PRB: "Fatal Error" Message When Installing Host Integration Server 2000 (819800)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Host Integration Server 2000
  • Microsoft Host Integration Server 2000 SP1
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

When you try to install Host Integration Server 2000, you receive the following error message:
Fatal Error
Installation ended prematurely because of an error.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because the Default Access Permissions that are configured for DCOM applications are not sufficient to allow the logged on user to successfully install Host Integration Server 2000.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, reset the DCOM Default Access Permission settings on the computer that Host Integration Server 2000 is being installed on.

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.

DCOM Default Access Permissions

To change the DCOM Default Access Permissions back to their default settings, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole
  3. Right-click the DefaultAccessPermission value, and then click Delete.
  4. Click Yes to confirm the value deletion.
If the DCOM Default Access Permissions cannot be reset to their default settings, an alternative solution is to grant DCOM Default Access Permissions to the appropriate user or group.

Windows 2000

To change the DCOM Default Access Permissions on Windows 2000, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type dcomcnfg, and then click OK.
  2. Click the Default Security tab.
  3. Under Default Access Permissions, click Edit Default to set default permissions.
  4. Click Add to add other user accounts to the Name box.
  5. In the Registry Value Permissions dialog box, select the user or group that you want to grant default access permissions to.

Windows XP and Windows Server 2003

To change the DCOM Default Access Permissions on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type dcomcnfg, and then click OK.
  2. On the tree, expand the Component Services node.
  3. Expand the Computers node.
  4. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
  5. On the Default COM Security tab, u nder Access Permissions, click Edit Default to set default permissions.
Adding the INTERACTIVE user will grant DCOM Default Access Permission to all locally logged on users. Alternatively, you can add only the user who will be logged on when installing Host Integration Server 2000.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this problem can occur with Host Integration Server 2000 setup when the DCOM Default Access Permissions have been modified such that the logged on user does not have sufficient privileges to complete the installation.

MORE INFORMATION

The Host Integration Server 2000 Windows Installer (.msi) package includes several custom actions that call the MsiSetProperty() function to set various installation properties.

The installation properties are used by the Windows Installer package to make decisions about the Host Integration Server 2000 files and features that need to be installed. When the problem described in this article occurs, the MsiSetProperty() calls do not succeed because of a lack of DCOM Default Access Permissions.

The following is an excerpt from a Host Integration Server 2000 setup log that is generated when this problem occurs:
=== Logging started: 4/25/2003  10:49:17 ===
MSI (c) (0C:4C): Machine policy value 'DisableRollback' is 0
MSI (c) (0C:4C): User policy value 'DisableRollback' is 0
MSI (c) (0C:4C): Doing action: INSTALL
Action start 10:49:17: INSTALL.
MSI (c) (0C:4C): UI Sequence table 'InstallUISequence' is present and populated.
MSI (c) (0C:4C): Running UISequence
MSI (c) (0C:4C): Doing action: FindRelatedProducts
Action start 10:49:17: FindRelatedProducts.
Action ended 10:49:17: FindRelatedProducts. Return value 1.
MSI (c) (0C:4C): Skipping action: Win9xVersionCheckCondition (condition is false)
MSI (c) (0C:4C): Doing action: GetWindowsInformation
Action start 10:49:17: GetWindowsInformation.
MSI (c) (0C:4C): Creating MSIHANDLE (1) of type 790542 for thread 1356
Action ended 10:49:18: GetWindowsInformation. Return value 3.
MSI (c) (0C:4C): Doing action: Fatal_Error
Action start 10:49:18: Fatal_Error.
Info 2898. MSSansSerif8, MS Sans Serif, 1
Action 10:49:18: Fatal_Error. Dialog created
Action ended 10:49:21: Fatal_Error. Return value 2.
Action ended 10:49:21: INSTALL. Return value 3.
The setup log shows that the GetWindowsInformation custom action (about half way down the log) failed with return code value of 3 (last line of excerpt) A return value of 3 is considered a fatal error.

The following is the command line syntax that is used to create a setup log when installing Host Integration Server 2000:

msiexec /i path\HiServer.msi /l*v path\<log file name>

REFERENCES

For additional information about setting permissions for DCOM applications, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

323287 HOW TO: Set Permissions for Distributed COM Programs in Windows 2000

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:3/11/2005
Keywords:kbprb KB819800
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