Error "The Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed" when installing or updating programs on Windows 7 or Windows Vista

When you try to install applications on Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you receive the following error message:
For this issue on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 see the following article:

315346 Error message when you try to add or remove a program on a computer that is running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003: "The Windows Installer service could not be accessed"

This problem may occur if one or more of the following conditions is true:

• You install or remove a program that uses the Microsoft Installer Service to install a program on your computer.
• The Windows Installer Service is not running.
• The Windows Installer registry settings may be corrupted or set incorrectly.

To resolve this issue, follow the steps in the methods below starting with Method 1, if the steps in that method do not resolve the issue, go to the next method.

Method 1: Reset the Windows Installer Service Registry settings

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: 322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

You can reset the Windows Installer Service settings in the registry by creating a registry file using Notepad and then running that file to update the registry key.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start and type Notepad in the Search box and click Notepad.exe under Programs
2. Copy the following text and paste it into Notepad.
   
   

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
    
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msiserver]
   "DisplayName"="@%SystemRoot%\\system32\\msimsg.dll,-27"
   "ImagePath"=hex(2):25,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,72,00,6f,00,6f,00,\
     74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,6d,\
     00,73,00,69,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,63,00,20,00,2f,00,56,00,00,00
   "Description"="@%SystemRoot%\\system32\\msimsg.dll,-32"
   "ObjectName"="LocalSystem"
   "ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
   "Start"=dword:00000003
   "Type"=dword:00000010
   "DependOnService"=hex(7):72,00,70,00,63,00,73,00,73,00,00,00,00,00
   "ServiceSidType"=dword:00000001
   "RequiredPrivileges"=hex(7):53,00,65,00,54,00,63,00,62,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,\
     00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,\
     74,00,65,00,50,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,66,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,\
     00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4c,00,6f,00,63,00,\
     6b,00,4d,00,65,00,6d,00,6f,00,72,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,\
     00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6e,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,\
     73,00,65,00,42,00,61,00,73,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,6f,00,72,00,69,00,74,\
     00,79,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,\
     65,00,43,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,65,00,72,00,6d,00,61,00,6e,\
     00,65,00,6e,00,74,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,\
     00,00,53,00,65,00,41,00,75,00,64,00,69,00,74,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,\
     00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,53,00,65,00,63,00,75,00,72,00,\
     69,00,74,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,\
     00,53,00,65,00,43,00,68,00,61,00,6e,00,67,00,65,00,4e,00,6f,00,74,00,69,00,\
     66,00,79,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,\
     00,65,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,66,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,53,00,69,00,6e,00,67,00,\
     6c,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,63,00,65,00,73,00,73,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,\
     00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6d,00,70,00,65,00,\
     72,00,73,00,6f,00,6e,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,\
     00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,43,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,74,00,65,00,\
     47,00,6c,00,6f,00,62,00,61,00,6c,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,\
     00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,41,00,73,00,73,00,69,00,67,00,6e,00,50,00,\
     72,00,69,00,6d,00,61,00,72,00,79,00,54,00,6f,00,6b,00,65,00,6e,00,50,00,72,\
     00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,52,00,65,00,\
     73,00,74,00,6f,00,72,00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,\
     00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6e,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,61,00,73,00,65,00,\
     51,00,75,00,6f,00,74,00,61,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,\
     00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,53,00,68,00,75,00,74,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,6e,00,\
     50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,54,\
     00,61,00,6b,00,65,00,4f,00,77,00,6e,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,68,00,69,00,70,00,\
     50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,4c,\
     00,6f,00,61,00,64,00,44,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,65,00,72,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,\
     76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,00,00
   "FailureActions"=hex:84,03,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,14,00,00,\
     00,01,00,00,00,c0,d4,01,00,01,00,00,00,e0,93,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
    
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msiserver\Enum]
   "0"="Root\\LEGACY_MSISERVER\\0000"
   "Count"=dword:00000001
   "NextInstance"=dword:00000001

3. Once the text is pasted into Notepad, click File, click Save As, and then type Msirepair.reg for the name of the file.
4. In the Save as type box, click All Files (*.*).
5. In the Save in box, click Desktop, and then click Save.
6. On the File menu, click Exit to close Notepad.
7. On your Desktop, right -click the Msirepair.reg file that you saved in step 5, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
8. Click Yes when prompted to install the registry keys.
   
   The Windows Installer registry will be updated in the registry.
   
9. Restart the installation of your program.

Method 2: Start the Windows Installer Service

Follow the steps below:

1. Click Start, type CMD in the Search programs and files.
   
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2. Right-click cmd.exe and choose Run as Administrator.
   
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3. Type net start MSIServer and then press Enter.
   
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4. Restart the installation of your program.

If you still receive the error, go to method 2.

Method 3: Check the status of the Windows Installer Service

To check and see if the Windows Installer Service is set correctly and started, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, type services.msc in the Search box, and then click Services under Programs.
2. In the Services (Local) list, right-click Windows Installer, and then click Properties.
3. In the Startup type drop-down list make sure that the value is set to Manual.
4. If the Service status: is Stopped, click Start and wait for the service to start and then click OK.
5. Click the File menu, and then click Exit.
6. Restart the installation of your program.

If you still receive the error, go to method 3.

Method 4: uninstall any previous versions of applications that you may be trying to update

In some cases you may be trying to update software program on your computer with an updated version. If you are receiving the error “The Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed”, you may need to uninstall the previous version of that program first, and then install the updated version. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, Control Panel and click Uninstall a Program under Programs.
2. Browse through the list of applications and click the application that you are trying to update.
3. With the application selected, click Uninstall (or Uninstall/Change for Windows Vista), and follow any instructions or prompts to uninstall the application.
4. Restart your computer to complete the uninstall and clean up any uninstall files.
5. Install the updated program.

Note: Some programs require that a previous version of that program be present on your computer before you install an upgrade. This is most often the case with purchased programs. Free programs will not normally have this requirement.