Whenever you install a software in Windows, most of the time it will come with an uninstaller that allows you to safely remove the program from your computer. This is because software nowadays are very complex and requires registering of OCX or DLL files, registry changes, dropping of files in appropriate places and etc. There are many types of installers and one of the popular one is Windows Installer and Kaspersky uses it to pack their software for users to install and uninstall.
If you’ve installed a software and suddenly Windows has stopped working, the logical way is to boot Windows in Safe Mode and then try to uninstall. Safe mode is a troubleshooting option for Windows that starts your computer in a limited state. Only the basic files and drivers necessary to run Windows are started. Unfortunately by default you can’t uninstall a software that is packaged with Windows Installer in Safe Mode. If you try to uninstall, you will get the error “The Windows Installer service is not accessible in Safe Mode. Please try again when your computer is not in Safe Mode or you acn use System Restore to return your machine to a previous good state.”
There is a Windows Installer (msiserver) service in Services and if you attempt to manually start it in Safe Mode, you should get an error that says “Windows could not start the Windows Installer service on Local Computer. Error 1084: This service cannot be started in Safe Mode.”
To start the Windows Installer service in Safe Mode so that you can uninstall programs, all you need to do is add a new MSIServer registry key. Simply follow the step-by-step instructions below:
1. Hit Win+R, type regedit and click OK.
2. Navigate to the following location in registry editor:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\
3. Right click at Minimal and select New > Key and name it as MSIServer
4. The (Default) data for MSIServer should show (value not set). Double click on (Default) and type Service in the value data. Close the Registry Editor.
5. Again hit Win+R, type services.msc and click OK.
6. Look for Windows Installer on the list, double click on it and click Start.
You can now uninstall programs that is packed using Windows Installer in Safe Mode. Alternatively, you can also do all the steps above by typing two command lines below in command prompt or at the Run window.
REG ADD "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\MSIServer" /VE /T REG_SZ /F /D "Service"
net start msiserver
As you can see the first command line is pretty long which I don’t think many people are willing to memorize it. Remember, editing the Windows registry is a risky business and you can end up with more problems rather than fixing it if you do it wrongly. Hence, I’d personally prefer to learn how to do it the long way.
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Thanks – - – great tip! Works like a charm
I ran into trouble when I used a registry cleaner to tune up my Compaq 6710b…aparently it deleted the reg keys that the tables for the passwords were stored in. There was only two options, re-install the OS, or uninstall HP’s stupid software. Being able to start the uninstaller saved me. Also, you may have to uninstall a couple other HP security applications with it…
i done everything but when i tryed to turn msi on i said error message 2 the system could not find the file specified! can someone help me please
err i tried doing it on safe mode with networking and after following Dan Fs tip i got another error message
windows installer cant be found on local computor error code :2 can any 1 help me
I’m having the same problem on my windows 7. can anyone help me?
Thanks for the tip. Had trouble uninstalling Kaspersky as well. This works on Windows 7.
I have just rescued my Windows 7 installation using this tip. I had to remove Kaspersky AV 2010 Chinese as Windows could not boot normally anymore, but Safe Mode would not let me do it. I was preparing for a full OS reinstall, but I found this trick which saved me from wasting another 24 hours backing-up and reinstalling stuff. Thank you!
Thanks mate, you just saved my bacon. I can confirm that this works in Windows Web Server 2008 SP2
A tip for anyone who’s booted in safe mode with networking, the key is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\
Cheers
i created and SFX where he creats the service and put it running when your are allready in safe mode.
No user intervention at all…
Everything works fine!
Sorry, it was my mistake:)
This doesn’t work in SP-3
Error 1084 still after register is edited
“6. Look for Windows Installer on the list, double click on it and click Start.”
should i then make it Automatic too so that i do not need to go into windows to run it and can simply go into safe mode direct ?
Thanks ! Dude
I want to know like other users above, is this safe? Why MS did not allow it in the first time, and why many download sites removed this program ?
i mean can we just cut paste it to a .reg file
Thanks Ray i just posted something about this in the Forum
but do we have to manually turn it on in safe mode or will it manually start
A batch file is a good idea. but as a newb do we just type out the long way and save it in note pad as a reg file
good tips.
Hello all…
Windows Installer is very boring
I need to update MSOffice on a computer, but for some reason, Windows Installer do not allows me do that.
I tried to update the Windows Installer, I tried to remove it and install it again, I tried to reinstall Windows XP SP3 but nothing works. Whenever I try to install the newest version of the MSOffice or remove old version, I get a message saying that can’t access the Windows Installer.
I would like to solve this problem without format the computer.
Wonderful tip Raymond!
I loved it. Thanks a ton.
You Rock! As usual ;)
awesome tip ray and thanks for the great info that we are learning everyday :D
Thanks Raymond.
Another great tip from you..
I subscribed to you via RSS FEED, and with a reason!
You rock.
Thank you Raymond – very helpful. Have you had a look at Tullius’s offering? Any comment ?
“There is also a tool called safemsi.zip to do this for you. Excellent to take with you on USB-key!
There doesn’t seem to be a primary download point for SafeMSI, so a mirror: tinyurl.com/ylh6kqt”
It would also be most helpful if you could answer the questions posed by Robert L (above).
Thank you.
Thanks for the info. Raymond.
I have two questions regarding this “fix”. First is… I’m wondering if anyone knows *WHY* Microsoft feels that the installer should be restricted from running in Safe Mode in the first place? There might actually be a good reason for this. Even if the reason isn’t “good”, it would be interesting to know.
Secondly… Raymond, I assume that you are recommending that the MSIServer key be left in the registry after the “emergency” is tended to, is this correct?? Does adding this key just *allow* MSIServer to be run from Safe Mode, or does it *cause* MSIServer to run whenever a person enters SafeMode, once it has been added to the registry (ie, will MSIServier automatically start running whenever a person enters SafeMode, once that registry addition has been made???).
Thanks for the info!!
Excellent tip!! Thanks Raymond.
thx ray you are the it GOD and can somebody make the batch file en post the link it would be a very handy tool
thx ray you are the it GOD I am a newbi to your site about 4 month’s now and i have learn’t alot and can you maybe create a batch file and post the link it wil be a very handy
There is also a tool called safemsi.zip to do this for you. Excellent to take with you on USB-key!
There doesn’t seem to be a primary download point for SafeMSI, so a mirror:
tinyurl.com/ylh6kqt
I was looking for this for a long time. Thanks Ray.
Thank You very much this is very useful but do I have to do these steps on safe mode or normal mode?
Excellent tip!! Thanks Raymond.
thanks for this! Will be handy soon..
useful info mate, thanks!
thanks.useful tip!!!
thanks Ray .Very use full info.
Instead of memorizing the above cmd-script, we can also create a batch file and put it away for future use.
good inf ray…..thanks
Excellent tip!! Thanks heaps Raymond.