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Why do I get "Window Installer, Preparing to install" each time I boot Windows?

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Summary: If you get the "Window Installer, Preparing to install" each time you boot Windows, there are a couple of resources to check out.

Why do I get "Window Installer, Preparing to install" each time I boot Windows?

In a nutshell, it depends. Typically it's an artifact from a previous install that didn't complete. But there are a couple of resources that might help:

How do I stop Windows Installer from loading? is a thread out on the Annoyances.org discussion board that covers the topic. Windows Installer Appears Every Time I Start an Application is a related article, also on Annoyances.org.

Related:

Article 354 | Posted July 3, 2004

Recent Comments

I used the technique that floyd used (that hijack one). After that, that installer box appeared but only for a second.But I dont think the problem is solved. I'm tired of this.

Posted by: shan at January 14, 2008 08:18 AM

Symantic Corporate 10 wasted my fill day by starting configuration everytime at right clicking any file. Disabling Windows installer service removed problem but it is not a real solution. Sick of deleting registry entries and running MSI configuration tools.

Posted by: http://ideals.50webs.com at February 9, 2008 05:50 AM

Thanks God that this all such problems are resolved when I downloaded and installed a software from microsoft "Windows Install Clean Up". This software removes incomplete and corrupted installations. Goodluck!

Posted by: http://ideals.110mb.com at March 9, 2008 09:20 PM

Every time I opened Outlook I was always getting the annoying message "Window Installer, Preparing to install". In the registry I removed the add-ins of Outlook at the following registry key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins]. They were 3 and I removed all of them and It works. Thank you very much for the recipe.

Posted by: Guy Carignan at March 30, 2008 12:38 PM

I used Guy C.'s method and it worked perfectly. I had already used "Windows Install Cleanup" with a re-install of Office 2003, done a repair install of Office 2003, done a complete uninstall and re-install of Office 2003, and installed the SP 3 update. All of this with no success.

Posted by: Reg Green at April 10, 2008 12:22 PM

Will this method actually work if you had an Office 2007 trial installed on top of an office 2003 suite.

Uninstaklling the trial results in the infamous windows installer appearing on any app. load. Would I need to uninstall the trial then use the cleanup utility to remove all traces of 2007?

Posted by: Chris at April 17, 2008 07:45 AM

Thanks so much for my help, now I have got rid of the problem "windows installer,preparing to install...." , which was started after installing Windows XP in my comptuer.I downloaded the "Windows Installer Cleanup Utility package" from microsoft. just run the package and remove from list. It works.....trust me.

Posted by: Zeshan at May 17, 2008 06:24 AM

I downloaded and installed a software from microsoft "Windows Install Clean Up". As others have written, this software removed in incomplete and corrupted installation I must have had. I removed all installers using the program and my "windows Installer" "Preparing to Install" error is gone. Finally!!! Thank you everyone for posting solutions.

Posted by: Don at May 25, 2008 09:41 AM

I fixed this with
http://www.openoffice.org/

click this for the default when you install.

it is great. fast load. works really, really good

Posted by: Neil Shotton at June 20, 2008 01:33 PM

For all those having this issue with office 2007, despite the fact that you use Windows Install Clean Up and reinstall office several times, here is a clean solution.

Check this out:
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/microsoft.public.office.setup/browse_thread/thread/ba54b2457f1a2e32/?hl=en#

Answer is given by kimwind... on 15 May 2007

Before finding this answer, I had solved Word & powerpoint issues by fixing manually the registry (permission rights on HKCR/.pip) but I was still struggling with Excel and the stdole32.tlb message.

I used Process Monitor without any success (great tool that I highly recommend anyway: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx).

The script given by kimwind fixed it straight away (after 10 minutes execution, be patient, it is worthy and do not worry about the few registry entries that cannot be changed).

Good luck and thank you Kimwind!

Posted by: Renaud at August 1, 2008 04:34 AM

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