Trouble installing Microsoft applications

Google is your friend.  A 5-second search and top result is straight from the horse's mouth:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/236456

 

If rebooting does not help, try the windows installer cleanup utility:  http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301 

We have a catch 22: When I try to install Windows Installer Cleanup Facility I get the same message: Error 1500.  Another installation is in progress...You must complete that installation before continuing this one.

Is there a location on the computer where all installations or current attempted installations are listed so that I could eliminate whatever is there and start over fresh?  Most times when this message occurs I am not even aware that I had initiated an installation...or it may have occurred two weeks earlier.  I have restored my system to 10 days previous and STILL got that same message.  The google friend says (in relationto that error message) just to reboot...but that has never worked.  I am still trying other things but am becoming very discouraged with this computer and especially Vista.  I could not even put MSICUU2.exe in the folder of my choice...permission denied...I had to put it where Vista allowed.

Have you tried killing the msiexec process after hitting ctrl+alt+del to bring up the task list?

Yes, I have brought up Task Manager (with the 3-finger delete).  There was one other attempted installation which I deleted but I STILL got the same error message 'Another installation is in progress, etc etc) when I attempted to install a certain Quicktime application.  It is like I cannot seem to install anything (or UNinstall anything either for that matter) without getting these error messages.  I am at the point where I have to consider reinstalling the OS itself but I am quite sure I will get the same error message if I try to do that too.  I am getting very discouraged.  I also fail to understand why I need permission from Vista to put a download into a folder of my choice instead of where Vista allows me to put it...but that is another matter that is driving me mad.  Like I don't have control of my own computer anymore....sorry for the rant...I am just extremely discouraged.

Read the section titled "contents of the readme.txt file" in this article:  http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=290301

 

It looks like instead of installing the utility, you need to extract its contents to a folder and run it manually.

 

See this thread for information on how to extract the contents of the cleanup utility manually:  http://forums.techarena.in/windows-xp-support/739593.htm