Installer service fail to start

[trodas]

...any idas how to fix that problem?

Windows 2000 SP 4 here. After some tweakings and problems (including removal od some spyware and stuff) my Installer service can't be started. Hence, for example, installing anything is not possible. And, for example, FF can't use the M$ java, so...

Anyone know, what to do, beside reinstall, to make it working again?

The C:\WINNT\system32\msiexec.exe /V file is here. The service is not disabled, it is on manual. However when in services I choose to start it, then in fail to and report that "service did not return any error", so it might be a Windows itself fault

Damn. Anyone having some ideas, what to test?

[Gizmo]

Ripping out the spyware probably caused some necessary dlls to get removed as well.

One thing you may try is unregistering and reregistering msiexec. To do this, open a command window and type the following:

msiexec /unreg
msiexec /regserver

And see if that fixes it. If that doesn't work, you will probably need to download and install the msiexec package from MS. You should still be able to install 'old style' packages that include their own installer; only packages that depend on the Microsoft Installer should be affected by your problem.

[trodas]

Thanks for the interesting ideas! I tried the unreg/reg trick, but no change. Then I DL the installer ( http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en ) and tried it - but sadly no help either. Then I tried the unreg/reg trick again, just to be sure and it's still not helping...

So I fired up FileMon to watch what is going on when I try start the Installer service and the results are only 3 problems:

313 11:46:36 msiexec.exe:776 OPEN C:\WINNT\system32\msiexec.exe.Local NOT FOUND Options: Open Access: All

336 11:46:36 msiexec.exe:776 OPEN C:\WINNT\system32\Program\picture.exe PATH NOT FOUND Options: Open Access: All

363 11:46:36 msiexec.exe:776 QUERY SECURITY C:\WINNT\Installer INVALID DEVICE REQUEST

INVALID DEVICE REQUEST?!

[Samuknow]

Does 2K let you do a repair install? If so, that will fix it but you will have to do all your updates and drivers again.

Spyware removal can be a nasty thing.

[trodas]

Well, I will not do the repair thing, because it would require me to REINSTALL everything, witch could NOT work, since my Installer is broken.

Eg. it is VERY likely that the Installer will not get fixed and then I'm stuck. So repair is almost equivalent to reinstall for me. And last time I checked, the 320G drive seems to be ignored by the Winblows install, so that mean install to other drive and then move the windows to this one... and that much hassles is simply too much.
Any good program does not need installing anyway (or at least not using the cursed Winblows installer, so...)

I tried take a look at the Dial-a-fix utility and I must say it helped me with my other problem - my windows positions are NO remembered before. It found out that there was set some nasty limitations (probably by spyware), witch caused these settings are NOT remembered.
Well, not anymore. Dial-a-fix helped me greatly! Dial-a-fix - TechWiki

Sadly it did not help me with the installer problem...

PS. Holly...!!! The DNS setting in the network adapted itself are WRONG! There should not and never be tghe DNS servers 208.67.220.220 and 208.67.222.222 ...!!! I never checked these settings, since I never believe that they can be changed and my net still can work like fast, like normal...! Damn!

That means that problems 1 and 2 are gone now.

PS2. I get pis_ed and make a hunt for these numbers:
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{192B38CA-480D-426E-8D20-1844BF6C2F04}: NameServer = 208.67.220.220,208.67.222.222
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{CB6E67C3-20C8-4E3B-8279-948A20C711C5}: NameServer = 208.67.220.220,208.67.222.222

I find plenty of keys and instanced of both 192B38CA-480D-426E-8D20-1844BF6C2F04 and CB6E67C3-20C8-4E3B-8279-948A20C711C5 and I deleted them ALL w/o mercy. I find no instances of the later two you pointed out, probably because they are changed now because I did changed the DNS servers. Time to reboot to see if everyrhing is fine.

PS3. Bad move! My NIC was killed by it. Well, at least I took the oportunity to finally upgrade the obsolete year 2005 driver, provided by Sapphire to a fresh new one. Luckily the install did not require the installer...! As I did not manage it running, even I enable everything I disabled in the Autoruns AND I allow now every services to run... Ugh

[trodas]

I got a idea.
At some point I removed all attributes on files on whole C: drive. Not bright idea, as since this time, the fonts can't be added and perhaps even the installer won't run. Maybe if I know how to set the right files... then...? Perhaps?

[cloasters]

Wouldn't that be nice? Bump.