Error Message: A Previous Program Installation Was Never Completed

When you attempt to install Internet Explorer, you may receive the following error message:

This error message can occur if Windows was not restarted after installing or updating files that were in use by Windows.

For example, some program installations or updates need to replace files that are currently in use by Windows. Some files cannot be replaced while Windows is running. Windows must be restarted so that these files can be updated during the initial startup of Windows before they are loaded into memory.

Internet Explorer detects that these operations are pending and cannot be installed until these operations have been completed.

To resolve this issue, click OK, and then restart Windows. After Windows has restarted, run Internet Explorer Setup again. If you receive the error message again, click OK, and then restart Windows. After Windows has restarted, run Internet Explorer Setup again.

Note that restarting Windows may not resolve the issue. You may need to perform the appropriate procedure below.

Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition (Me)

Rename the Wininit.ini file, restart the computer, and then run Internet Explorer Setup again. To rename the Wininit.ini file, follow these steps:

1. Exit Windows by clicking Start, clicking Shutdown, and then clicking Restart in MS-DOS mode.
2. From DOS, run wininit.exe, and then press ENTER.
3. Type Exit and let Windows start backup.

If that does not work, then try the following steps.

1. Click Start, click Find (or Search), and then click Files or Folders.
2. In the Named box, type wininit.ini.
3. In the Look in box, click Local Hard Drives.
4. Click Find Now.
5. Right-click the Wininit.ini file, and then click Rename.
6. Type Wininit.nin, and then press ENTER.
7. Close the Find window.

Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000

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:
Locate the following registry key: Delete any PendingFileRenameOperations values in this key.

You may also need to check for and remove pending file rename operations in the following registry keys: NOTE: If the problem is still not resolved, check for the existence of old installation files in your TEMP or TMP folders, check for the existence of a folder named "$!$!$!$!" in the root folder, or try emptying the Temporary Internet Files folder.

To Delete Temporary Files

1. Double-click My Computer, double-click drive C, double-click the Windows folder, and then double-click the Temp folder.
2. Press CTRL+A to select all the files in the folder.
3. Press the DELETE key.
4. Close My Computer.

To Delete Temporary Internet Files

1. On the desktop, right-click Internet Explorer, and then click Properties.
2. Under Temporary Internet Files, click Delete Files.
3. Click to select the Delete Offline Content check box, and then click OK.
4. Close Internet properties.

Internet Explorer only forces a reboot in a live install case. If an administrator is writing a script to chain together a number of installs, they should use the quiet-mode Setup (/Q:A). This does not check for pending file renames before installing (the error noted above does not occur).

This behavior is by design.