste copy the file from another w7x64 laptop and the software installation works fine.Best regards.
Anonymous
November 02, 2014
Hi guys.This is what i did to resolve my issue.I Changed reg key HKLMSYSTEMCURRENTCONTROLSETSERVICESMSIServer - ImagePath to C:WINDOWSsystem32msiexec.exe /V then followed the steps above except at number 6 I just restarted the service. Sorted.Hope this helps.
Anonymous
January 08, 2015
Hi Aaron,I've ended up here having pretty much exhausted MS Fixits etc. I use W7 Prof. A few months back Windows updates started reverting and on closer inspection dot net updates were choking on not being able to access the Windows Installer. I got wrapped up in trying to fix dot net and uninstalled some of it before further investigations revealed the error 1719 was affecting other software installs. I did however get all other WUs installed.I've run MS Fixits, registry merges, checked settings for WI in services, sfc and actions in the thread above. Still getting the error 1719. I really want to avoid Windows repairs or installs as life is too short to keep retraining Windows. Is there any other diagnostics I can run to see what the problem/solution is?Thanks,Gary
Anonymous
January 08, 2015
Hi gjw - If you haven't yet, I'd suggest trying to use the steps listed at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495 to reset the Windows Installer service settings on your computer. If that doesn't help and if the other Fix-its that you've tried didn't help, then I don't know of any other options aside from repairing Windows itself. It might also help to post a question on the Windows 7 forum at answers.microsoft.com/.../windows_7 to see if someone there has any additional suggestions for you to try before you resort to repairing Windows.
Anonymous
January 11, 2015
Hi Aaron,Thanks - 2642495 - yes been there and done that. I've looked through the content at your second link and can see that there's a lot of people with the same problem not getting anywhere either. Didn't inspire confidence that investing time would get a return.Thanks again for casting your eye over my problem.Cheers,Gary
Anonymous
January 22, 2015
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
January 23, 2015
Hi Scott - Are there any errors or warnings reported in the Application Event Log on this PC when you run this command? Hopefully there are, and if so, they should help narrow down the root cause of this issue further. If you find any, please reply back here and copy/paste the information so I can take a closer look.
Anonymous
January 27, 2015
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
January 28, 2015
Hi timzee - Do you see this type of error only for the Blackberry desktop software, or do you see it for all .msi-based setup programs? If it is only for the Blackberry desktop software, I'd suggest contacting the manufacturer to see if they have any known issues or patches that you can try. If it is for all .msi-based setup programs, then it might help to try to use the steps at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495 to repair the Windows Installer service, and if that doesn't help, then you might need to repair Windows to fix that type of problem.
Anonymous
February 01, 2015
is this work for xp sp2 64? i mean. edit the registry for resolve windows installer problem
Anonymous
February 02, 2015
Hi julius sachs - Yes, these steps should work for the 64-bit version of Windows XP. There are also some steps for Windows XP systems at support.microsoft.com/.../315346 that might help you in this scenario.
Anonymous
February 22, 2015
hi, i sould work for the 64-bit version of Windows XP.
Anonymous
March 21, 2015
Dear Aaronmy windows installer in running which i have checked from regserver and i alsodid what solution you have provided but i am too much frustrated from this problemand it is not fixed yet...
Anonymous
March 23, 2015
Hi rj - If you haven't yet, I'd suggest trying the repair steps listed at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495. If those steps don't work either, then I'd suggest posting a question on one of the Windows forums at answers.microsoft.com/.../windows and hopefully someone there will be able to provide additional troubleshooting steps for you to try.
Anonymous
April 16, 2015
hello aaron i am running windows 7 64 bit. i followed the instructions of HKey_localmachine typed above. I am now at msiserver what do I do now?
Anonymous
April 17, 2015
Hi Patrick - There are more detailed repair steps for Windows 7 in the knowledge base article at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495. Can you try those steps and see if they help on your PC?
Anonymous
May 05, 2015
HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesMSIServerChange the ImagePath > work fine thanks :)
Anonymous
May 18, 2015
Hi Aaron, I am using Windows 7. The common error is "ERROR 1719: The windows installer services could not beaccessed this can occur if the windows installer is not installed contact contact your support personnel for assistance" installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance." For some application it says that the files are missing. Any help is appreciated... Thanks, Rajasekhar.
Anonymous
May 18, 2015
I am using Windows 2008 64-bit . The common error is "ERROR 1719: The windows installer services could not beaccessed this can occur if the windows installer is not installed contact contact your support personnel for assistance" installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance." For some application it says that the files are missing. Any help is appreciated... Thanks, Rajasekhar.
Anonymous
May 18, 2015
Hi Rajasekhar - I'd suggest trying the repair steps listed in the knowledge base article at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495 to see if they help in your scenario. If those steps don't work, then I'd suggest posting a question on one of the Windows forums at answers.microsoft.com/.../windows to see if someone there can provide additional workarounds for you to try.
Anonymous
May 26, 2015
Worked like a charm Thx!!!
Anonymous
May 30, 2015
how do i change the image path? plz help
Anonymous
June 02, 2015
Hi Prashant - There is information at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495 about how to change the image path for the Windows Installer service. Hopefully this helps in your scenario.
Anonymous
June 20, 2015
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
June 21, 2015
Hi Charles - The steps in this blog post will not work on Windows Vista or any newer version of Windows. If you have Windows Vista or newer, then I'd recommend trying the steps at support.microsoft.com/.../2642495 instead of the steps in this blog post. If you have a version of Windows that is older than Windows Vista, then the steps in this blog post should still work fine, and I'd recommend double-checking that you typed the command exactly as it is written above in this blog post. If you still get the error after double-checking that, then can you please post a screenshot of the exact error that you're seeing so I can take a closer look?
Anonymous
August 04, 2015
YEAH! My W7 64 bits lost acces after installing a SSD and cloning OS to it, including backup remounting. I followed the steps to change the path for the MSi server, i found this: Description: @%SystemRoot%system32msimsg.dll,-32 Image path: @%SystemRoot%system32msiexec /V Which I, accordingly to the instructions above, have changed into: Description: C:WindowssysWOW64msimsg.dll,-32 Image path: C:WindowssysWOW64msiexec /V Perhaps I could have left the "@%SystemRoot%" for what it was, but this mod worked EXACTLY as it had to, so I leave it this way now. TNX extremely to Aaron and fadildugolli for the solution to the problem where all MS-employees were pointing into nowhere!
Anonymous
August 04, 2015
Hi Aaron. Thanks a lot for your help. For me, work perfectly!
Anonymous
August 20, 2015
SIR, WILL YOU PLEASE INFORM ME IF THE IE INSTALLATION CONTAINS WINDOWS INSTALLER 3.1. IF SO WHICH VERSION OF IE HAS WINDOWS INSTALLER EMBEDDED INTO IT SO THAT I DONT HAVE TO GO IN SEARCH OF WINDOWS INSTALLER n_r_dwarakanathan66@hotmail.com
Anonymous
August 20, 2015
Hi - I don't believe that Internet Explorer uses Windows Installer for its setup. Here is a link to the download page for Windows Installer 4.5 so you can download it directly - www.microsoft.com/.../details.aspx.
Anonymous
October 23, 2015
when i paste your specific commands in Run It shows a MessageBox .That tells windows can't find 'run'.Make sure you typed the name correctly and then try again. what i've to do
Anonymous
October 25, 2015
Hi zia - You don't need to copy and paste the word "run" in these steps. You should start copying and pasting with %windir% in each of the commands. I updated the text of the blog post to try to make this more clear for readers in the future.
Anonymous
November 25, 2015
I'm seeing error 1719 windows installer service could not be accessed verify it is registered and enabled. Contact your support personnel on any installs, uninstalls or repairs. Windows 7 and I have tried everything suggested thus far. I have tried using C:windowssystem32 and syswow64 in regedit for image path and display name. neither have worked. I've gone through support.microsoft.com/.../2642495 with no luck. does anyone know anything more about error 1719 and what it means? windows installer service could not be accessed isn't exactly meaningful. As far as I can see it is registered and enabled. (At least I have registered it in cmd and enabled the service)
Anonymous
November 30, 2015
Hi Mike Bop - Error 1719 typically means that something related to the Windows Installer service is not registered correctly on the PC. If you've already tried the steps in the knowledge base article and they didn't help, then I'd suggest searching for similar issues on the Windows forums at answers.microsoft.com/.../windows, and if you don't find anything that is helpful, then I'd suggest posting a new question there to see if someone can provide additional troubleshooting ideas for you to try out.
Anonymous
December 08, 2015
This solution still works!!! Thanks Aaron. I am OSU though.
Anonymous
January 05, 2016
Thank you KingIdler and everybody else in this blog. I followed these steps and it worked like a charm:

Reboot the server
Verify that Windows Installer service is set to Automatic and started
Open regedit
Change reg key HKLMSYSTEMCURRENTCONTROLSETSERVICESMSIServer - ImagePath to %windir%system32msiexec.exe /v
Run these commands in order: a. Run this command: %windir%system32msiexec.exe /unregister b. Run this command: %windir%syswow64msiexec.exe /unregister c. Run this command: %windir%system32msiexec.exe /regserver d. Run this command: %windir%syswow64msiexec.exe /regserver
Restart Windows Installer service. Verify that is set to Automatic and remains started.
Install .NET 4.5.2
Reboot the server
Apply all of the patches
Reboot the server

Anonymous
January 30, 2016
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
February 01, 2016
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
June 21, 2016
Thanks for commandbelow command successfully worked for Win2003-64bit%windir%\syswow64\msiexec.exe /regserver
Anonymous
August 08, 2016
Windows 7 Home Premium o/sIn response to —C:\Users\Massey>%windir%\system32\msiexec.exe /unregistergot this return.......'C:\Windows\system32\msiexec.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.H E L Pmf
Anonymous
August 08, 2016
Discovered that msiexec.exe is MISSING from Windows\system32 folder.So How do I obtain a copy of it to install ?? T I A
- Anonymous
  August 09, 2016
  Hi Massey Ferguson - You can use steps like the ones listed at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2007/03/26/how-to-repair-the-net-framework-2-0-and-3-0-on-windows-vista.aspx to repair files that should be installed as a part of the OS.
Anonymous
September 28, 2016
Does this work for Windows 8.1??
- Anonymous
  September 29, 2016
  The comment has been removed
Anonymous
November 17, 2016
Many thanks to Aaron, Kim Hoon and Jimmyklrn.Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts.
Anonymous
February 05, 2017
when i open my laptop it shows one type of error windows installer problam and app are not running and not installing what can i do
- Anonymous
  February 07, 2017
  Hi rahul chavda - What are the exact error messages that you see when you open your laptop and when you try to run or install applications?
Anonymous
September 23, 2017
When downloading password is the problem because I have forgotten it
Anonymous
November 25, 2017
The comment has been removed
- Anonymous
  November 27, 2017
  Hi Meljbc - The steps in this blog post were written a long time ago, and they only work on versions of Windows older than Windows Vista. If you're seeing this issue on Windows Vista or newer, then I'd recommend trying the repair steps in the knowledge base article at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2642495/-the-windows-installer-service-could-not-be-accessed-error-when-you-tr instead.

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Repairing the Windows Installer service on a 64-bit OS

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