Quick overview:
When starting the installation of an application such as WebCam Software or O&O Defrag V4, the wizard suddenly stops. The welcome screen either does not allow you to make a selection (the Next and Cancel buttons are not selectable or are grayed out) or the setup does not start after the obligatory message InstallShield prepares the... the screen remains blank. You don't get anything more than the typical hourglass after starting the setup.
Solve the problem as follows:
Option 1: Download and install the Microsoft Installer 2.0, which brings the Windows installation routine up to the latest state of the art.
Possibility 2: The InstallShield routine could also cause you problems if applications such as Office have not been uninstalled correctly. An incorrect key is stored in the registry for canceled uninstallations/installations, which causes problems when called up again. This key must now be corrected:
Solve problem when uninstalling/installing software
1. Click on "Start/Run" and type in "regedit".
2. Navigate to the key "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" and double-click the entry "recent".
If it is not there, enter the entry "C:\My Documents" (or the path to the My Documents on your computer) here.
Repeat this step for the folder "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders".
The installation routine should work perfectly immediately after the restart!
Possibility 3: Sebastian Clausen told me that deleting a specific InstallShield folder also solved the installation problem. If files required by the setup do not exist or are damaged or have invalid version numbers, the deleted folder is completely rebuilt by the affected setup - with the correct files. This leads to the desired success:
In Explorer, open the folder C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield and delete the subdirectory Professional.
Possibility 4: Mr. Janzen informed me by email that there is another possibility: The Windows installer can be completely re-integrated into the system or re-registered. And this is what you have to do:
1. Click Start/Run and type msiexec /unregister. You will see an hourglass and hear the hard disk working briefly. The installer is now completely unregistered for the time being!
2. Now under Run, enter the command msiexec /regserver to fully reintegrate MSI into the system.
I would like to thank everyone who helped me and hope that the installation problems are finally a thing of the past!
NOTE FOR NEW PUBLICATION: This article was produced by Sandro Villinger and comes from the Windows Tweaks archive, which has been built up since the late 1990s.
On Windows Tweaks you will find time-saving tech guides for PC, software & Microsoft. For a stress-free digital everyday life. Already we have been "tweaking" Windows since 1998 and just won't stop!
