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rumpl14

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rumpl14

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April 27th, 2005 18:00

Microsoft Windows Installer 3.1 update not working

I have a Latitude D800 running XP Pro with service pack 2. 
 
In the past week, Microsoft Automatic Updates notifies me that there are updates ready to be installed on my computer.  When I run the program, I get a message saying, "The following updates were not installed: Microsoft Windows Installer 3.1"
 
Can someone tell me how to fix this problem?
  • maxd

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    Posted April 28th, 2005 14:00

    First off I suggest you make sure all your other updates installed correctly. Download this utility to this folder:

    (c:\windows\) system32

    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=155c7c58-102e-47b0-a12a-bfab8cfccc03&DisplayLang=en

    After the download has been 'placed' in the system32 folder go to the command prompt and enter this command:

    qfecheck

    Post back with the results (output on screen after running the command); all the updates should say "Current on system".

     

  • rumpl14

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    Posted April 28th, 2005 15:00

    maxd,

    I successfully downloaded the utility and placed it in C:\Windows\System32

    I then tried to run the utility but got a dialog box that said:

          Q282784 Setup Error

          Failed to install catalog files.

    I tried to run the utility again and got the same error message. 
  • rumpl14

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    Posted April 28th, 2005 17:00

    maxd,

    no go.

    When I try to run the utility, it goes through the following steps:

        checking for necessary space

        backing up files

        checking for necessary space (again)

    then the utility aborts by showing a dialog box named "Q282784 Setup Error"

    the dialog message text reads "Failed to install catalog files"

    Finally, it has an   OK

    When I click the OK, it just closes the dialog box and that's as far as I can go.

    Any other suggestions?  Thanks in advance for your help.

  • maxd

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    Posted April 28th, 2005 17:00

    I think I forgot a step. Double-click on file to install it, then run it from the prompt.
  • maxd

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    Posted April 28th, 2005 22:00

    Try this.

    At the command prompt, type the following commands, pressing ENTER after each line:

    net stop cryptsvc
    ren %systemroot%\System32\Catroot2 oldcatroot2
    net start cryptsvc
    exit
     
    Close all open programs (if any) and reboot computer. After reboot try WindowsUpdate site for any installs that need doing.
     
    NB: Make sure the filenames are *both* entered as *catroot2, not catroot; ie, don't forget the "2" at the end of catroot.
     
    Note: If the install(s) goes ok you can probably now install the qfecheck utility.
  • rumpl14

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    Posted April 30th, 2005 13:00

    maxd,

    net stop cryptsvc worked fine, but when I tried to run the rename step (ren %systemroot%\System32\Catroot2 oldcatroot2), I got the message

       Cannot run the process because the process is being used by another applicaiton.

    Are there processes that I should stop (ctrl + alt +delete) before I go to the command prompt?

    Thanks again for your patience and continued help.

  • maxd

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    Posted April 30th, 2005 14:00

    I haven't a clue what process/application could affect the ren command; go offline, at Start|Run enter:
     
    msconfig
     
    Disable all the entries in the Startups tab. Apply/ok/close all and reboot.
     
    Try the 4 'command' lines again. Same error message ? If so, you could try to run the steps from the Recovery Console or bypass stopping the cryptographic service and justdo a search for the catroot2 folder on your system and rename via right-click option on the folder. Or instead of renaming the folder (from the command prompt) you could try to remove it. The command for that is:
     
    rd %systemroot%\System32\Catroot2
     
    In this case the other 3 lines of this 'command set' would remain the same.
     
    Actually the answer to your original question should have been short and sweet. You try what I've given you and I'll search Denny.
     
     
    Hold the presses. This may be short and sweet. Try this:
     
    Download the windows installer, 3.1 to the desktop.
     
     
    Follow these directions (thanks to Symantec);
     
    • On the Windows desktop, click Start > Run.
    • In the Open line, type command and then click OK.
    • At the command prompt, type the following, depending on your version of Windows, and then press Enter after each line.

      cd \windows\system32
      ren msi.dll msi.old
      ren msihnd.dll msihnd.old
      ren msiexec.exe msiexec.old
      exit

    • Restart the computer.
    • On the desktop, double-click WindowsInstaller-KB893803-x86.exe.
    • Follow the prompts to complete the installation.
    • Restart the computer.
    • Double-click the desktop installer file and see what happens; hope that error message doesn't pop up. If it does, disable all the startups as I outlined previously.

      Message Edited by maxd on 04-30-200512:14 PM

      Message Edited by maxd on 04-30-2005 12:14 PM

    • rumpl14

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      Posted May 3rd, 2005 19:00

      maxd,

      Thanks for all of your help.  Unfortunately, the last suggestion did not work either.  I decided to go ahead and start all over by reloading Win XP.  I've finally gotten back to sp2 and all of the current updates.  The problem with Windows Installer 3.1 is fixed.

      Thanks again for all of your help.

    • maxd

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      Posted May 3rd, 2005 20:00

      You're welcome for the attempts. Did you install the chipset driver yet ? Ignore if already done.
    • dcmotorworks

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      Posted May 23rd, 2005 19:00

      Sounds like a corrupted update file. windows update will not attempt to re-download the file but it will try to install a corrupted file forever. After the first failed attempt to update, further attempts will list the file download size as zero. The corrupted file is saved in the Windows folder.  Look in windows folder (C:\windows) for a text file named "windows update.log" and double click to open with notepad (there may be more than one but the logs have a date/time so find the one which corresponds with the last time you attempted an update).
       
      This is the full log of update activity. look in the third collum for the word "failure" and note the file it is refering to. The file will be located in C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download  .
       
      Delete that file and re-attempt windows update. It should now re-download the file and install succesfully.
       
      DC