The 1603 error is an issue that can often affect the “Windows Installer” program on your computer. This program is widely used to facilitate the installation of new programs on Windows and is one of the vital parts of the Windows system. Without it, you simply cannot add any new programs to your hard drive. However, sometimes when you try to use Windows Installer, a 1603 error appears, meaning you can’t use the application. Therefore, it’s essential to find an immediate fix.
What Causes The 1603 Error?
The 1603 error normally happens either because you are trying to install the new software into an encrypted folder or because the drive where you are attempting to install this software is used as a substitute on your system. Alternatively, it might be because Windows installer uses a “system” account that does not have administrative permissions to install the software. A typical example of this error will be the following message on screen: “Error 1603: A fatal error occurred during installation“.
How To Fix The 1603 Windows Installer Error
Fortunately, there are simple measures you can apply to fix this error. The first step is to ensure that you are trying to install the program into a folder that is not encrypted. The next step is to be certain that the installation drive is not a “substitute drive”. A substitute drive is also referred to as a “virtual drive” and any effort to install into this drive will set off Windows alerts, making it unable to read the files needed to install, thereby causing the 1603 error.
To eliminate this problem, you should make sure that you are not trying to install your Windows Installer program to one of these substitute drives. What you need to do is to change the “SYSTEM” account settings on your PC when you get the error message stating your account does not have the full control permissions for the folder you are trying to install in. To do this, double-click “My Computer” and then right-click the drive where you want to install the Windows Installer package, and then select Properties. Locate the Security tab and verify that the Name box (if you’re using Windows 2000) / Group or user names (if you’re using Windows XP) contains the SYSTEM user account. If the SYSTEM user account is not present in the box, add the SYSTEM account into the box by clicking Add. You should now see the Select Users or Groups dialog box will appear.
In the Name field, click SYSTEM, and then click Add and press OK. In the Permissions section, select the Full Control check box under Allow and click Advanced. In the dialogue box that shows, click on the “Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects” check box if you’re using Windows XP, or select the “Reset permissions on all child objects and enable propagation of inheritable permissions” check box if you’re not using a different Windows operating system, before pressing OK. Finally, run the Windows Installer package again to check that the 1603 error has been resolved.
To prevent further errors, it is highly recommended that you use a “registry cleaner”. The “registry” is a crucial central database inside the Windows system that houses all the settings and options that Windows calls upon to properly run. It is one of the main components of the Windows system and it can be a major cause of problems on your PC once it gets corrupted or damaged. It is extremely advisable that you run a registry cleaner tool from time to time to resolve any possible faults here that might be causing 1603 Installer errors.
