Windows Installer Error 2755

Summary

Symptoms

When running your installation on certain systems, the Windows Installer Service may display the following error:

Error 2755: Server returned unexpected error [2] attempting to install package [3].

Alternately, you may get error: Internal Error 2755.1632, <PATH to package msi>.

1632 in the above error is a Windows Installer error code, which may provide additional information about the cause. Error 2755 is seen with other error codes, such as 1624, 1631, 1639, and 1641. For more information on these error codes, refer to the Additional Information section below.

Cause

Error 2755 is a generic or system-specific error. This error occurs on some systems triggered by the combination of how the setup is run on certain machines and how the machines are configured internally. Following is a list of common causes of this error:

1. There is a corrupted version of Windows Installer engine on the machine.

2. The installation does not have access to the Temp directory or if the default Temp directory of the machine is not clean or does not have enough space to run the setup.

3. The installation is being run over a terminal Server via a mapped network drive.

4. The installation is unable to create or write to the Installer directory in a Windows NT system environment.

5. The installation has some custom actions that are not configured properly.

Resolution

Listed below are suggested solutions to the causes in the order in which they appear above:

1. To ensure that the Windows Installer service is properly installed and configured, it is recommended that users install the file InstmsiA.exe on Windows 95/98/Me or InstmsiW.exe on Win NT systems. The file InstmsiA.exe and InstmsiW.exe are Microsoft redistributables that install the Windows Installer service on the machine. You can download the latest version of Windows Installer Service from Microsoft's Web site at:

   Windows 9X/ME

   • Download InstmsiA.exe at: Windows Installer 2.0 Redistributable for Windows 95, 98, and Me
   • Double-click on InstmsiA.exe to install the Windows Installer engine on the machine.

   Windows NT 4.0 & Windows 2000 SP1 and lower

   • Download InstmsiW.exe at: Windows Installer 2.0 Redistributable for Windows NT 4.0 and 2000
   • Double-click on InstmsiW.exe to install the Windows Installer engine on the machine.
   • On Windows NT 4.0 systems, you will be required to have Service Pack 6 or higher installed to install the above Windows Installer engine. You can download Windows NT SP6 at: MS Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a (SP6a).

   Windows 2000 SP2 and Higher and Windows XP

   You will need to install the latest service pack on the machine to update the Windows Installer Service on these machines.

   • To obtain the latest service packs for Windows XP, visit MSDN article: How to Obtain the Latest Windows XP Service Pack
   • To obtain the latest service packs for Windows 2000, visit MSDN article: How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack.

2. Make sure that the default Temp directory is clean. To look for the default Temp on the machine, launch the command prompt, type 'Set' and press enter. This lists all of the environment variables, including Temp. Go to the path specified by Temp on the machine and delete all files in this folder.

3. If the error occurs while running on a Terminal Server, users should use a UNC path to point to Setup.exe or the MSI package, rather than a mapped drive. (A UNC path has the format: \\myserver\myfolder\package.msi, while a mapped drive has the format: M:\package.msi.)

4. In the Windows NT environment (Windows NT, 2000, XP), check to make sure that you have write access to the C:\WINNT folder. To have write access to this folder, you must have administrative privileges on the system. In the absence of this privilege, setup fails to create or write to the Installer directory located inside the C:\WINNT directory, causing the error. Users can contact their system administrators for more information on administrative privileges.

5. If you have any custom actions in your project, as a measure to troubleshoot, remove all your custom actions, build, and run your setup. If this fixes the issue, begin adding one custom action back to the project at a time to narrow down to the custom action that may be causing the issue. This is a means to narrow down the issue further.

Additional Information

This sections discusses the error codes that may appear with Error 2755 with more troubleshooting information:

• 2755.1624: This usually occurs when running a transform with a setup. Make sure that the path to the transform is correct and the command-line arguments used to run the transform are valid.

• 2755.3: This error occurs when setup is run over a Terminal Server. Refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q278603 Internal Error 2755 Installing Mobile Information Server from a Terminal Server Session.

• 2755.1631: This occurs when the Windows Installer service fails to start or is corrupted. Refer to Resolution 1 above.

• 2755.1632: This can occur due to access privileges to one or more folders on the machine. Refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base article 274635 Money 2001: Error Message: Internal Error: 2755.1632.

• 2755.1639: This error is project specific and can occur due to invalid entries in the project. One known cause is the following:

Error 2755: Server returned unexpected error.
Error 1639 is a Windows Installer function return code indicating an Invalid command line argument.

When you import your string table from a text file, often the entry pointing to the installation's Read Me file is left blank. This causes the SetARPReadme custom action that InstallShield inserts into the sequences to set the ARPReadMe Windows Installer property to a blank value. This can cause the installation to fail at the beginning of the execute sequence. To resolve the issue follow these steps:

1. Open the General Information view.

2. Click Add/Remove Programs.

3. In the Read Me property, type in the name of the ReadMe file.

You can also directly set the Read Me property by modifying the IDPROP_ARPREADME entry in the string table; the string table is found under the General Information view. You will find the entry listed by clicking on the appropriate language under String Tables.

• 2755.1641: This could result from the fact that setup needs to reboot in the middle of the setup. This reboot may be initiated by a custom action or a third-party setup being launched from the setup. It is recommended that users reboot at the very end of the setup to avoid this issue.

• 2755.995: This error usually occurs when a custom action in the project is not sequenced properly. Check to make sure that the Invoke section of the custom action points to the valid dialog or action after which the custom action should be invoked. If the error continues to occur, try setting the Invoke section to After Setup Complete Success Dialog. This launches the custom action at the end rather than during file transfer or other action that may be the cause of the issue.

More information on Error 2755 can be found in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

• 220780 OFF2000: Setup Error 2755 with Earlier Office Version Installed

• 217714 OFF2000: Setup Appears to Stop Responding, Followed by Internal Error 2336 or 2755

• 254841 OFF2000: Internal Error 2755, When You Try to Install from a Remote Windows Terminal Server Client

• 305640 PRJ2000: Internal Error 2381 or Internal Error 2755 When You Install Microsoft Project

More information on this error can be found in the Windows Installer Help Library topic Error Codes.