Error Message: Existing Software Was Not Fully Installed

ID: Q246380

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you try to install a program, you may receive the following error message:

Existing software was not fully installed. To fix this problem, click Details.

When you click Details, the information suggests that you reboot the computer.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if there is an entry under the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Windows\Runonce

This can be caused by an installation routine that schedules an event to take place at the next reboot.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To resolve this issue, reboot the computer and log back on. If this does not work, you can manually remove the entry under the registry key. Before you do this, you may want to back up the data under the key.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kberrmsg kbsetup
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb