You receive an "Access is denied" error message when you try to install Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (873148)

WORKAROUND

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

Note You must be a member of the Administrators security group to complete these steps.

To work around this issue, follow these steps.

Step 1: Verify that there is a failure to update the registry

1. Open the Svcpack.log file. By default, this file is located in the C:\Windows folder. To open the Svcpack.log file, click Start, click Run, type %windir%\svcpack.log, and then click OK.
2. On the Edit menu, click Find.
3. In the Find what box, type DoRegistryUpdates failed, and then click Find Next.
4. If a DoRegistryUpdates failed error message is found, a problem exists that is preventing the update of the registry. The error message will be similar to the following example:

   xxxx.xxx: DoInstallation:DoRegistryUpdates failed.
   xxxx.xxx: Access is denied.
   xxxx.xxx: Message displayed to the user: Access is denied.

   Note xxxx.xxx represents the timestamp of each entry.

Step 2: Locate the specific registry key

As soon as you have verified that a registry permission failure has occurred, you must locate the correct registry key to change the permissions and enable Windows XP SP2 or Windows Server 2003 SP1 to install successfully. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Include registry information in the Setupapi.log file by enabling verbose logging. For more information about how to enable verbose logging, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   906485 How to enable verbose logging on a Windows XP-based computer

   Note By default, registry keys are not recorded in the Setupapi.log file.
   
   After you enable verbose logging, install Windows XP SP2 or Windows Server 2003 SP1 again to capture the registry key.
2. Open the Setupapi.log file. By default, this file is located in the C:\Windows folder. To open the Setupapi.log file, click Start, click Run, type %windir%\setupapi.log, and then click OK.
3. Press CTRL+END to scroll to the end of the Setupapi.log file.
4. On the Edit menu, click Find.
5. In the Find what box, type Error 5: Access is denied under Direction, click Up, and then click Find Next.
   
   The found entry in the Setupapi.log file should be similar to the following example:

   #-007 Deleting registry key HKCR\vnd.ms.radio
   #E033 Error 5: Access is denied.

   Note The line before the "Access is denied" entry indicates the registry key in question. In this case, HKCR stands for the registry hive that is labeled "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT." "vnd.ms.radio" is one subkey that is located under that registry hive.

Step 3: Reset the registry permissions

As soon as you have found the registry subkey that has the incorrect permissions, update the permissions for that subkey.

To update the permissions of the registry subkey, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK to start Registry Editor.
2. Locate and right-click the registry subkey that you noted in Step 2d, and then click Permissions.
3. Under Group or user names, click Administrators.
4. Under Permissions for Administrators, make sure that the Allow check box for the following entries is selected:
   • Full Control
   • Read
5. Click Apply, and then click OK.
6. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.

The permissions issue for the registry subkey should now be resolved, and Windows XP SP2 or Windows Server 2003 SP1 should install successfully. If you experience additional problems when you try to install Windows XP SP2 or Windows Server 2003 SP1, repeat these steps as needed.