KB2918614 breaks Windows Installer Service

P.S. Explorer was running in my case. I could see my taskbar at the bottom of the screen but my desktop had no wallpaper (completely black) and no icons.

Except for the wallpaper factor that doesn't sound like the same symptom.  That sounds just like your Display configuration (aka Project) is set to Extend and you are starting in Desktop (or you have Show Taskbar on all displays checked) but as I indicated somehow your main monitor is being used as your secondary.  Press Win-P, CursorUp, Enter to change that case.

In fact, though, I suppose this same (hypothetical) quirk could explain others' blank screen symptoms.  E.g. their default would be to start in the Start Screen but their Taskbar option would be to have it only on the main monitor (which they can't see or which would normally be hidden by the Start Screen.)  But then with the new "MUF elements anywhere" change that occurred in W8.1 they should be able to see those MUF bars regardless of the monitor which was current, e.g. Win-C for the Charms bar, etc.  Then again, maybe not being able to do that would be consistent with your lack of wallpaper symptom.  E.g. another sign that explorer.exe is broken and needs to be restarted at least.

BTW others with a blank screen are claiming no keyboard workarounds are possible but do say they observe the Network icon (probably from the Lock screen) "flashing" on the left and then the screen can show mouse movement but no input of any kind is possible.  Please say if that Network icon is appearing at all for your case(s).  That would be a clue for how far things are progressing before the blockage.

FWIW I don't know what event log will be involved with this but I imagine that it would help to have some extra tracing enabled for whatever it is.  For a guess try opening  WindowsUIImmersive  (under Applications and Services logs) and try enabling its Operational log (for a start).  I'll turn that on too and see when it starts recording after a boot.  I suppose results will also depend on your Navigation options regarding Start Screen.  E.g. I have  When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start  checked so possibly might not see any immediate tracing in there at all after a boot.  TBD.

HTH

Robert

C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA

Delete content in the above location, and the problem will be resolved.

Thanks so much for posting this! We've seen this too. Our US and international call centers inform customers to uninstall and hide this update.

Hi,

Sorry, I have not been able to reply before now.

The file you asked for is at: http://1drv.ms/1uNPb3L

I still cannot install ANYTHING that uses a .MSI file. This includes most Windows Updates, as well as a LOT of programs Etc.

I can check the Windows Installer Service and it is running.

When I try an install, I get the message that the installer has terminated unexpectedly, but when I check it in services, it is still running.

I can stop and start it or restart it with no errors.

I have noticed that some services cannot be controlled any more -

For the following services, they are all on either Automatic or Manual and all say they are running, but when one tries to stop or restart them, the functions to do so are grayed out:

Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

DCOM Server Process Launcher

RPC Endpoint Mapper

These are all dependencies of Windows installer.

I MAY be wrong in attributing blame, but all of these problems started after several Windows Updates ran. Microsoft later said to uninstall them and I did so, but that has not corrected the problems. I had not installed anything else for several weeks and I first noticed this when I tried to install a software package, and it failed.

I always create a restore point before installing anything new, so I restored to that point and tried again with the same results. The installation routine failed with the message that the Installer had terminated unexpectedly. I tried restoring to several restore points earlier with exactly the same results.

Of course, the software never did install.

Finally, I noticed that every time I shut down, the machine wanted to run three Microsoft Updates. When I checked, they were all .msi files and were failing every time the install was attempted.

There are no 'failed installs' pending and I have tried everything I have been able to find to correct this problem without any luck at all.

The fact that SFC fails to perform a complete run leads me to believe that I have corrupted files, but again, I cannot seem to find any way of correcting that problem.

I even tried to run a re-install of Windows 7 from the original disk by telling it to do an 'Upgrade Installation', which several articles say will re-load the OS without changing the applications or data.

However, that installation process runs to a point then tells me that "An error prevented a required compliance check from completing. Cancel the installation and try upgrading again." ( I have tried this about five times now.)

Of course, the system has been running this version of Windows 7 for over a year now with no problems and there is nothing on the system that is not Windows 7 compatible, so I am at my wits' end with this.

I'm running Win 8.1 pro (x64). I uninstalled kb2918614, rebooted but still unable to install msi files. So I then uninstalled all of the August updates, rebooted but still no luck :(. I'm at the point of not knowing what to do next¿?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks in advance oldone.