KB2538242 visual c++ redistributable update on june 2011 keeps trying to install

DO NOT HIDE THIS UPDATE!!

Microsoft may indicate that it installed successfully, but that is not necessarily the case! When I tried manually installing, I got an error that I am unfortunately all too familiar with now (but it can be fixed):

"Error 1402.Could not open key:

 UNKNOWN\Components{GUID}{GUID}.

  Verify that you have sufficient access to that key, or contact your support personnel."

In the above, {GUID} will be an actually GUID that looks something like this: C9AE13788D0B61F80AF18C3B9B1A1EE8

Have you used CCleaner by chance?! I have...thanks to EA Games inability to provide proper support, I downloaded it in one of my final attempts to re-install their software (meanwhile it didn't work...go figure, the one time I buy a game in the last 10 years...whatever I would have been far too distracted by Portal 2 anyways...what a failure of a company...but I digress)...

Okino has been thoughtful enough to document this issue and how to fix it after they first encountered it (note: in my case I have to make the initial edits they are suggesting and then try inheriting the admin rights to the sub directories under the Advanced menu then both the permissions and owner tabs...it won't work without this even though it throws an error...I have to then close the window, re-open it and repeat the procedure...magically it will then work...I was so fed up with this that I went to the parent folder "Components" and applied these permissions to every single registry key...this worked, but likely means my computer is far less secure...but I won't be home for two weeks and couldn't deal with this any more...ultimate solution, again, is to reinstall)

http://www.okino.com/conv/changing_windows_registry_permissions.htm

Hopefully this will help, for now, but the sad truth is that if you have used CCleaner and didn't first backup your registry, you're either out of luck or you're going to end up learning a lot about your registry (because you're going to have to do this for half of your installs). A reinstall will ultimately save you a lot of time, but it will come at the cost of about a day's worth of work depending on how complicated your system is, how many programs you have to reinstall and how fast your connection is.

Good luck...I hope this helps :/

Thank you for the further information. But when you say "Sorry I can't just give you a specific link." this is worrisome.

Clearly, there is a place where you actually did the download. Why can't you post that link so that we know where you got it?

The link the MS Tech provided was on one of her replies. Since the issue was resolved I have deleted all the mail concerning this issue.

I am sorry that you are 'worried' but I am not  MS tech support. I posted so that it may be helpfull to others.

I will post again the MS Tech support URL: http://support.microsoft.com/select/default.aspx?target=assistance

You may want to try it, just as I did, unless it worries you too much.

if you are sure that windows has already installed the update, when it comes back asking you to install again, just right click and "hide" the update.  this should work.

If you do that, every time there are new updates you'll be nagged that you have Important Updates hidden. (it doesn't really care if you have Optional Updates hidden.)