The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed

mobad

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MY OS - Vista Home Premium
I am getting this message when I try to install any .exe files.
When I go to Computer Managment > Services > Windows Installer, the service is stopped and ever time I try to enable/start it I get the message 'The windows installer service on local computers started and then stopped. Some services stop automatically if they are not in use by other services or programs'.

Ive read many sites, tried many things but still it aint working.
Any ideas pls?
 
you could try regestering the installer service again.

go to start - run - cmd - MSIEXEC /UNREGISTER and hit return.

next do the same thing but using MSIEXEC /REGSERVER and see if this helps.
 
Can you check the eventviewer for the message.

Start -> start search -> eventvwr.exe

Click OK to allow it admin access

Check under Windows Logs -> System
 
but this will only say that the service failed to start. Unregistering it followed by regestering it will more than likely solve the problem.
 
Guys, I tried the above to no avail but I found a website which told me to rename some system32 files and then reinstall the windows installer service from the microsoft site.
This worked!

Thanx Allot!
 
Yup this is what I did -

Reinstall Windows Installer

To reinstall Windows Installer, open command prompt by running the ‘cmd’ command. At command prompt type the following commands and press Enter to run each command:

attrib -r -s -h c:\windows\system32\dllcache
ren msi.dll msi.bak
ren msiexec.exe msiexec.bak
ren msihnd.dll msihnd.bak

The above steps enable you to rename the existing msi.dll, msiexec.exe, and msihnd.dll files. Exit command prompt after renaming the files.

Next, download the latest update of Windows Installer for your Windows operating system from the Microsoft Download Center. Install the downloaded installer on your system and shutdown and restart your computer. This method should rectify your Windows Installer problem.

Windows installer enables developers to install and configure their products and applications on Windows systems. If you receive an error related to Windows Installer then you can resolve it either by re-registering the msiexec.exe file or by reinstalling the Windows Installer. Be careful while working with the registry and always make a backup before making any changes to it.
 
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