Unable to access Windows Installer service while attempting to install Office

When you try to install Microsoft Office, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

Unable to access the Windows Installer service.

Reason Analysis:

This problem may occur if the Windows Installer file is corrupted or missing.

Solution:

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method One: Use the Msconfig tool to confirm that the Installer service is running

1. Click "Start" and click "Run".

2. Type msconfig, and then click OK.

3. On the Services tab, click to select the check box next to Windows Installer services.

4. Click OK, and then click Restart to restart the computer.

5. When you are prompted to enter a product key, type the product key, and then click Next.

Office will be installed, and you will not be prompted to enter the product key when the program starts.

Method Two: Re-register Windows Installer

Warning: If you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or another method, you can cause serious problems. These problems may require reinstalling the operating system to resolve. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can resolve these issues. It is at your own risk to modify the registry.

Note: Because Microsoft Windows has multiple versions, the following steps may differ from the steps that you perform on your computer. If so, please refer to your product documentation to complete these steps.

To re-register Windows Installer, follow the steps below.

Note: Use Method 3 If you cannot complete the following steps.

1. Click Start, and then click Search.

2. Click All files and folders.

3. In the File name box, type Msiexec.exe, and then click Search.

4. After the search is complete, please note the location of the Msiexec.exe file. The location of the file should resemble the location in the following example:

C:windowssystem32

5. On the File menu, click Close to close the Search dialog box.

6. Click "Start" and click "Run".

7. Type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.

8. Locate and click the following registry key:

Hkey_local_machinesystemcurrentcontrolsetservicesmsiserver

9. In the right pane of the Registry Editor window, double-click ImagePath.

10. In the Edit String dialog box that appears, make sure that the string in the Value data box contains the correct path to the Msiexec.exe file that you determined in step 4.

Note: Here is an example of the correct path, where drive is the drive to which Windows is installed:

drive:windowssystem32msiexec.exe/v

If the Value data box does not contain the correct path, make the appropriate changes to correct the path, and then click OK to close the Edit String dialog box.

11. On the File menu, click Exit to exit the Registry Editor.

12. Start the computer in Safe mode, and then register the Msiexec.exe file. To do this, follow these steps:

A. Shut down your computer, and then restart your computer.

B. Restart the computer and press F8 on the keyboard. On a computer that has a multiple operating system startup configured, press F8 when you see the Start menu.

C. Use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode, and then press Enter.

D. When the Start menu appears again and the blue text "Safe Mode" appears at the bottom of the screen, select the installation you want to start, and then press Enter.

E. Log on to the computer.

F. Click Start, click Run, type Msiexec/regserver in the Open box, and then click OK.

13. Shut down the computer, and then restart the computer normally.

If you still cannot install Microsoft Office successfully and you receive an error message that is similar to the message listed in the "Symptoms" section, use Method 3.

Method Three: Try the methods listed in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 319624

Try the methods listed in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

319624 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319624/)

Received "Windows Installer Service could not being accessed" (Unable to access Windows Installer Service) error message when installing application

Method Four: Reinstall Windows Installer

Note: This method applies to Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. For Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003, reapply the latest Service Pack or repair your operating system.

To reinstall Windows Installer, follow these steps.

Note: Because Microsoft Windows has multiple versions, the following steps may differ from the steps that you perform on your computer. If so, please refer to your product documentation to complete these steps.

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, turn to attachments, and then click Command Prompt.

Windows opens a command prompt window.

2. At the command prompt, type one of the following commands, and then press Enter, where drive and windows are the drives and folders where Windows is installed.

If you are running Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows NT, type the following command:

Attrib-r-s-h Drive:windowssystem32dllcache

If you are running Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), type the following command:

Attrib-r-s-h Drive:windowssystem32

3. At the command prompt, type the following command. Press ENTER after you type each line of content. ren msi.dll msi.old

ren msiexec.exe msiexec.old

ren msihnd.dll msihnd.old

4. At the command prompt, type exit, and then press Enter.

5. Restart the computer.

6. Update the Windows Installer file to the latest version. To do this, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites, and then download and install Windows Installer 2.0.

Note: Windows Installer 2.0 is included in Microsoft Windows XP. If you are using Windows XP, you do not need to perform this step.

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