Fix: Another Installation is in Progress on Windows 7, 8 and 10

Like all other versions of the Windows Operating System, Windows 10 cannot install a program using Windows Installer while the installation for another program is already running. If a user does try to install a program via Windows Installer while another installation is already running, Windows displays an error message that reads:

“Error 1500. Another installation is in progress. You must complete that installation before continuing this one.”

If you see this error message while trying to install an application, simply wait for the already running installation to finish or close the already running installation and proceed with the new one. Unfortunately, there have been reports of this error message sometimes showing up when Windows 10 users try to install a program even though there is no other installation running in the background and/or any previously running installations have already finished.

If you are trying to install an application on a Windows 10 computer and are being met with Error 1500 even though there are no other installations running in the background, the following are some of the most effective solutions that you can use to try and resolve the problem:

Solution 1: Run an SFC scan

Running an SFC scan is the most basic countermeasure to a problem such as Error 1500 as it is capable of analyzing all system files for corruption and other issues and repairing/replacing any system files that may be causing problems. To run an SFC scan on a Windows 10 computer, simply follow this guide.

Solution 2: Close background processes that may be causing the problem

The Error 1500 error message can be triggered by lingering background processes from installations that were previously running on the affected computer. If residual background processes from previous program installations are causing this problem, you can fix it by simply closing the offending background processes in the Task Manager. To do so, you need to:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch the Task Manager.
2. In the Task Manager, navigate to the Processes
3. One by one, locate and click on as many of the following processes as you can find in the list of running Background processes to select them, and click on End task:

msiexec.exe
installer.exe
setup.exe

1. Once the processes have been forcefully terminated, close the Task Manager.
2. Try running the installation that was affected by this problem once again, and the application should be successfully installed on the computer this time.

Solution 3: Delete any active installation status references from the Registry

When an installation is in progress, an active installation status reference is added to the computer’s Registry, and this reference is removed once the installation finishes. However, an installation may sometimes fail to remove the active installation status reference from the Registry, and this can lead to the user seeing Error 1500 the next time they try to install a program on their computer. To manually delete any active installation status references from the Registry, you need to:

1. Press the Windows Logo key + R to open a Run
2. Type regedit into the Run dialog and press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.
3. In the left pane of the Registry Editor, navigate to the following directory:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Microsoft > Windows > Installer

1. Click on the InProgress sub-key under the Installer registry key in the left pane of the Registry Editor to have its contents displayed in the right pane.
2. In the right pane of the Registry Editor, double-click on the (Default) registry string value to modify
3. Erase whatever is in the string value’s Value data field, and click on OK.
4. Close the Registry Editor.

Once done, try running the installation you were experiencing the problem with before and see check to see whether or not the problem has been fixed.

Solution 4: Stop and then restart the Windows Installer service

Since you are experiencing this issue because Windows Installer thinks that it is trying to install two programs on your computer at the same time instead of just one, stopping and then restarting the Windows Installer service is a pretty solid bet for getting rid of this issue if none of the solutions listed and described above worked for you. In order to apply this solution to your computer, you need to:

1. Press the Windows Logo key + R to open a Run
2. Type services.msc into the Run dialog and press Enter to launch the Services Manager.
3. Scroll down through the list of services, locate the Windows Installer service and double-click on it.
4. Click on Stop to stop the service. Alternatively, you can also open the dropdown menu in front of Startup type: and click on and select Disabled – it will have the same effect in the long run.
5. Click on Apply and then on OK.
6. Restart your computer.
7. When the computer boots up, repeat steps 1-3.
8. If you clicked on Stop in step 4, click on Start. If you set the Windows Installer service’s Startup type to Disabled in step 4, open the dropdown menu in front of Startup type: and click on and select Manual.
9. Click on Apply and then on OK, and close the Services Manager.

Run the installation that was displaying Error 1500 to you before and see whether or not the installation completes successfully this time.

[Solved] “Error 1500. Another installation is in progress” Windows 10

August 28, 2018 By Harshwardhan

The Error 1500 in Windows 10 is an installation failure error. This error may occur when you try to install a new program or software on your PC. Even though any installation is not going on your PC, this error may show up unexpectedly. Following is the error that shows up: “Error 1500. Another installation is in progress. You must complete that installation before continuing this one“.

The Error 1500 Another installation is in progress usually shows when a program was being installed on your PC earlier. It can happen either if the installation was aborted in between, or even when the installation was completed.

In the following article, we get to know about some genuine methods to help you get rid of this error, so that you are able to install programs on your PC without any hassle.

Here’s how to fix “Error 1500. Another installation is in progress” in Windows 10

There are various methods that will help you will solve the Error 1500 on your computer. To begin with, you can just restart your PC in order to fix the issue. Restarting PC is a standard procedure, and may or may not solve the issue. If it does, then all well and good. But if a restart didn’t fix the issue, or if you cannot afford to restart PC for the time being, try the methods below:

#1 – Close Background Installer Process

It might be possible that an installer process is running in the background, or is stuck in the background. However, you are not able to see it with a quick glance at your PC. This is when the Error 1500 Another installation is in progress would trouble you the most. In order to be able to install a program on your PC without error, you will have to see if any such process is running in the background. And if any such process is found, it needs to be killed.

Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys on your keyboard to open Windows Task Manager. In the window, go to the Processes tab.

Step 2: You will find here a list of Background Processes running. In the list, look for installer.exe, setup.exe, or msiexec.exe processes. If any of these processes are found running, select it and click on the End task button.

After the installer background task has ended, try to install the program that you were. This will most probably fix the issue for you.

In case the processes that are mentioned in Step 2 are not found in the Task Manager’s Processes tab, or if the end task method did not work, try the next one to fix Error 1500.

#2 – Disable Windows Installer Service on Startup

Windows Installer is a service that runs on your PC to let you install programs. Sometimes the Windows Installer service starts during an installation process but does not stop after the installation is complete. So, when you try to install another program after that process, Windows shows Error 1500 Another installation is in progress error. In order to tackle this problem, you may have to stop the already running Windows Installer service and set it to stay disabled when Windows boots. This will ensure that the Window Installer service only starts when a program is to be installed.

Here are the steps to follow to Disable Windows Installer Service on Startup:

Step 1: Press Windows + R keys together to open Run dialog box. In the Run box, type services.msc and hit Enter to open the Services manager window.

Step 2: In the Services Manager window, scroll through the list of services until you find the Windows Installer services. Double click on it.

Step 3: A new Windows Installer Properties windows will open up. Here, press the Stop button if you get the option to. Then, from the Startup type drop-down, select the Disabled option. Then click on the Ok button to apply the settings.

Step 4: Now, restart your PC. After restarting, install the program that you were trying to install. You will not get the Error 1500 Another installation is in progress error on your PC. If you are still unable to install the program, try the next method.

#3 – Disable Active Installation Reference from Registry

Windows’ Registry registers every action that occurs in the operating system and makes Windows work according to the registered registry reference. While installing a program, an installation reference status is added to Windows registry. Once the installation is complete, the reference status is also removed. But in case the installation reference status is not removed due to an error, Windows will not let you install any program and will return Error 1500.

In order to fix this issue, you will have to remove the installation reference status. For this, you can follow the steps given below:

Step 1: Open the Run box by pressing Windows + X keys. In the Run box, type regedit and press the Enter key.

Step 2: The Registry Editor window will open up. In the Registry Editor, go to the panel on the left side of the interface and open the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Registry folder. After opening it, open the following folders in the order they are arranged:

Under the Installer Registry key, you will find the InProgress subkey. Click on it to display its registry content on the right panel of the Registry Editor interface.

Step 3: The (Default) string that shows up on the right side of the interface, double-click on it. A box will open up. Here, delete the value available in the Value data field, then click on the Ok button to apply changes.

Now, close Registry Editor, and just to be on the safe side, restart your PC. After the restart, install the program you were trying to install. If this did not fox the Error 1500 Another installation is in progress issue in Windows 10, give the next method a try.

#4 – Run SFC to Fix Error 1500 Another installation is in progress

One of the reasons why a program wouldn’t install is because of some broken system files. Broken system files may let your PC think that an installation is already going on, thus you wouldn’t be able to install new programs. In order to fix this, you can run an SFC scan on your PC. An SFC scan will ensure that all the system files on your PC are up to mark and performing their work properly. To run an SFC scan, follow these steps:

Step 1: Run Command Prompt with Administrator rights on your PC. To do so, press the Windows + X keys at once on your keyboard. From the Win+X menu, select the Command Prompt (Admin) option. Your PC may prompt you to allow Windows to run Command Prompt in Admin mode. Allow so by clicking on the Yes button.

Step 2: The Command Prompt window will open up. Here, type the following command and after that press the Enter key:

The SFC scan will begin which may take some time for completion. Wait till the scan is complete, and do not interrupt the SFC scan. When the SFC scan is complete, restart your PC.

When your PC restarts successfully, try installing the program on your PC which you were unable to. In case, you are unable to install and still getting Error 1500, the next step will be to run another scan named DISM scan.

What would have happened is, the SFC scan was not completely able to fix some of the System Files with any kind of error. To make sure that all the System files of Windows are fixed, you should run a DISM scan (Deployment Image & Servicing Management). DISM scan can easily repair corrupt System Files of Windows which SFC would need to run successfully.

For commencing a DISM scan, you will need to open the Command Prompt again in Administrator mode, the same way it is shown in Step 1 above. After that, type the command given below in the Command Prompt window, then hit the Enter key:

Let the DISM scan complete, which may also require some time to complete. Once the DISM scan is complete, run the SFC scan again, as directed in Step 1 and Step 2.

When you are done running the SFC scan again, restart your PC. After the restart, see if you are able to install a new program on your PC or not. In case, you get the Error 1500 Another installation is in progress, the move on to the next step.

#5 – Reset Windows Updates Components Manually

Another good option to fix the Error 1500 Another installation is in progress issue in Windows 10 is resetting Windows Update Component manually using Command Prompt. For this, you will need to run CMD in admin mode and run some commands. Here are the steps that you should follow:

Step 1: Repeat the Step 1 in the Method #4 that is mentioned above. This will run the Command Prompt in Admin mode.

Step 2: Type each line of the commands mentioned below to stop Update Components, one at a time, and press Enter:

Step 3: Now, run each line of these 2 commands one at a time and press Enter button:

Step 4: The update Components that were stopped in Step 2, restart them by running each line of the following commands, one at a time:

After all the commands are run successfully, it would be the time for you to restart your PC. The Error 1500 in Windows 10 would be solved for sure.

#6 – Troubleshoot Windows Update & Windows Store App

This Error 1500 in Windows 10 may also occur when you are trying to install an app in Microsoft Store. If that’s the case, you can try troubleshooting the Windows Update and Windows Store settings. To do so, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Start menu, and click on the Settings option to open Windows 10 Settings.

Step 2: In the Settings window, you will find various options. Click on the Update & Security option.

Step 3: A new window will open, where you need to look in the left panel for Troubleshoot option. A new set of options will appear in the panel on the right side. On the right side of the panel, look for Windows Store Apps section. Select it, then click on the Run the Troubleshooter option.

The troubleshooter wizard will start running. Follow the on-screen instructions to run the troubleshooter completely.

Step 4: Now, again in the Troubleshooter options, look for Windows Update section on the right side of the window. Select it, then again, click on the Run the Troubleshooter option. Follow the wizard’s instruction to complete the troubleshooting.

Following these steps will fix the issue with Windows Update and Windows App Store update installers. And most probably, you will not get the Error 1500 Another installation is in progress error in Windows 10.

Finally,

the steps mentioned above will definitely help you out with installing a new program on your PC, without returning any type of error. Let us know in comments, which one worked for you.