Message received : The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed

map170

I have been receiving the following message when attempting to setup new programs.

The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed...

Further investigation on Google has led me to believe that there are some registry files missing or corrupt on my laptop. I use Windows Vista Home Premium.

I have tried a few things with no success, including modifying the registry. I am hoping that you could suggest techniques i have not tried.

startrekker

Microsoft support site gives details on how to repair the windows installer HERE


I also came across this

If you still facing the Windows Installer stop error after performing recommended steps provided by Microsoft Knowledge Base articles, try to ensure that Windows Installer service is running, or force start it.

1. Open Run, and type in services.msc then press Enter. Alternatively, go to Control Panel -> Administrator Tools -> Services.
2. Locate Windows Installer in the all install services listing.
3. Verify that the Status is Started. If the Status column is blank, right click on Windows Installer and select Start.
4. If you get error trying to force start the Windows Installer service, try to change the Startup Type to Automatic (default is Manual), and then restart the computer.

The above steps can also be performed via MSConfig to set Windows Installer service to auto start on boot up.

esuhl

Try running Microsoft Update - the Windows Installer may have a new patch available.

And I'm not sure if this is of any help: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301.

isofa

More detail and support for this problem is in Microsoft's Knowledge Base, the article is:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315346

map170

Thanks for your responses. However, none of the above worked for me.

FYI, the whole message was:
"The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. this can occur if the windows installer is not correctly installed. contact your support personnel for assistance".

I was prompted to the problem when trying to install Nero. I am not able to install this.

map170

startrekker wrote: »

Microsoft support site gives details on how to repair the windows installer HERE


I also came across this

If you still facing the Windows Installer stop error after performing recommended steps provided by Microsoft Knowledge Base articles, try to ensure that Windows Installer service is running, or force start it.

1. Open Run, and type in services.msc then press Enter. Alternatively, go to Control Panel -> Administrator Tools -> Services.
2. Locate Windows Installer in the all install services listing.
3. Verify that the Status is Started. If the Status column is blank, right click on Windows Installer and select Start.
4. If you get error trying to force start the Windows Installer service, try to change the Startup Type to Automatic (default is Manual), and then restart the computer.

The above steps can also be performed via MSConfig to set Windows Installer service to auto start on boot up.

I set the start up type to automatic and restarted, but no impact

Not sure how to use MSConfig. Can you elaborate?

map170

esuhl wrote: »

Try running Microsoft Update - the Windows Installer may have a new patch available.

And I'm not sure if this is of any help: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301.

I have Microsoft Update set to auto. Do i have to search for anything manually within the updater? if so where could i find the patch that you advised?