FIX: Fatal Error 1603 during installation in Windows 10

by Matthew Adams

Windows & Software Expert

Last update:April 6, 2021

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The Windows Installer installs and removes software with MSI package formats in Windows 10.

However, Windows Installer doesn’t always install the software as required and might occasionally return an error message stating, 1603 Fatal error during installation.

So, users can’t install or uninstall a program when that error message pops up. Here are a few fixes that will probably resolve the 1603 error.

How do I fix error code 1603?

1. Close the background software
2. Check if the software is not already installed
3. Check that there’s enough hard drive space for the program
4. Open the Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter
5. Erase temporary files from the Windows Temp folder
6. Restart the Windows Installer service
7. Edit the NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation registry value
8. Grant Full Control permission to installation drive

1. Close the background apps

1. Press the Win key + X hotkey.
2. Select Task Manager on the menu to open its window.
3. Click the Processes tab in the snapshot directly above.
4. Close all software listed under apps by selecting the programs and pressing the End Task button.
5. You can also close third-party program processes listed on the Processes tab.

Background software can undermine Windows Installer when installing a program. As such, close most background software before installing the program.

Close all windows on the taskbar and third-party software icons on the notification area. You can also close further programs with Task Manager as above.

2. Check if the software is not already installed

1. To remove a program, press the Win key + R keyboard shortcut to open Run.
2. Enter appwiz.cpl in Run’s text box.
3. That opens the Programs and Features Control Panel tab where you can select a program to remove and then click Uninstall.
4. A dialogue box will probably open asking if you’re sure about removing the software. Press the Yes button to confirm.
5. Then try installing the required program again.

If you’re getting the 1603 error for one specific program, it might be the case that software is already installed.

Check that you don’t already have an earlier version of the software. If so, uninstall the previous program version first.

Sometimes, when you use regular procedures like the one above, the program doesn’t get installed completely. It leaves some files behind that prevent you from installing it again.

Don’t worry because you can still use a dedicated software that makes sure to uninstall a program completely, without leaving a trace behind.

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3. Check if there’s enough hard drive space for the program

1. Open File Explorer by pressing its button on the Windows 10 taskbar.
2. Click This PC to open a list of folders and drives as in the snapshot directly below.
3. Right-click your C: drive and click Properties to open the General tab shown directly below.
4. That tab shows you how much free space there is on the HDD. If there isn’t enough available space for the program, remove some third-party software or run a disk cleaner utility to free up hard drive storage.

Also, note that there might not be enough available hard drive space for the software. You might need to free up some HDD space if the software requires more than one gigabyte of storage.

First, double-check the program‘s minimum HDD storage system requirement. Then check your hard drive has enough space for it as shown above.

4. Open the Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter

Run a System Scan to discover potential errors

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With the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter for Windows 10, you can fix software installation errors. That isn’t a built-in troubleshooter, but you can add it to Windows from this Microsoft page.

Click the Download button on that page, and open the troubleshooter from the folder you saved it. Press the Next button to go through its troubleshooting steps.

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5. Erase temporary files from the Windows Temp folder

1. Open the Windows search by pressing the Windows key + S.
2. Enter Disk Clean-up and select to open it from the results.
3. Select the C: drive from the drop-down menu and press the OK button.
4. Disk Clean-up will then tell you how much hard drive space it can free up.
5. Temporary files and Temporary Internet Files are the two essential checkboxes to select here. However, you can also select to delete other file categories.
6. Press the OK button, and then select the Delete Files option.

The 1603 error can be due to an overly full Windows Temp folder, which includes temporary software files. Purging temporary files from the Temp folder might also help resolve the issue.

There are myriad third-party utilities you can erase temporary files with, but you can also delete junk files with the Windows Disk Cleanup tool as described above.

6. Restart the Windows Installer service

1. Enter services.msc in Run and click the OK button.
2. Scroll down to the listed Windows Installer service.
3. Double-click Windows Installer to open the window in the screenshot directly below.
4. Press the Start button on the Windows Installer window. However, press the Stop button if the service is already running, and then click Start.
5. Click the Apply and OK buttons.
6. To re-register Windows Installer, open Run again.
7. Enter msiexec /unregister in Run’s text box and press the OK button.
8. Thereafter, enter msiexec /regserver in Run to register the Windows Installer.

The Windows Installer service probably won’t be disabled. However, restarting and re-registering the Windows Installer could kick-start that service and fix the 1603 error.

7. Edit the NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation registry value

1. Enter regedit in Run and click OK to open the Registry Editor.
2. Next, browse to the following path in the Registry Editor: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
3. Double-click the NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation DWORD to open its Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window below.
4. If the DWORD’s value is currently 1, replace its value by entering 0 in the text box.
5. Press the OK button to close the Edit DWORD window.
6. Close the Registry Editor, and then restart your desktop or laptop.

The 1603 error can occur if short file name creation is deactivated. As such, enabling short file name creation is another way to fix the 1603 error.

You can do that by editing its NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation value in the registry as shown in the steps above.

Can’t access Registry Editor? Check out this guide and solve the issue quickly.

8. Grant Full Control Permission to Installation Drive

1. Open File Explorer and click This PC.
2. Then right-click the installation drive for the software, which would usually be C, and select Properties.
3. Select the Security tab shown directly below.
4. Click the Edit button to open the window directly below.
5. Select SYSTEM and click the Allow checkbox for Full Control if that’s not currently selected. All the Allow checkboxes need to be selected for SYSTEM.
6. Click the Apply and OK buttons and close the Permissions window.
7. Press the Advanced button on the drive’s Properties window to open the window shown below.
8. Select the Change Permissions option.
9. Choose SYSTEM on the Permissions tab, and then click the Edit button to open the Permissions Entry window.
10. Select This folder, sub-folders, and files from the Applies to the drop-down menu.
11. Press the OK button on the Permission Entry window.
12. Click the OK buttons on all the other open windows.

Error 1603 can also occur if your SYSTEM account doesn’t have Full Control permission for the selected installation folder.

You can resolve this by adjusting the permissions for the drive you’re installing the software to. Follow the guidelines above to edit the SYSTEM permissions.

Those are a few resolutions for error 1603 that might get your software installed as required. Aside from those fixes, Windows repair toolkits might also resolve the issue.

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