This error has been found trying to install Siebel software as well as Great Plains Integration Manager 6.0. It is a bug in the InstallShield installation program so it could be encountered in any software installation that uses InstallShield. The error is documented below.
"Setup failed to run installation (0x80040707)"
Description:
During setup initialization, sometimes an error message 0x80040707 with no additional information is displayed. After that setup appears to continue, but is not fully initialized, resulting in various consequential problems.
There are other problems that can also cause an 0x80040707 error message, such as wrong DLL function prototypes or an illegal format specifier in Sprintf. The bug discussed in this article is unique in that it occurs during setup initialization, that is while the "Your Application Name Setup is preparing the InstallShield wizard ..." progress bar is displayed. At this time your install script is not yet running, so the error cannot be cause by an error in your script.
Cause:
It is still obscure which conditions cause this problem. There is a discussion group for people affected by this error (under Special Topics -> DosExecPgm Error). If you are affected by this error, please collect as much information as possible, such as Windows version, language and service pack, network settings, regional settings, virus scanners, Internet Explorer, and other installed software packages, and post it to the group. Hopefully some scheme can be identified that helps to find the cause and fix the problem.
Workarounds:
None.
Status:
This is the IS 6.2 variant of the DosExecPgm problem that happened on IS 6.1. It still exists in IPSE 6.22.
InstallShield stated that this is an operating system issue. Additional information is available in the discussion group.
Solution
This may not be the only solution to this problem but it has worked on two machines that were having the problem. The following solution talks specifically about the “Common Desktop” entry but I found that our problem is related to the “Common Start Menu” entry.
The following is the solution received from InstallShield Support.
The information below shows how to fix this problem by modifying this system, this was determined by trial and error and is not documented by MS and involves updating the registry. Also, please note that this is not the only possible cause of this type of error, just the error that was occurring in this specific case.
To fix this problem open the "Regedt32.exe" registry editor (This is the NT 3.51 style editor) go to the registry under:
HKLM\\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\Shell Folders
notice that the value of "Common Desktop" under this key is:
C:\WINNT\All Users\Desktop
this folder does not exist. However, changing this value directly will have NO EFFECT.
Next locate the key "User Shell Folders" under the same key as above. Add the following value as type REGSZ_EXPAND:
Common Desktop = %SystemRoot%\Profiles\All Users\Desktop
Note that this value MUST be of type REGSZ_EXPAND, this is why it is necessary to use the NT 3.51 style registry editor.
Then restart Windows and verify that the appropriate value under "Shell Folders" has been changed to a valid folder. 6.1x setups should then work properly.
Note that this could also be a problem if any of the following values under "User Shell Folders" are missing or invalid.:
Common Start Menu, Common Startup, Common Desktop, Common Programs
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This is the registry entry I had to add to my registry:
HKLM\\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\User Shell Folders\Common Start Menu
Type: REG_EXPAND_SZ
Value: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu
It has to be type REG_EXPAND_SZ that is why you have to use regedt32.exe. “regedit” does not allow you to add an entry of this type.
