Error "The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed" in Windows Vista

Error “the Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed” In Windows Vista

When you try to install a program which uses Windows Installer in a Windows Vista computer, you may receive the following error.

The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance.

This error may occur even though Windows is already in normal mode.

Resolution

Start the Windows Installer service

Click Start, type Services.msc and press {ENTER}
Double-click Windows Installer
Set the Startup type of Windows Installer to Manual
Click Start to start the service. Note down the error message if any.
Click OK.

Windows Installer Registry Fix

If the above steps do not help or if the Windows Installer service is not listed in the Services applet, follow these steps:

Download msiserver.zip and save it to Desktop.
Unzip the file and extract msiserver.reg to the Desktop.
Right-click msiserver.reg and choose Merge.
Click Yes when asked for confirmation.
Restart Windows.

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41 Responses to “Error “the Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed” In Windows Vista”

Doug Heimstead

said this on Wednesday, February 25th 2009 4:56 am

I got the message “the Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed”. My system is XP Pro – will your solution for Vista work for me or do I need something different?

I appreciate your help.

Doug
Xander

said this on Sunday, February 15th 2009 6:47 pm

Thanks a lot man!!
I’ve dealing with this problem for 2 months and tried solutions from many websites!!

Your solution solved everything!!
wilfredo

said this on Thursday, January 29th 2009 3:31 am

Super easy, foget it microsoft , this solution work fine fine…
Bruce

said this on Monday, January 19th 2009 12:31 am

Cannot believe it’s working! I am downloading Turbo Tax as I write this. Thank You so much.
joel

said this on Wednesday, November 26th 2008 8:59 pm

I see by the original post done way back in Mar 08.
I have to tell you I found your solution after endless searching of MS web sites and other support forums. My problem occurred after install of new Update agent 7.2.6001.288 update agent on a Vista Home premium system back on 11/13/2008. Thank you for keeping this around. I have actually copied the link into a folder to use later on if I need to go back to this to find the steps.

It worked for me. Very easy and solved my problem. Even with error 3
I used the other steps you have by downloading and installing the
zipped .reg file and merge process. My own OEM didn’t even have a free ref to this solution. You saved me $. Thank you very much.
Dilip Bagdi

said this on Sunday, November 23rd 2008 4:27 am

Dear Sir,
Your article regarding “installer service” saved my 9.95$ and I really thankful to you and your website who posted this article.I checked everything and waisted hours of troubleshooting but couldn’t resolve the issue.but I downloaded the registry file and merged it and the issue resolved..

Manay many thanks.
Peter

said this on Saturday, November 8th 2008 8:52 pm

Still no use doesnt work still
Mel

said this on Sunday, November 2nd 2008 9:30 pm

Thank You for the help and advice i received from all of you..finally solved this problem that was frustrating me for weeks.
wartak

said this on Tuesday, October 7th 2008 3:57 am

Thank you rashad ;) solved for me!!!

Comment by rashad on 18 August 2008:

http://www.softwarepatch.com/windows/windows-installer.html
I downloaded window installer 4.5. it works perfectly for the moment.Ensure that u download the one for vista.
Christopher

said this on Friday, October 3rd 2008 3:58 am

thanks! It worked for me!

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