 | By Ian “Gizmo” Richards One of the most frustrating experiences for a Windows user is when an installation fails — you often can’t delete the fragments or restart the install process, leaving you with nowhere to go. Don’t give up hope; I’ll show you how to overcome this sticky stalled-installation situation. |
The causes of software-installation quagmires
There are many reasons why a program installation may fail. It could be due to a fault in the installation program itself, or perhaps the user didn’t properly read the installation instructions.
A common cause of a balky install is that some required component, such as a Windows DLL file, is missing on the user’s PC. Another likely source of the installation glitch is that a security app is preventing the installation of one or more of the program’s components.
When a software installation fails to complete, there’s usually a residue of information written by the installation program to the Windows Registry and other parts of the computer before the install failed. This leftover detritus can prevent the user from installing the program a second time. In the worst case, this orphan data may leave the user’s PC unstable or even unusable.
When an install fails, most people go to the Windows uninstall applet in Control Panel. (Windows XP’s uninstall applet can be found in Add or Remove Programs, while in Vista it’s located in Programs and Features.) Unfortunately, the program you were attempting to install probably won’t be listed — or it is listed but with the uninstallation option inoperable.
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