Setup.exe won't run

Trying to run a programs setup.exe file, but no install windows/prompts start up.

I've tried running the setup file as a local-admin, as the domain admin, I've deleted and re-downloaded the setup files, and I've done Alt+Tab to see if the window was hidden beyond the border of the monitors.

This program has been installed on many other end-user PC's, but this one seems not to want to work. I've even copied the setup folder from a different PC instead of from the server, ruling out the source folder being borked.

After double-clicking on the setup file, the Windows 7 loading wheel pops up, but no prompts/windows pop up. A setup.exe entry does show up in Task Manager, though. Nothing shows up in the Event Logs.

Where else should I look? What should be my next steps in troubleshooting?

Windows 7 x64 Ultimate (same as the other working computers). UAC is disabled. Setup.exe uses InstallShield.

Kruug

Posted 2013-05-22T21:31:04.627

Reputation: 5 078

2Have you tried turning it off and on again? (In all seriousness) – Tanner Faulkner – 2013-05-22T21:36:00.160

@Tanner Haha...yes... – Kruug – 2013-05-22T21:40:02.657

Are there any suspicious entries visible in the Windows Event Viewer? – Axel Kemper – 2013-05-22T21:43:57.927

Are you sure the setup.exe in Task Manager is the setup.exe you ran ? It could be somebody else tried to install something before on this machine which got a borked install. The setup.exe of that is automatically re-launched after each reboot trying to complete the install (which never happens). At that point your setup immediately closes because another setup already runs. Kill the setup.exe in task-manager and then retry your setup (without rebooting). – Tonny – 2013-05-22T21:44:05.643

Can you tell us the name of the software package you're trying to install, or what tool the installer is built with (e.g. InstallShield, NSIS, etc.)? – Drew Chapin – 2013-05-22T21:46:46.670

@AxelKemper No. – Kruug – 2013-05-22T21:49:18.000

@Tonny Yes, I have the Task Manager open before I run the setup.exe and watch the process appear. – Kruug – 2013-05-22T21:49:49.690

@druciferre It's a program built specifically for the company I work for. I do not know what tool the installer is built with. I can attempt to find out. – Kruug – 2013-05-22T21:50:30.880

Yeah, you can start the setup on a different computer just to see what kind of installer it is, and then cancel the install. – Samir – 2013-05-22T21:53:20.917

@Kruug To bad. That excludes my reasoning and that of Ben Richards too. Try running the setup from a CMD.exe started with "Run as Administrator". Even if that doesn't fix the problem it just might print an error message in the CMD window. – Tonny – 2013-05-22T21:54:52.823

@Sammy InstallShield – Kruug – 2013-05-22T21:54:55.403

@Tonny Tried that, no errors printed. – Kruug – 2013-05-22T21:55:44.470

Installshield ? Try /verbose and /d as commandline options (verbose & debug) – Tonny – 2013-05-22T21:58:18.827

@Tonny Hmm...that doesn't seem to work :( – Kruug – 2013-05-22T22:01:56.983

1@Kruug Then whoever made the installer explicitly set it up as a silent install, with these options disabled. My best guess is that something goes wrong with the install on this particular PC and the installer just keeps waiting for input, which you can never give because all interaction is disabled. I'm signing of now. Past midnight here and the alarm-clock will go at 6:00 AM. Will check back here tomorrow, if I can think of something else. – Tonny – 2013-05-22T22:05:14.737

@Kruug: Can you confirm that the TMP and TEMP environment variables are both set to %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp? – Karan – 2013-05-22T22:18:27.010

Answers

Interesting question :)

Are you sure that computer can run other installers, and that the problem is not windows installer itself?

Also, sometimes you can extract the setup files from certain installers. Then you will get a new setup file that doesn't have the preferences (silent, no interaction) set to it, as the parent installer has. Check if you can extract files from the installer with an unzip tool like WinRar or Universal Extractor.

It might be worth a shot to check if all system files are correct. Hit windows key + R, type 'cmd'. Then in the newly opened dos venster type 'sfc /scannow'.

Finally you might try running the setup.exe in safe mode. See if that changes anything.

Forza

Posted 2013-05-22T21:31:04.627

Reputation: 678

Windows File Protection : "files that are required for windows to run properly must be copied to the dll cache insert xp professional cd now " .... "insert XP professional CD".... actually I don't own a single CD, music, data, nothing. I need to run this ancient machine to run some ancient hardware plz any suggestion? – user391339 – 2017-11-28T05:53:41.223

Hey Kruug when you said "this one did it". Were you referring to sfc /scannow or to starting in safe mode? – user391339 – 2017-11-28T05:56:18.333

@user391339 I believe he was referring to safe mode – Forza – 2017-11-28T09:40:56.297

This one did it. I went into MSConfig, disabled all non-Microsoft start-up objects, and it installed. – Kruug – 2013-05-23T14:55:34.470

@Kruug, I'm glad it helped you ;) – Forza – 2013-05-23T15:38:10.820

Run Process Monitor. Filter for setup.exe. Compare what happens when it terminates with an example that works correctly.

David Marshall

Posted 2013-05-22T21:31:04.627

Reputation: 6 698

what example works perfectly? what will happen (i.e. what are the possibilities)? – user391339 – 2017-11-28T05:44:59.470

Kill the setup.exe process in the task manager and then try rerunning it. Sometimes you get a "zombie"* process that's launched but for whatever reason bugs out and doesn't load correctly, preventing a new one from starting, and doesn't go away by itself.

*Note: I'm using "zombie" in a colloquial sense. "Zombie" processes are real things in OS terms, but I am not certain of what state these processes are in.

Ben Richards

Posted 2013-05-22T21:31:04.627

Reputation: 11 662

We seem to have the same idea:-) I only saw your answer after I completed my comment. – Tonny – 2013-05-22T21:45:09.870

I've done this to no avail. :) Thanks for the suggestion, though. – Kruug – 2013-05-22T21:48:58.403

Yes, this happens to me too sometimes, and I'm on Vista. – Samir – 2013-05-22T21:50:22.690

Try temporarily disabling the antivirus. Especially if the antivirus you use on this PC is different from the other PCs. I have seen similar behaviour many times before, and this has fixed the problem a few times.

Note: only do this if you're certain the setup file is not infected with any malware.

Drew Chapin

Posted 2013-05-22T21:31:04.627

Reputation: 4 839

Same A/V as the other PCs, but it's worth a shot! – Kruug – 2013-05-22T21:50:51.193

Tried running with the A/V turned off, still no luck. – Kruug – 2013-05-22T22:04:39.247

Going to Task Manager-->processes-->Go to Details-->Select the non working application, right clicking and going to Analyze Wait Chain worked. It was waiting for WinRAR.exe for some reason. To get around this, I selected winrar.exe and "disabled" it and the setup.exe program opened no problem.

Seems to work okay on Windows 10, just not 7 and 8.

bmcelvan

Posted 2013-05-22T21:31:04.627

Reputation: 11

If you have administrator authority, right click on the setup and choose properties. It might be set to read-only, if so, uncheck the "read-only" box and click apply, then okay. It might also be blocked for some reason, if so check the "unblock" box and click apply, then okay.

Took me sooooooooo long to figure that out, but it was the issue in my case.

Hopefully this helps someone!

uCocoa

Posted 2013-05-22T21:31:04.627

Reputation: 1

-1

This could be due to Microsoft's WaitChain logic in Windows 7 and later OSes. "Analyse the Wait chain" to see which program is blocking it. It is visible in Windows 8.

WaitChain means the setup.exe is waiting to launch soon after another process is finished. So, You can start killing processes from TaskManager one by one to see which one is blocking the setup.exe. You may start with Skype or some other Microsoft Processes.

For Windows 8.1 and Newer OSes, Taskmanager->Processes>Go to Details-->select the non_working_application-->right click will show the "Analyze Wait Chain" option. For Windows 7, The "Analyze wait chain..." command can be invoked from Resource Monitor.

Vishnu Prasanth

Posted 2013-05-22T21:31:04.627

Reputation: 1

This answer seriously needs additional info, like how exactly to perform the wait chain analysis. (Exact steps.) The "Analyze wait chain..." command can be invoked from Resource Monitor (Windows 7 and later). Add this information to your reply and I will retract the downvote. – None – 2017-02-28T07:44:31.237