uninstall and reinstall windows installer on W7 64bit

Windows Installer — If you are unable to install programs in Windows see the links below.

Diagnose and fix program installing and uninstalling problems automatically:
http://support.microsoft.com/mats/Program_Install_and_Uninstall

Troubleshoot problems installing and uninstalling programs on Windows-based computers:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2438651

How to use the System File Checker tool and sfc /scannow to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

Sharing bits of knowledge.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Troubleshoot Windows Installer

2438651 How to troubleshoot problems that may occur when you install, uninstall, or upgrade a program on a Windows-based computer

Check your hard disk for any errors:

Type: CMD, from the results, right click CMD

Click ‘Run as Administrator’

At the Command Prompt, type: chkdsk /r /f

When you restart your system, your computer will be scanned for errors and attempts will be made to correct them.

Click Start
Type: CMD, from the results, right click CMD
Click ‘Run as Administrator’
At the Command Prompt, type: sfc/scannow

This will check for any integrity violations

If that still does not fix it, I suggest you download the corresponding edition of Windows 7 with SP1 that you have installed on your computer, burn it to a blank DVD and do a repair upgrade.

Windows 7 (English) with Service Pack 1

ImgBurn — In addtion to supporting the creation of CD’s from .ISO files,
it supports a wide range of other image file formats, and it’s free.
(BIN, CUE, DI, DVD, GI, IMG, MDS, NRG, PDI and ISO)
http://www.imgburn.com/

Note: Always use the slowest burn speed (4x or 2x) if offered a choice.

how do i reinstall windows installer

Check your hard disk for any errors:

Type: CMD, from the results, right click CMD

Click ‘Run as Administrator’

At the Command Prompt, type: chkdsk /r /f

When you restart your system, your computer will be scanned for errors and attempts will be made to correct them.

Click Start
Type: CMD, from the results, right click CMD
Click ‘Run as Administrator’
At the Command Prompt, type: sfc/scannow

This will check for any integrity violations

Restart your system

Troubleshoot Windows Installer

2438651 How to troubleshoot problems that may occur when you install, uninstall, or upgrade a program on a Windows-based computer

Reinstall Windows Installer Service

Have you recently installed any applications or drivers that might have interfared with the service? You could try removing them temporarily to see if it corrects the problem. Have you also tried doing a System Restore to a point in time before this problem started happening?

Also try this suggest by Karen Ji, MS Forum Moderator for reinstalling the Windows Installer service:

To reinstall the Windows Installer, rename the damaged Windows Installer files, and then reinstall the Windows Installer. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open text box, and then click OK.

2. Type cd %windir%\system32, and then press ENTER.

3. Type attrib -r -s -h dllcache, and then press ENTER.

4. Type ren msi.dll msi.old, and then press ENTER.

5. Type ren msiexec.exe msiexec.old, and then press ENTER.

6. Type ren msihnd.dll msihnd.old, and then press ENTER.

7. Type exit, and then press ENTER.

8. At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.

9. Click Start, and then click Turn off computer or Shut Down.

10. Select the Restart option, and then click OK, or click Restart.

11. Log on to the computer.

12. Download and install the latest version of the Windows Installer from the link below

1. Click Start, and then click Turn off computer or Shut Down.

2. Select the Restart option, and then click OK, or click Restart.

Unregister Windows Installer, and then reregister Windows Installer. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the «Start» menu, click «Run:.

2. In the «Open» box, type «msiexec /unreg», and then press ENTER.

3. On the «Start» menu, click «Run».

4. In the «Open» box, type «msiexec /regserver», and then press ENTER.

Click Start Orb, in the Start Search box type: Regedit.

Scroll to: HKEY_lOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/services/msiserver

Verify that the SYSTEM account has Full control. If it does not, add the SYSTEM account with Full control.

Modifying REGISTRY settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of REGISTRY settings can be solved. Modifications of these settings are at your own risk.

Need to Reinstall Windows Installer in Windows 7

I had the same problem when Adobe Reader’s update failed. Adobe said I should uninstall Adobe Reader. That did not work because I did not have the Windows Installer. Catch-22!

I ran sfc /scannow and it did NOT find any problems. I will do the ‘repair your computer’ step from above.

Shouldn’t or can’t MSFT have a downloadable installer for Windows 7? The process you have described is a PITA. I am not sure what it solves if scannow can’t find a problem.

***Post moved by the moderator to the appropriate forum category.***

Replies (5) 

See the following:

1 person found this reply helpful

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

How to troubleshoot problems that may occur when you install, uninstall, or upgrade a program on a Windows-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2438651/en-us

Error «The Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed» when installing or updating programs on Windows 7 or Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2642495

1 person found this reply helpful

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

So, Microsoft doesn’t have an installer for Windows 7 that one can re-install. So if the installer fails, as often happens, one must buy a new computer. Because Microsoft never saw the need to reinstall it’s software. That is despite the fact that it automatically updates it about 10 times a day.

How hard can it be to make an installer for the installer? Obviously it gets installed when Windows is installed. I assume the kids that wrote it therefore know how to use it, so they could test it by making an installer that would install it.

Important Windows Installer 5.0 is released with the following operating systems. Therefore, Windows Installer 4.5 does not apply to these operating systems.
Additionally, there is no redistributable for Windows Installer 5.0.

• Windows 7

3 people found this reply helpful

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How to: Perform a Clean Install or Reinstall of Windows 10

Please be sure to follow me on Twitter @adacosta for the latest tips, tricks and updates in the world of Windows 10. —

Technical Level : Intermediate

Summary
If you have installed a recent release of Windows in the past 5 years, you pretty much know what it will be like to install Windows 10. In this article, we take a look at performing a clean install. This includes starting a clean install from within a running version of Windows or a hard disk/SSD with no previous Windows installations.

Details

• Perform a clean install by booting from install media (DVD or USB thumb drive)
• Perform a clean install using Reset in Windows 10 orWindows 10 Refresh Tools (Start Fresh)
  
• Perform a clean install from within a running version of Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 10
  

Previously, Windows 7, Windows 8.0 and Windows 8.1 users needed to have either of those versions of Windows installed and activated in order to qualify for the free upgrade offer. For users who needed to perform a clean install of Windows 10 from the outset, it was a two step process of first validating the machine through the upgrade routine, ensure the Windows 10 Upgrade was activated, then proceed to perform a Reset.

Starting with versions Windows 10 1511 or later, users no longer have to go through this process.

What is the Digital Entitlement or Digital License?

When you upgrade from a previous version of Windows, what happens is the hardware, (your PC), will get a digital license. This is a unique signature of the computer which is stored on Microsoft Activation Servers. The Windows 7 or Windows 8 genuine license you were previously running will be exchanged for a diagnostics product key.

Anytime you need to reinstall Windows 10 on that machine, just proceed to reinstall Windows 10. It will automatically reactivate. The only exception where this applies is dependent on the license you upgraded from. If you change your motherboard and originally you upgraded from a Windows 7 OEM or Windows 8 OEM license, then your Digital Entitlement will be invalidated. You will need to purchase a new full version license.

So, there is no need to know or get a product key, if you need to reinstall Windows 10, you can use your Windows 7 or Windows 8 product key or use the reset function in Windows 10.

Perform a Clean Install on an Empty Hard Disk/SSD or Reinstall by Booting from Install Media (DVD or USB Thumb Drive)

Once you have your Windows 10 installation media ready, all you need to do is boot from the disc or USB thumb drive to begin setup. If you don’t have install media, see instructions: How to download official Windows 10 ISO files

Review the following guide for instructions and details about configuring your BIOS or UEFI boot settings for DVD, CD, USB or SD Card.

Once your computer is set to boot from the DVD, you should see this option. If you are installing from a retail Windows 10 USB thumb drive, you will be asked to select either 32 or 64 bit Windows 10. Learn more here

The Windows logo will appear on screen, this might be here for a while, as long as you see the animating dots, everything should be ok.

Select your Language, Time and Keyboard method then click Next.

Click Install now

Windows 10 setup will prompt you for a product key during installation a couple times. If you originally upgraded from Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 click the option ‘I don’t have a key’ and ‘Do this later’ . If you have a Windows 10 product key, you can proceed to enter it.

Setup will also prompt you to select the edition you have a license for — Home or Pro. Please make sure you choose the right edition. If you choose the wrong edition, your only option will be to perform a clean install again.

The copy of Windows 10 you download and upgrade from will correspond with the edition of Windows you have installed, if it does not, this is why you might be experiencing problems activating:

• Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Windows 8.0 Core, Windows 8.1 Core should install Windows 10 Home

• Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8.0 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro should install Windows 10 Pro

Wait while setup prepares to copy files

Accept the license terms then click Next

Click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)

NOTE : Sometimes Windows 10 setup can become confused if it see’s a thumb drive. You might get a driver missing error or something to that effect. If you do, restart setup, but this time, when you arrive at the following screen, disconnect your thumb drive then go through Custom options. When setup is ready copy files, it will prompt you to reconnect the installation source (your USB).

Select the drive then click New

NOTE : If you have multiple partitions listed, select each one (starting at the bottom), then click delete until there is only a single (one) unallocated drive displayed in the window.

Select the unallocated drive listed, click New, click Apply then OK

This will split the drive into multiple partitions, select the Primary partition then click Next.

NOTE: The System Reserved partition is where recovery files are kept for diagnostics and repairing damaged Windows 10 files; or even reinstall Windows 10.

Wait while Windows installs

When this phase of setup is complete, Windows will automatically restart then reboot into setup again.

Windows is detecting and installing your hardware. After this is complete, Windows will restart one last time.

Out of Box Experience

The Out of Box Experience page is where you get to configure detailed settings in Windows, which includes creating a user account, configure privacy, sync PC settings and install modern applications.

Learn more about setting up your Windows 10 Installation:

There you go, Windows 10 has successfully installed!

Install the Latest Windows Updates immediately

Start > Settings > Update and Security > Windows Update then click Check for Updates

Perform a Clean Install Using Reset, Recovery Drive or Refresh Tools (Start Fresh) in Windows 10

If you already have Windows 10 installed, you can use the built in Reset function, Recovery Drive or Refresh Tools (Start Fresh) in Windows 10 do so. Learn how in the following article:

How to Perform a Clean Install by Starting Setup from Within a Running Version of Windows 10

If you are running Windows 7 or Windows 8.0, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, launch Windows 10 setup using ISO Media:

During setup, at the Ready to install screen, click Change what to keep link

Select Nothing

Click Next to being the installation

How do I check my activation status?

Click Start > Settings (press Windows key + i) > Update & security > Activation

Depending on the version of Windows 7 installed, 1507, 1511, 1607, you will see different wording beside the activation status:

Windows 10 1507 (build 10240)

Windows 10 1511 (build 10586)

Windows 10 1607 (build 14393) or later.

If you experience problems with product activation, please review: