How do I fix installer error?

Windows Installer is a core service on Microsoft Windows that manages the installation or uninstallation of everything in the windows system including apps, features, and many other things. If for some unexpected reason, it breaks or the Windows installer stops working you will be stuck with new installations and even upgrades of apps.  And while trying to install or uninstall a program you might see an error notification “Windows Installer Service could not be accessed”, “There’s a problem with this Windows Installer Package”, “Installation Package could not be opened”, and more.

Pro Tip: If you are not able to install software that is downloaded from the internet, throwing the error “Installation package could not be opened” then it’s probably a security issue. Windows system blocked the application as it does not trust them. To fix this problem You need to unblock it or disable your antivirus

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Windows installer not working windows 10

There is no exact reason responsible for the Windows installer not working. If you are unable to install certain applications due to Windows Installer Service could not be accessed error message, apply the solutions listed below.

Remove the Earlier Version of the Software

If you are getting error 1719 windows installer could not be accessed while installing a new application then check If you already have the older version of the program you want to install on your computer. Because Most of the time the old version of software always gives rise to some unexpected issues.

• Press Windows key + R, type appwiz.cpl and click OK to open Programs and Features
• locate the program you want to remove, right-click it then select uninstall from the context menu,
• Follow on-screen instructions to complete the uninstall process, and reboot your PC.
• Now try to reinstall the program to check whether the error 1719 Windows Installer service could not be accessed is solved.

Start Microsoft Installer Service

If the windows installer service stopped or not started due to unknown reasons, you might experience, Windows Installer Service could not be accessed while install or uninstall programs on the windows system. You need to manually start the Windows Installer Service to fix the problem.

Windows Installer is a core service that manages installations of everything in Windows including apps, features, and many other things. If for some reason, it breaks, you will be stuck with new installations and even upgrades of apps.

Windows Installer (msiserver) not working

In this post, we will share a list of error codes – and their solution, some pointing to our existing solution – and how to solve them.

1] Run Program Install & Uninstall Troubleshooter

The first thing we would suggest is to run the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter to repair issues that block program installation or removal because of corrupted registry keys. This program will fix corrupted registry keys on 64-bit operating systems, which control the update data, problems that prevent existing programs from being completely uninstalled or updated, and problems that block you from uninstalling a program through Add or Remove Programs (or Programs and Features) in Control Panel

2] Start the Windows Installer Service

In the Run prompt, type MSIExec, and then press Enter.

If you get the Windows Installer window which tells you everything about MSIExec, then it’s all good.

If you get an error, you might have to start it manually.

Right-click on the taskbar, and select Task Manager. Switch to Services, and look for msiserver. Start it.

You can also run services.msc to open Windows Services and go to Windows Installer, and restart it.

3] Windows Installer Service could not be accessed

You may see the message Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This usually happens if the Windows Installer Engine is corrupted, installed incorrectly, or disabled. You will need to fix either the corruption or fix the configuration or enable it. The linked post also solves the issue where the Windows Installer service could not start, and gives the message as Error 5, Access is denied.

4] There is a problem with this Windows Installer package

If the Windows Installer package faces unstable network access during the uninstallation or installation process, sometimes, the error might appear if you fail to complete the process successfully. The error message might go like “There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program required for this install to complete could not be run. Contact your support personnel or package vendor.” 

5] Windows Installer keeps popping up

Usually, the Windows Installer or msiexec.exe runs in the background. You can check in the Task Manager under the list of processes that are running. However, if you see it constantly running, and the Windows Installer keeps popping up, it means it is stuck. It is possible that an installation is not able to complete, and this happens as a result.

Read: Windows Installer Service missing.

6] Installation Package could not be opened

If you are not able to install a software which you just downloaded from the internet, and it keeps throwing error message “Installation Package could not be opened“, then it’s probably a security issue. Windows many a time blocks applications you download from the internet as it does not trust them. You may have to unblock it or disable your antivirus to fix it.

7] Re-register Windows Installer service

If nothing works, the best option in our experience is to re-register the Windows Installer service. The reason why it works great because it fixes registry issues as well, and gets the basic settings ready again.

Launch the command prompt with admin privileges. Type the following commands and hit Enter after each one.

%windir%\system32\msiexec.exe /unregister

%windir%\system32\msiexec.exe /regserver

%windir%\syswow64\msiexec.exe /unregister

%windir%\syswow64\msiexec.exe /regserver

Close the command prompt, save all your work, and restart your computer.

Check if you are facing Windows Installer issues.

Windows OS maintains a Windows Installer cache. Any files you install are temporarily extracted here and then installed on the PC. If you are deleting files from here manually or during installation or any other program is doing that, you will get an error.