When you try to install Windows Internet Explorer 7, you receive an error message: "Internet Explorer 7 could not be installed"

When you try to install Windows Internet Explorer 7, you receive an error message: "Internet Explorer 7 could not be installed"

 

We know how important it is for you to be able to install and to use Internet Explorer 7, so let's get started.

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General troubleshooting

Method A: Use Windows Update to update Windows and Internet Explorer

This method is rated: Moderate.

To complete this method, follow these steps:

1. Start Windows Update and check for updates. If you need the steps, here they are:
   1. In Internet Explorer, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
      http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/)
   2. To check for important updates, click Express.
      
      Note If you receive an error message when you visit Windows Update, you must first resolve the Windows Update error message before you can continue with the methods that are described in this article. Search for more information about the error message on the following Microsoft Web site:
      http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/troubleshoot.aspx?ln=en-us (http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/troubleshoot.aspx?ln=en-us)
2. Install all important updates. If you need the steps, here they are:
   1. If any important updates are available for your computer, install them. To do this, click Install updates.
   2. If you are prompted to restart your computer after all the updates are installed, restart your computer.
3. Repeat steps 1 through 2 until you receive a page that contains the following text:
   No high-priority updates for your computer are available
4. Try to install Internet Explorer 7 again. To download Internet Explorer 7, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx)

If this method worked, you are finished.

If this method did not work for you, try Method B.

Method B: Temporarily disable antispyware or antivirus software

This method is rated: Easy.

Note Before you temporarily disable your virus scanner, make sure that the Windows Firewall is enabled. After you complete the steps, enable the virus scanner again.

Antivirus software is designed to help protect your computer from viruses. You must not download or open files from sources that you do not trust, visit Web sites that you do not trust, or open e-mail attachments when your antivirus software is disabled. For more information about computer viruses, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

129972  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/129972/ ) Computer viruses: description, prevention, and recovery

As soon as you complete this method, make sure that the virus scanner is enabled, and then visit the following Microsoft Web site to reinstall the latest updates:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)

Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

To complete this method, follow these steps:

1. Disable antispyware or antivirus software. To do this, right-click the appropriate icon for the antispyware or antivirus software in the notification area. Then, click Exit, or click Disable.
   
   Note For more information about how to disable the antispyware or antivirus software, see the program documentation.
2. When the antispyware or antivirus software is disabled, try to install Internet Explorer 7 again. To download Internet Explorer 7, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx)
3. When the installation of Internet Explorer 7 is finished, enable the antispyware or antivirus software.
   
   Note For more information about how to enable the antispyware or antivirus software, see the program documentation.

If this method worked, you are finished.

If this method did not work for you, try Method C.

Method C: Scan your computer for malware

This method is rated: Easy.

How you scan your computer for malware depends on the malware-protection programs that you have.

Important If you use your own antivirus and anti-malware software, update the antivirus and anti-malware definition files before you scan your computer.

If you do not know how to update your antivirus and anti-malware definition files, or if you do not know how to scan your computer, an easy and free way to do this is to use the Windows Live OneCare safety scanner. To use the Windows Live OneCare safety scanner, follow these steps:

1. In Internet Explorer, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://onecare.live.com/scan (http://onecare.live.com/scan)
2. Click Full Service Scan.
   
   Note The behavior that you see on the Windows Live OneCare Web page might be a bit different from what we describe here, but basically this is what will occur. The Windows Live OneCare safety scanner is downloaded and installed on your computer the first time that you perform a scan. The scanner will inspect your computer. Then, it will give you results and recommendations when the scan is complete. This might take a while, so be prepared for that.
   
   Note If you currently have no malware-protection programs installed, you can download a 90-day free trial of Windows Live OneCare. To do this, click Download free trial under Get continuous protection for your PC with Windows Live OneCare on the Windows Live OneCare Web page.
3. When the scan is complete, try to install Internet Explorer 7 again. To download Internet Explorer 7, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx)

If this method worked, you are finished.

If this method did not work for you, try Method D.

Method D: Clean boot your computer

This method is rated: Moderately easy.

To complete this method, follow these steps:

1. Perform a clean boot. For more information about how to clean boot your computer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   310353  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353/ ) How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state
2. After you have clean booted your computer, try to install Internet Explorer 7 again. To download Internet Explorer 7, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx)

If this method worked, your next steps are to configure your computer to use a normal startup again. For more information about how to configure your computer to use a normal startup, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

310353  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353/ ) How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state

After you configure your computer to use a normal startup again, you are finished.

If this method did not work for you, and you are comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, let's continue to "Advanced troubleshooting." Keep your computer in the clean boot state as you try the advanced troubleshooting methods.

If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, unfortunately this article is unable to help you any further. For your next steps, you might want to ask someone for help, or you might want to contact Support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/) .

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Advanced troubleshooting

If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, or if these advanced troubleshooting steps do not work for you, you might want to ask someone for help or contact support. For information about how to contact Microsoft support, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.support.microsoft.com/contactus (http://www.support.microsoft.com/contactus)

For information about Internet Explorer 7 support, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/iefaq.mspx (http://www.support.microsoft.com)

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Method E: Reset permissions for any unwriteable registry subkeys

This method is rated: Moderately difficult.

To complete this method, follow these steps:

Note These steps assume that an English version of the operating system is installed. For environments other than English, in step 2b, you must use the "administrators" group name that corresponds to the language version that is installed.

1. Download the SubInACL tool from the Microsoft Web site. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Visit the following Microsoft Web site:
      http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=E8BA3E56-D8FE-4A91-93CF-ED6985E3927B&displaylang=en (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=E8BA3E56-D8FE-4A91-93CF-ED6985E3927B&displaylang=en)
   2. Click Download to download the SubInACL tool (SubInACL.exe).
   3. When the download is finished, double-click to install the downloaded file.
   4. The SubInACL tool installs to the %programfiles%\Windows Resource Kits\Tools folder.
2. Use Notepad to create the Sub.bat file. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, click Run, type Notepad, and then press ENTER.
   2. Copy and then paste (or type) the following text into Notepad:

      subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /grant=administrators=f  subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CURRENT_USER /grant=administrators=f  subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /grant=administrators=f  subinacl /subdirectories %SystemDrive% /grant=administrators=f  subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /grant=system=f  subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CURRENT_USER /grant=system=f  subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /grant=system=f  subinacl /subdirectories %SystemDrive% /grant=system=f

   3. Click File, and then click Save As.
   4. Copy and paste the following path and file name into the File name box, and then click Save:

      %programfiles%\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\sub.bat

   5. Click Save.
3. Run the Sub.bat tool, and then restart your computer. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, and then click Run.
   2. Copy and then paste the following path and file name into the Open box, and then click OK:

      %programfiles%\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\sub.bat

   3. A Command Prompt window opens.
   4. The tool runs for about 5-10 minutes or longer. Do not restart the system at this point.
   5. When the tool has finished running, the Command Prompt window closes automatically.
   6. Restart the computer, and then try to reinstall Internet Explorer 7.

Method F: Check for any files that cannot be backed up or updated

This method is rated: Moderately difficult.

To complete this method, follow these steps:

1. Determine whether a problem is preventing the files from being backed up or updated. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, and then click Run.
   2. Copy and then paste (or type) the following text in the Open box, and then click OK to open the Ie7.log file:
      %windir%\ie7.log
      Note By default, the Ie7.log file is located in the C:\Windows folder.
   3. Press CTRL+END to move to the end of the Ie7.log file.
   4. On the Edit menu, click Find.
   5. In the Find what box, type ArchiveFileForUninstall:ArchiveSingleFile Cancelled.
   6. Under Direction, click Up, and then click Find Next.
      
      If you find the "ArchiveFileForUninstall:ArchiveSingleFile Cancelled" text, this indicates that there is a problem that is preventing an Internet Explorer 6 file from being saved for uninstall. For example, text that resembles the following in the log file indicates that there is a problem:

      Time_stamp: ArchiveFileForUninstall:ArchiveSingleFile Cancelled Time_stamp: DoInstallation:UpdSpCommitFileQueue for AlwaysQueue Failed: 0x4c7 

      If you do not find the "ArchiveFileForUninstall:ArchiveSingleFile Cancelled" text in the Ie7.log file, go to Method F.
2. Reset the permissions for the Vgx.dll file. To set the permissions of the file to the default settings, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK. At command prompt, copy and then paste (or type) one of the following commands, and then press ENTER:
   • If you are running Windows XP, copy and then paste (or type) the following command:
     echo y| cacls "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll" /P BUILTIN\Users:R "BUILTIN\Power Users:C" BUILTIN\Administrators:F "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:F"
   • If you are running Windows Server 2003, copy and then paste (or type) the following command:
     echo y| cacls "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll" /P BUILTIN\Users:R "BUILTIN\Power Users:C" BUILTIN\Administrators:F "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:F" "NT AUTHORITY\TERMINAL SERVER USER:C"
3. Try installing Internet Explorer 7. If Internet Explorer cannot be installed, check the log file again by following the steps in Method D. If the log file shows a problem, repeat all the steps in this method.
4. If you repeat the process and Internet Explorer 7 still cannot be installed, but the log file is clean, go to Method F.

Method G: Reregister Cryptographic Services files

This method is rated: Moderately difficult.

Use this method if you receive an error message about the Cryptographic Services that resembles the following error message:

Setup could not verify the integrity of the file Update.inf. Make sure the Cryptographic service is running on this computer

For more information about what to do if you receive this error message, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

822798  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822798/ ) You cannot install some updates or programs

If the problem still occurs after you follow the steps in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 822798, your installation package may be corrupted. To resolve this problem and download Internet Explorer 7 again, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=72018 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=72018)