Windows Installer error 1406 occurs when installing software (300451)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Installer 1.1, when used with:
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows 95
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows 98
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows XP
  • Microsoft Windows Installer 1.2, when used with:
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows 95
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows 98
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows XP
This article was previously published under Q300451

SYMPTOMS

When you are installing software that uses the Windows Installer runtime, you may receive the following error message, and Setup will exit the installation:
Error 1406. Could not write value Folders to key Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\InProgress. Verify that you have sufficient access to that key or contact you support personnel

Note that the error message itself in Windows Installer 1.1 and 1.2 includes the typographical error "contact you support".

CAUSE

You have reached a registry limit in the Windows Installer on Windows 95/Windows 98/Windows Millennium Edition.

Microsoft Windows Installer has the following registry limitations on Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition. Note that the stated limits for the maximum number of features or components are approximate. The actual limits can depend upon the specific installation.
  • Registry values are limited to 16,382 on Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition and 16,371 on Windows 95. This effectively limits the number of components per feature to 817. The limit varies depending upon any additional space needed to accommodate optional parent features, which should be placed in the same value.
  • The total size of a registry key and all its values is limited to 64 KB on Windows 95 only. This can limit the maximum total number of features and components in a product.
  • Windows Installer version 1.2 saves in-progress information as a registry value. This can limit the maximum number of features on Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition. This limitation no longer exists with Windows Installer version 2.0 or later.

RESOLUTION

Use Windows Installer 2.0. The 1406 error shown in the "Symptoms" section of this article will not occur in version 2.0. The following links provide access to the Windows Installer 2.0 redistributables.

Windows Installer 2.0 Redistributable (ANSI, Windows 95/Windows 98/Windows Millennium Edition)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=cebbacd8-c094-4255-b702-de3bb768148f%20&displaylang=en

Windows Installer 2.0 Redistributable (Unicode, Windows NT 4.0/Windows 2000)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=4B6140F9-2D36-4977-8FA1-6F8A0F5DCA8F

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

In Windows Installer 2.0, the number of components that are permitted per feature is increased from 500 components to 817 components.

For more information on the 1406 error and other relevant information, see the "Windows Installer Registry Limitations on 95/98/Me" topic in the Windows Installer 2.0 SDK Help or on MSDN Online:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/msi/app_931h.asp?frame=true

REFERENCES

Platform SDK Update Site
http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/platformsdk/sdkupdate/
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/7/2006
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbfix kbprb KB300451
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