Error 1603: A fatal error occurred during installation

Error 1603 is a common error caused by Microsoft Windows Installer when it encounters a problem while installing programs. It only applies to the system in which the action is performed and is independent of a specific product. 

Sources of occurrence

• An attempt to install a program that is already on the PC.
• The file is locked.
• The system Temp folder has not been cleared.
• Insufficient disk space.
• Configuration files corrupted during extraction.
• The short file name generation feature is disabled on the target computer.

How to fix the problem

1. Close applications and restart your PC. A specific file on the computer is locked, or the installation process is trying to restart the computer due to a locked file error. To make sure there is no error, close all background applications, restart your computer, and run the Installer again. 

2. Clearing the TEMP folder.  This is a temporary location where files are unpacked and where they run from.

• From the start menu, search for TEMP using the search bar.
• Press Ctrl + A and Delete to clear.

3. Free up some disk space. Despite the fact that the installation is performed using a different path, it requires at least twice as much space on the root disk (where the Windows operating system is installed) than the space required for the installation. Use cleaning services or remove unnecessary documents from your PC yourself. 

4. Disable your antivirus. Check the log for multiple components that cannot be installed, such as C ++ Libraries, Main Product, .NET. You will see that the action is blocked by security settings. Start, in the “event log” search box. Review recent entries, if fears are confirmed – disable antivirus firewall.  

5. Check if the application is installed.  The desktop shortcut may have been lost when updating Windows 10. The application is probably still installed on the PC. In this situation, reinstall it. Search and remove programs in Windows:

• From the Start menu select Control Panel.
• Under All Items, select Programs and Features.
• If a program is listed, uninstall it.
• Follow the instructions on the screen.

6. Re-registering the Microsoft Installer service.

• Press Win + R and enter “services.msc”.
• Find and double-click Installer.
• From the Start menu under Service Status and click OK. (If the service status is running, first select Stop and then click Start).
• Press Win + R, type “msiexec / unregister” and hit Enter.
• Win + R again and enter “msiexec / regserver”.

We hope the above methods helped you fix the problem. If this does not happen, then contact a specialist.