"The Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed"

Description:

The Windows Installer Service that is included with Windows is used to install the Isabel Security Components. If this service is not working correctly, the installation of the Isabel Security Components will fail.

Cause:

This issue may occur when:

• The Windows Installer Service that is included with Windows XP is unregistered or damaged.

Error messages:

The Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed

Resolution :

Method 1:

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. Log on to your computer as an administrator.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
4. At the command prompt, type msiexec.exe /unregister, and then press ENTER.
5. Type msiexec /regserver, and then press ENTER.

Verify that the SYSTEM account has full control access permissions to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT hive in the Windows registry. In some cases, you may also have to add Administrator accounts.
  
To do so:

Note - 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  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

a.       Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.

b.      Click the following registry hive:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

c.       On the Edit menu, click Permissions.

d.      If SYSTEM is not listed in the Group or user names list, click Add, make sure that the local computer name appears in the From this location box, type system in the Enter the object names to select box, click Check Names, and then click OK.

e.       Click SYSTEM in the Group or user names list, and then select the Full Control check box under Allow in the Permissions for SYSTEM box.

f.       Click Apply, click OK, and then quit Registry Editor.

                        Restart the computer. If the problem is not resolved, repair Windows XP. 

Method 2 (if above doesn't work):

1. Under Control Panel ->  Administrative Tools -> Services
2. Right click on the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Service
3. Select Log In Tab
4. Select Log As "Local System account" and tick "Allow service to interact with desktop" 
5. Reboot.

After reboot installer service should work normally.

Method 3 via registry edit:

1. Download msiserver.zip and save it to Desktop.
http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/msiserv­er.zip
2. Unzip the file and extract msiserver.reg to the Desktop.
3. Right-click msiserver.reg and choose Merge.
4. Click Yes when asked for confirmation.
5. Restart Windows.

Method 4:

 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.

Final Notes:


if get the error message like:

Could not start the windows installer service on local computer
Error 3 : the system cannot find the path specified
 
You will not be able to start the Windows Installer service if "msiexec" exists twice in your C:\Windows\System32 folder (one with .exe extension and one with no extension). Be sure it only exists as "msiexec.exe".