iTunes refuses to install, registry issue?

I have a legit copy of Windows 8 x64 Professional. I had iTunes installed previously, but it wouldn't update to the latest version. It also had issues being uninstalled; I had to use a couple third-party applications to finally get the program removed entirely.

When I went to reinstall the program (freshly downloaded .exe from apple's website, 64-bit of course), I get the following error:

enter image description here

First off: obviously the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE32\ does not 'exist' in the sense that it is one of the roots of the registry tree. After some googling, I found that it exists here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\

This could be hearsay, not sure.

So I have tried setting the owner of the Run key (in both this location and the normal HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE locations) to both my computer's administrators and my username specifically. No change. I also gave "full control" permissions to the key for "ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES", "Administrators", "Users", and my user as well. No change.

I am also running the installer as an administrator, so I have just about ran out of ideas.

My friend recommended trying to do a refresh of the OS, but that did not complete successfully.

Has anyone experienced something like this before? Is it an easy fix or am I forced to try a fresh install of the OS?

Anders

Posted 2013-09-19T00:30:04.613

Reputation: 202

seen IE temper with that before, please reset your IE settings and tell us the results. – Lorenzo Von Matterhorn – 2013-09-19T00:35:46.627

Using the Reset button in IE did not help, unfortunately :( – Anders – 2013-09-19T01:08:22.533

ive had this happen to me a few times... Im trying to remember how I got around it. I dont think it was anything as complex as a registry hack. – Keltari – 2013-09-23T03:50:26.630

run Process Monitor in background to see which key causes the trouble. – magicandre1981 – 2013-09-23T04:21:44.723

Answers

Strangely enough, the standard admin accounts don't actually run executables as true admins. Try right clicking the exe and selecting "run as administrator."

Also, check to see if apple lists the md5 checksums (or w/e hashing algorithm they use) of the exe and compare that string with what you downloaded.

Also, be careful editing registry values like you did, could lead to more issues and always export the existing registry before messing around.

Scandalist

Posted 2013-09-19T00:30:04.613

Reputation: 2 767

I tried both right click run as admin, as well as right clicking the file, selecting properties, and then checking the run as admin box under the compatibility tab. – Anders – 2013-09-19T00:45:14.163

Also, the file is digitally signed by Apple (SHA1), so I doubt it got borked from download to run. – Anders – 2013-09-19T01:00:47.067

Referring to your remark about admins not running programs as admins by default: This is a very good security decision. Most PCs are used by just one person, using the admin account. They might not even be aware that their account has admin privileges. If every program they run can change important settings in their computer, there wouldn't be much sense to have admin accounts in the first place. Having to explicitly request elevated privileges is a good thing, do not forget this! – Jochem Kuijpers – 2013-09-29T03:55:59.053

There is no reason that the installation will refer to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE32, unless you have downloaded the wrong installation. So ensure that you have downloaded the iTunes for Windows (64-bit) version of the installer.

If that is already the case, try to deactivate your security product to see if it's the one blocking the update.

harrymc

Posted 2013-09-19T00:30:04.613

Reputation: 306 093

It appears that others with this same issue have found that they don't have adequate registry permissions. You can fix this with SubinACL (from Microsoft.) There's a great article on how to use it: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/astebner/archive/2006/09/04/739820.asp

Basically, somehow your registry (you were in the right place, under WOW6432node) is not giving you permissions where it needs to write. Just open up all the permissions on the registry key from Apple on down. (It sounds to me like you have sub-keys that didn't have the permission changes applied.)

If you find SubinACL too difficult, another tool to fix registry permissions is SetACL. Make sure to download the 64-bit version, and it can even be run from the command line. Ensure that the changes you apply are inherited -- i.e. apply from the "Apple" level on down -- as there are many similar reports from those who were installing QuickTime.

Debra

Posted 2013-09-19T00:30:04.613

Reputation: 4 000

You need to run Process Monitor during setup to see which keys the Installer can't write to. Filter the Result column to "Access Denied" events and now look which key is the cause.

Open regedit.exe, go to that key and give your account and admins full access.

Microsoft explained how to use the tool here in 2 videos:

Defrag Tools: #3 - Process Monitor

Defrag Tools: #4 - Process Monitor - Examples