KB2918614 breaks Windows Installer Service

The CBs log that was posted indicated a hash mismatch on an msi. Could be a key is getting corrupted for some reason. I'm going to look at it more in a few min.

A windowsupdate.log would be helpful

I don't think it is a permissions issue. Windows update will mock a user to install as long as it has permission to start the install. It could be a user issue though if something else created the hash and now when windows goes to use it the installer doesn't have the correct one

Thanks for the update. I assume there is something messing this up the file since I haven't seen any reports in the kb page. I'll have to double check

We have now tested signed, unsigned, and closed environment for install and upgrade over multiple products without being able to reproduce the failure.

It would be interesting to know:

1. does this include perMachine or perUser installs?  By the nature of our products, they usually require someone with full administrative rights to install, upgrade, repair, or uninstall.
2. does this affect mostly signed or unsigned MSIs?  All of our MSIs are signed except for the "specials" I made up for testing.
3. are these installers doing anything "naughty"?  Do they pass a full ICE suite without error?
4. were the installers authored by InstallShield, Wix, or some other method?  What tool versions and libraries were used?
5. what was the OS state of machine (specifics as to OS version, service pak, etc.)?
6. what was the dependency state (specifics of .NET version, other software products dependent on, etc.)?
7. which anti-virus program was installed and was it running?
8. a complete, verbose MSI log would be most helpful

Hi DanzlZme,

OK, I assigned full rights for that file specifically to my user and copied it to OneDrive at this link:

http://1drv.ms/1tDPgbb

I was a bit surprised that the Administrators group on my machine had rights to the file and my login is a member of the Administrators group, but it still required me to set my self up INDIVIDUALLY before I could open the file.

I looked through the log file and am a bit surprised by the entries referring to some folders having multiple owners. I did not think that was possible and it does not show up that way when I check the owner in the Advanced Security settings of these folders.

I am also somewhat confused by the entries that refer to folders like:

"??\C:\Windows\Branding\Shellbrd"

In particular, the reference to "??" has me a bit baffled. Why the double question marks?

Anyway, any help you can offer is highly appreciated. It is getting quite worrisome that I cannot install anything that requires the Windows Installer Service. This includes such items as Java updates, misc. programs, etc.

I would be tempted to completely wipe the machine except for the fact that this is my primary work machine and it has quite a few applications loaded on it, so the rebuild would take days, quite literally to get back to normal. All the data is backed up, but that is not my primary concern. It is the massive amount of time and effort it would take to rebuild the machine.

BTW. Thanks for the quick reply. It is much appreciated.

Post the CBS log to a onedrive public folder and paste a link here. The access is denied either because your user doesn't have permission or it is in use. Try to copy it to the desktop or open notepad as an admin then navigate to the log and open it using the file menu inside notepad.

If that doesn't work take a look at the permissions and see if you are added on there. If not then either add them or ues an elevated command prompt and type takeown /f c:\windows\logs\cbs\cbs.log

Then try to copy it or open it

I am also quite frustrated by the effects of this "fix".

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 and started getting the "key not valid for use in specific state" during any installation of a program using the Windows Installer service to install.

I eventually found the information that this behavior was created by the KB2918614 patch, so I removed it.

Now, when I try and install software that uses the Windows Installer service, the installation starts; asks for permission to install; then seems to hang for a couple of minutes. It then comes up with the error stating the installer stopped prematurely. Following that, it opens a window that says "The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running Windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance."

I have tried starting the Windows Installer service and it DOES start correctly (or at least it says it has), but that does not make any difference to the installation sequence. After the installation has failed with the error message shown above, a check of the Windows Installer service shows that it is no longer running.

I have tried running "sfc /scannow" and it completes with the message that "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them."

It also says that "Details are included in the CBS.Log windir\Logs\CBS\log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log"

I found this file, but when I try and access it, I get an "Access is denied" message. (And, YES, I am an administrative user.)

So, as it stands right now, this "fix" from Microsoft has done far more damage than good. Especially as I can no longer install programs that I require and which install on a laptop machine, also running Win 7 Ultimate, with no problems. Of course, the KB2918614 patch was never installed on the laptop!!

ANY solution would be of help here. I thought about re-installing the Windows Installer service, but it appears that the version included with Windows 7 is not available as a separate install program, unlike all of the previous versions!!