Topic InstallShield Installation Error Messages

 Applies_To askSam

    Version 4.x

Last_Update 08/16/2002

Question

When I try to install askSam I get one of the following error messages:

Error extracting support files

Error installing Ikernel.exe (0x any number)

Access is denied

Error loading Type Library/DLL

Answer Delete the contents of your C:\Windows\TEMP directory.

These error messages are generated by InstallShield, the program which installs askSam on your system. 9 times out of 10, these messages can be resolved by deleting the contents of your /Windows/TEMP directory. This directory contains temporary install files that Windows will sometimes not remove. When InstallShield runs, it attempts to write "temporary" data to this directory, so if there are old files there, it could interfere with InstallShield's initialization.

If emptying the TEMP directory does not correct this problem, please see below.

Resolution

Setup initialization errors can be caused by a number of factors. This is a non-exhaustive list of possible resolutions:

1.) Insufficient permissions on the machine. If you are using a Windows NT or a Windows 2000 machine, you need to have administrative permissions to run an InstallShield Professional 6.x setup. Make sure you have the correct permissions.

2.) If you just ran an InstallShield setup, the engine takes a few seconds at the end of the installation to clean up. During this time Ikernel.exe (the engine file) is running in memory from a previous process. That is why you are not allowed to launch another setup. Waiting a few seconds and running the setup again should resolve this.

3.) Check and make sure Ikernel.exe is not in memory. If it is, and no setup is running at the time, end that task and restart the system.

4.) Delete the Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Engine folder and then rerun the setup.

5.) Reinstalling Internet Explorer (IE) 5.x can also repair a number of corrupted/missing core Windows files from your machine, so reinstalling IE 5.x and the NT service pack is also suggested.

6.) Another possibility is that you do not have sufficient COM permissions. For information on how to troubleshoot this, see InstallShield article Q104986, INFO: Initialization Error Troubleshooting.

7.) The other potential cause is a missing Stdole.tlb, stdole32.tlb, or stdole2.tlb file. These are core Windows files and should exist on your machine. Make sure that if you get these file from another machine, the machine is running the same operation system as the machine you are trying to run the setup on.

8.) If you are trying to install to a Windows 98 machine, download and run Dcom98.exe from the following site: http://www.microsoft.com/com/dcom/dcom98/download.asp.

9.) Make sure that you are using the latest version of the InstallShield engine. To install the latest engine see article Q105097, INFO: Install the Latest Version of Ikernel.exe

10.) The Default Impersonation Level must be set to Identify. Verify that the DCOM Configuration Properties Defaults Impersonation Level is set correctly. Users that have their Default Impersonation Level set to Anonymous experience this error message. To change the impersonation level, please follow the steps below:

a. Click on the Start button

b. Select Run

c. Enter DCOMCNFG then click OK

d. Select NO for any Warning screens that are presented

e. The "Distributed COM Configuration Properties" screen is displayed

f. Select the "Default Properties" tab

g. The "Defaults Impersonation Level" field must be set to "Identify"

h. Select Apply then OK

11.) The said symptom occurs if the user does not have access priviliges for the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\TypeLib

Use regedt32.exe* to alter the security settings. Give Full Control to following user types:

Administrator (on the local machine)

System

Created Owner

12.) Using Regedit.exe* check the value of CommonFilesDir registry entry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion, to ensure that there are no trailing spaces or tab characters in the text of that value.

*Warning*: These instructions involve modifying the Windows Registry. Modifications to the Windows registry, if not done correctly, can cause serious problems to a Windows system. Please consider exporting any keys you modify to a .reg file as a backup.