Windows installer reinstallation issue: "Setup was unable to restart the service"

jomon324

Posts: 40   +0
Hey everybody.

So the problem I'm having is this (Long story with details just in case they're helpful. I apologize if they are not) : A few months back, I tried to install a copy of Microsoft Office 2010, and I screwed up the installation by forgetting to close out of all my programs prior to installing MS Office. The installation was taking forever, and it was late, so I decided to cancel it and do it in the morning. I think it wouldn't cancel, so I ended the process directly (this is where you realize I was a little too tired), and then upon trying to install the MS Office 2010 programs again, I get the message "the language of this installation is not supported by your system."

Fast forward a month or two.

I have tried to install several things, and when they come with their own installer, they work fine. If they try to use the windows installer, it does weird things and never completes. (weird things being: completing too quickly and not running afterwards, not completing at all and/or becoming unresponsive, or just giving me an error) The most recent error is titled "KB92288-v3 Setup" and says "Setup was unable to restart the following device: Windows Installer." (I was trying to follow the advice on this page: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315346, using method 2 after method 1 had no effect) So now I'm stuck, and I have no idea what I should do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jomon
 
It said "Install is not needed since Windows Update is already installed."

...Not really sure what to do from here. I've used Malwarebytes and Spybot Search & Destroy consecutively to check for things that could be causing this, but all I got were two browser entry things, one being called DoubleClick and the other being something else, both of which are fixed now. I've got Avast! running, so I think I'm protected from most things.

Again, I'm not really sure what to do at this point, since it doesn't look like it's a virus, but I haven't found the exact reason why I can't install things.
 
The installer message is saying you already have a version with the same details as required. You want to actually reinstall it, so that the various settings in the registry etc are hopefully reset to default.

The method #2 in the link you found yourself should be followed to do that. I.e remove (rename) the original files as described in the link, then run the latest installer you have just downloaded.

The link does not make it clear you should delete/rename both copies of all three files. There is one in ..\system32 and another in ..\system32\dllcache. Do both copies.

Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open text box, and then click OK.
Type cd %windir%\system32, and then press ENTER.
Type attrib -r -s -h dllcache, and then press ENTER.
Type ren msi.dll msi.old, and then press ENTER.
Type ren msiexec.exe msiexec.old, and then press ENTER.
Type ren msihnd.dll msihnd.old, and then press ENTER.
Type exit, and then press ENTER.
At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.
Click Start, and then click Turn off computer or Shut Down.
Select the Restart option, and then click OK, or click Restart.
Log on to the computer.

The run the reinstall of the installer, and reboot again.
 
I tried the reinstall after renaming both sets of files to .old (though the attrib -r -s -h dllcache line didn't work when I went directly into cd %windir%\system32\dllcache), and it gave me the "already up to date" line again. I then attempted to delete the msi.dll, msiexec.exe, and msihnd.dll files (since the .old files exist as backup), but upon exiting and reentering the folder, the files had revived themselves. I hope I didn't make things worse.

Would it be better for me to uninstall all my service packs and use my windows XP installer disc to do a "repair windows" option? I can uninstall things with the MicrosoftFixIt Program, I just can't install/uninstall anything normally.
 
No you won't have done any damage. On the other hand, you did not do exactly as instructed. It did not say to go into ...\dllcache and then try to set the properties of the folder you are already in....sorry, but computers are superb at doing what you tell them to do, but completely useless at doing what you intended them to do.

I accept the instructions given (a direct cut-and-paste from a MS support note) are not actually fully comprehensive in what they say. It is not quite clear whether you renamed the versions in system32 or the copies in dllcache. You actually need to rename (or delete) both. The fact that they reappeared immediately is exactly what dllcache is for - to cache the live versions so as to have instant access.

I also do not have huge faith that even if you do eventually manage to reinstall the installer, it will solve your problem. An interrupted installation leaves an unstable system, that is fairy clear.

As to trying a windows repair. (a) I see no reason to uninstall service packs first and (b) have never known a repair install to 'cure' anything. Suck it and see, by all means.

My last suggestion is just pushing you into doing more research yourself - after all, you can see what your PC is doing, and I cannot. My suggestion is to google this exact phrase failed installation of office 2010 There are 1,880,000 hits, of which at least the top 10-100 are very relevant for you. Even identical. Good luck.
 
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