"Existing software was not fully installed. . . " 1

[stevenjames]

"Windows 2000 setup cannot continue until you finish installing this software."

Now, I know there is no software that is not fully installed. Or don't I? I haven't turned on the compuer in nearly a month (most work is being done, well, at work ;-) I can't imagine what this message refers to.

I've had some strange things going on (like the add/remove programs window doesn't open/partially opens with artifacts, or device manager properties windows don't open, and the manager won't close until (the never appearing) properties windows are closed ;-0), so I figure I'll reinstall the OS as an overwrite. Now the above message won't let me do that either.

Any ideas?

regards,

stevenjs@mindsprong.com

"I am but an egg."
--Stranger in a Strange Land

 

[bcastner]

Ensure that those two registry keys are empty:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Runonce

Also navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer
and delete the "InProgress" subkey to terminate all installations in progress.

 

[BenyG]

Do you remember whether you installing any new hardware/software a month ago?

Another tip Steve - dont hand out your email address like that as it get spammed!




Ben

"To our surprise we have not been able to locate even
one scientific study on the proved harmful effects of addiction"
Dr George H Stephenson, speaking about Heroin at the University of British Columbia, 1956

 

[SonOfEmidec1100]

A possible cause for this problem is installing software that asks you to reboot, but before rebooting you either remove the software or run a service pack etc.

Also check/delete entries under

SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\\PendingFileRenameOperations

Maybe this will help.

 

[stevenjames]

>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx

>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Runonce

>Also navigate to
>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer and delete the "InProgress" subkey to terminate all installations in progress.

Greetings, Bcastner, and thank you for your thoughtful response.

Could you please tell me what it means? "I am but an egg."
First, what are "registry keys" and how do I find them?

Next, the paths you describe are to be written where, to go to those locations?

What is a "subkey?"

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

regards,

stevenjames

--Stranger in a Strange Land

 

[bcastner]

It will be clearer once you start looking at your registry. Click Start, Run, and type in regedit

You will see a view of your registry similar to an Explorer folder/file view.

Click on the "+" symbols just like in Explorer to expand the registry.

In the above, you would click on:
+ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
+ Software
+ Microsoft
+ Windows
+ CurrentVersion

+ RunOnceEx
If in the right-panel there are any entries (other than Default), right-click on them and delete them.

Similarly,

+ RunOnce

Delete (other than Default) any entries that show in the right-panel.

Finally, scroll up a bit on the left hand panel and click to expand:
+ Installer

click on "Installer" and delete if there the value "InProgress" with a right-click in the left-hand panel.

Reboot, and try to reinstall your OS.

 

[BenyG]

Remember .ini files with Windows 3.1??

Every app had them for their settings. The registry is just all the .ini files in the same place which makes things run a bit faster. However I've found in practice it creates more problems then it solves due to the 'all your eggs in one basket' effect.



Ben

"To our surprise we have not been able to locate even
one scientific study on the proved harmful effects of addiction"
Dr George H Stephenson, speaking about Heroin at the University of British Columbia, 1956

 

[stevenjames]

Greetings bcastner,

Well, I was wildly optimistic your suggestions would remedy the problem, but I followed them to the "T," and they did not. The only effect was for Norton Antivirus, the only thing other than default in RunOnce, is now deleted and I get a message that Norton Antivirus needs to be reinstalled.

I am still getting the exact same "Existing software was not fully installed." message, with the same fruitless advice on the "details" pane.

I also went to "System/currentcontrolset etc. and nothing there either.

Also, I am having a world of pain logging into this forum. Any ideas on that? I keep getting bounced to the anchor that tells me I have to be a member to post. I logged eight times and finally, somehow, the login "took," and I managed to navigate here and write this. ;-0

Still, let me keep focus on the "not fully installed" problem. Any more ideas?

regards,

stevenjames
"I am but an egg."
--Stranger in a Strange Land

 

[bcastner]

Removing autorun entries will of course disable entries such as Norton. Remember though the aim is to let you do as you asked: "so I figure I'll reinstall the OS as an overwrite." Re-installing in this fashion rather than as an In-Place upgrade is going to require reinstalling your software anyway.

SYMPTOMS
When you attempt to upgrade to Windows 2000, you may receive the following error message:

Microsoft Windows 2000 has detected software that is not completely installed on your computer. Windows 2000 Setup cannot continue until you finish installing this software.

To finish the installation process for this software quit Windows 2000 Setup.
Log off of your computer and then log back on again.
Restart Windows 2000 Setup.
The error message occurs again even after you log off and back on as the error message suggests.

CAUSE
This behavior can occur if either of the following registry keys are populated:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Runonce

RESOLUTION
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To resolve this issue, use Registry Editor to remove information in the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx


Source:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=242435

 

[bcastner]

Try this. Open a new notepad session and paste the following into it:

*********copy the text below this line ***********
REGEDIT4

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx]
************* end copy above this line **************

And name it fix_it.reg

Now double-click the file to merge the results into your registry.

Reboot, and try setup again.

 

[stevenjames]

bcastner,

You're the man! That little .reg was just what the doctor ordered. ;-) Wish I knew all this arcane stuff.

A great many thanks.

Incidentally, though, I meant "update" by "overwrite," not a clean re-install. No matter.

Now, I just hope the reinstallation cures the sick puppy that is my computer!

Any idea why mouse cursor (connection secure, mouse untouched between restarts) fails to appear, then, using keyboard only to restart, appears?

regards,

stevenjames

"I am but an egg."

 

[bcastner]

Remember to go to Control Panel, Add/Remove programs and select non-working programs, such as Norton, and do a 'Repair' to them. The registry change should not have effected them, as their keys should have been in another Run key in the registry anyway.

 

[stevenjames]

Thank you, bcastner,

"Great minds think alike," sort of. ;-) Going to add/remove was the very first thing I did, because that was one of the sick symptoms I was hoping to remedy with the OS reinstallation.

Unfortunately, there was no change. Instead of a listing of the myriad programs I have installed, there is a blank window, obviously distressed, but for a line of text misplaced at the top, with artifacts such as "Ch$ose" as the selection button.

Any ideas on that?

regards,

stevenjames
"I am but an egg."

 

[bcastner]

1. Re-register Add/Remove:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;329891&Product=win2000

2. Copy and paste into a notepad file to be called add_remove.reg

************** start below this line *********
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{352EC2B7-8B9A-11D1-B8AE-006008059382}\InProcServer32]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,61,00,70,00,70,00,77,00,69,00,7a,00,2e,00,63,00,70,00,6c,00,00,00
"ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
*********** end copy above this line.

Double-click to merge the contents and reboot.

3. You may need to do a repair reinstallation of IE. See for howto and additional notes:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;266668&Product=win2000

 

[stevenjames]

bcastner,

Thanks again for a wonderful effort.

Still no dice. The only result is on restart I am now asked for the Lucent Installation Disk for my modem (which I do not have, as it came installed when I bought the machine), as well as endlessly prompted for the 3D Max setup disk file, which I do have, but which does not satisfy this computer apparently gone haywire.

I also visited the link you suggested (

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;266668&Product=win2000

) and diligently followed each successive resolution proposed, until I got to number 5, at which point I started getting "no such module" warnings and gave up.

Tell me this. If I were to upgrade to an update installation of XP at this juncture, would these problems go away?

If not, would a clean reinstall of either XP or 2000 make these problems go away?

Isn't there some way to "revert" to a prior snapshot of the system before all these problems (quite unexplicably) started? How is that done?

You continued assistance is greatly appreciated.

regards,

stevenjames

"I am but an egg."
--Stranger in a Strange Land

 

[bcastner]

Boot with your Win2k CD, and reinstall.

 

[stevenjames]

bcastner,

I presume you mean a clean re-install. Unfortunately, I just found out that, among all the other bugs and wierdness, I cannot install any new software. Which means I cannot install the driver to my new external hard drive, which I got specifically to back up the small fortune of software I have on this PC, most of it existing nowhere externally from which to reinstall. Catch 22. Also, I can no longer connect to the internet from that computer. All of this is extremely distressing.

Any recommendations?

regards,

stevenjames
"I am but an egg."

 

[bcastner]

No, I meant a repair or in-place installation.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=292175

 

[stevenjames]

I'm not sure I know what you mean by "boot with your Win2K CD." The Win2K CD is inserted, and I restart? I have done this, and done an "in-place" reinstallation, prior to my prior post, and now again subsequent to your latest post.

The situation has deteriorated, not improved. I cannot go online, I cannot copy files at all.

At this point, I would be glad to wipe the whole hard drive clean if only I could get the software apps safely onto the external hard drive. But the "paste" option does not exist after I right click and choose copy, and there are messages saying the external drive is not recognized.

I am about to take the box out for disaster recovery at this point. And I started with just an installation message.

Please, if you know of a way to get the software off, or revert to a previous configuration, share it with me now. I am sick and desperate.

 

[bcastner]

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...01-2c68-4de8-9229-ca494362419c&displaylang=en