C Windows Installer Folder Missing

[Jacque Waiden]

TheWindows Installer Cache is used to store important files for applications that are installed by using Windows Installer. By default, this cache is located in the c:\windows\installer folder, and it should not be deleted. If the installer cache is compromised, you may not immediately see problems until you take an action such as uninstalling, repairing, or updating a product.

When a product is installed by using the Windows Installer, important files are stored in the Windows Installer cache that are required for uninstalling and updating applications. Missing files cannot be copied between computers because the files are unique.

If application files are missing from the Windows Installer Cache, ask the vendor or support team for the application about the missing files. You must follow the procedures or steps recommended by the application vendor to restore the files. In some cases, you may have to rebuild the operating system and reinstall the application to fix the problem.

Some third-party entities claim to be able to rebuild or repair the Windows Installer cache. For legal and supportability reasons, we cannot recommend or endorse any of these entities. If you use such third-party products and recommendations, you do this at your own risk.If you have backups for your system that were made before the file deletions, consider the following options:

Other error messages might be triggered by missing Windows Installer Cache files. Many of the following messages are SQL-specific and are not limited to this issue. These entries are logged in either the Setup or MSI Verbose log.

This update package could not be opened. Verify that the update package exists and that you can access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer update package.

1642: The upgrade cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade may update a different version of the program. Verify that the program to be upgraded exists on your computer and that you have the correct upgrade.

We strongly encourage you to download this package from the portal instead of reusing a portable copy. If you submit the results, the latest diagnostic rules will be used. This package is frequently updated.

The report is available immediately after you run this tool without submitting the results to Microsoft. The report is an XML file. It will be located in the user profile Temp folder in a path that resembles the following:

The process that's described in this article provides emergency relief only and not a permanent fix. Customers who use this emergency process should validate their Windows Installer Cache using the Windows Installer Cache Verifier Package, as directed in the KB article Missing Windows Installer cache requires a computer rebuild.

When you install a SQL Server service pack or cumulative update, you may encounter various error messages or unexpected behaviors that indicate Windows Installer Cache problems. The Windows Installer Cache, located in the c:\windows\installer folder, stores critical files for applications installed through the Windows Installer technology. If the installer cache has been compromised by deleting files, you may not immediately encounter problems until you uninstall, repair, or update SQL Server.

These problems may occur when the Windows Installer database file (.msi) or the Windows Installer patch file (.msp) is missing from the Windows Installer cache. The Windows Installer cache is located in the folder: %windir%\installer.

When a product is installed by using Windows Installer, a stripped version of the original .msi file is stored in the Windows Installer cache. Every update to the product, such as a hotfix, a cumulative update, or a service pack setup, also stores the relevant .msp or .msi file in the Windows Installer cache.

Any future update to the product, such as a hotfix, a cumulative update, or a service pack setup, relies on the information in the files that are stored in the Windows Installer cache. Without this information, the new update can't perform the required transformations.

Because SQL Server uses the Windows Installer technology, this issue can affect it. SQL Server installation packages, which may include .msi and .msp files, are stored in the Windows Installer Cache. These files are required for uninstalling and updating applications. Missing files can't be copied between computers because they're unique.

The Installer cache directory (%windir%\installer) is automatically managed by Windows when applications install and update packages. Manual intervention by users in this directory may result in various issues, including the problems that are described in this article.

Repair the common shared components and features first, and then repeat the command to repair the installed instances. During the process, the setup dialog box disappears. As long as the progress window doesn't show an error, the process proceeds as expected. If the installer cache file for a specific component is missing, the repair process encounters an error.

You can use the FixMissingMSI tool to identify MSI and MSP files that are missing from the Windows Installer cache. As an extra resolution, you can point the tool to the original media location and recache the missing files.

To complete the steps in this procedure, you have to copy the FindSQLInstalls.vbs script in the FixMissingMSI folder from the GitHub repository to a local folder on the computer where you're trying to update your SQL Server installation.

The FindSQLInstalls.vbs script collects package information to correct invalid package paths. This script is used against the source locations to make sure that all MSP packages are in the Windows Installer cache directory. After executing the commands indicated in the Action needed lines in the script output file, the missing packages will be re-added if the original source media is available.

In the following example, the source is a CD or a DVD in drive G. If the installation occurred from a file folder or a network share, the LastUsedSource line begins with an n; entry, followed by a Numeric_Data_Name; entry, and then the actual path:

Action needed, recreate or re-establish path to the directory: G:\x64\setup\sql_engine_core_inst_msi\then rerun this script to update installer cache and results The path on the line above must exist at the root location to resolve this problem with your msi/msp file not being found or corrupted, In some cases you may need to manually copy the missing file or manually replace the problem file overwriting it is exist: Copy "G:\x64\setup\sql_engine_core_inst_msi\sql_engine_core_inst.msi" C:\WINDOWS\Installer\19b4d2.msi Replace the existing file if prompted to do so.

This command forces the executable to extract the files to the previous missing location, and this re-creates the structure that is required to update the Windows installer cache with any missing files. The actual location will vary, and a single patch, such as a service pack, may have to be extracted to multiple locations. Each installed product includes a section that contains the following information for patches installed:

Collect the complete details about the missing file from the error message, from the setup log file, or from the registry entries that the Windows Installer maintains. For example, in Error message 1 in the Symptoms section, all the information that is required to resolve the issue is present in the error message:

Download this patch package to your computer. Make sure that you download the patch package that corresponds to the required platform. In this example, the package is SQLServer2008R2-KB981355-x64.exe.

You can start the Setup program for the update that resulted in the error and resume the update process. You may encounter this message for a missing Windows Installer cache file for another component or another update of the same product.

To obtain a list of all the missing Windows Installer cache files that are related to the SQL Server product components, you can download the SQL Server 2008 R2 BPA tool that is mentioned in the More information section.

If the error message references a missing Windows Installer database file (.msi), you don't have to perform steps 2 through 4. Instead, you can go directly to step 5. You have to locate the .msi from the original media that you used to install the product. If this error message was generated for sql_engine_core_inst.msi, then you have to locate this file from the setup media under the folder structure \x64\setup\sql_engine_core_inst_msi\. The other steps are the same.

Different versions of the product generate different error messages for the problem that is described. The error messages that are mentioned in the Symptoms section appear for updates starting with SQL Server 2008 SP1. For other updates, you receive error messages that may not clearly specify which patch file is missing from the Windows Installer cache and the specific update details. For these error messages, the setup log files will contain information about the missing Windows Installer cache file. Following is a sample setup log:

If you use SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 (SP3) or a later version, you can also receive a similar error message for the missing .msi files. By using this error message, you can quickly determine which file is missing, what service pack to download, and where to find the download.

The following error messages can be found as text messages in the event log or in the Setup logs that are located in one of the following folders, and they indicate that you should repair your affected instance being proceeding further:

Under certain conditions in SQL Server 2012, RTM media may not be registered correctly. When you uninstall a cumulative update or service pack, under those circumstances, setup may prompt you for RTM media. To work around this issue, provide the RTM media path during the patch removal process.

3a8082e126