Is it an HP Printer? If so possible issue below.

When the HP software is installed on a computer running Windows XP, the error message MSI Error 1601 appears on the computer. The rest of the text in the error message might vary.

You can work around this issue by installing a basic driver without troubleshooting the error. With the basic driver, the product still prints as usual. However, the product might not have all its extra functionality. For instance, if the product has CD/DVD-printing capability, the product will lose this functionality with a basic driver.

Please provide your printer make and model # and we can locate the printer driver on the HP Site and you can download the driver for your printer.

Windows XP is required to run at the Service Pack3 level for it to be able to recieve up-dates. That's why the tech installed it.

If the guys and gals here can't fix it, call Hp if it is an HP computer. They sell you a one year warranty for $99 and fix the computer or replace it. They were able to fix mine by going on my PC and I had a year warranty. I got this bit of wisdom after I had paid someone to fix mine, had more problems after he "fixed" it.

zep.i forgot about you and awbist,sorry.on revo uninstaller i can't uninstall."can't uninstallHPphotosmart essential&updates.windoes installer service could not accessed.windows installer isincorrectly installed.contactyour support personell for assistance"
it worked before i took it in to the repair

What is the model # of the HPPhotosmart?

Sometimes all you need to do is re-register the windows installer service and everything is fixed. So you might want to try this step first before proceeding to the ultimate solution of the problem.

Unregister and reregister Windows Installer, please follow these steps:

1) Unregister Windows Installer. To do this, click Start, click Run, type msiexec /unregister in the Open box, and then click OK.

2) Reregister Windows Installer. To do this, click click Start, click Run,
type msiexec /regserver in the Open box, and then click OK.

See what happens after that...Good luck here...

zep,when i googled my problem it said to both i did.just tried again,i just don't have windows installer.....where did it go and how do i get it back?i have the disk,it's an HP photosmart c3135 all in one
thanks,patricia

1) Unregister Windows Installer. To do this, click Start, click Run, type msiexec /unregister in the Open box, and then click OK.

2) Reregister Windows Installer. To do this, click click Start, click Run,
type msiexec /regserver in the Open box, and then click OK.

Windows Installer 4.5 is now available as a redistributable system component for the following operating systems:

Windows Server 2008, 32-bit editions
Windows Server 2008, 64-bit editions
Windows Server 2008, Itanium-based editions
Windows Vista
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)
Windows Server 2003 SP1
Windows Server 2003 SP2

When you click the link below that I provided. On the page it takes you to, click on the last entry this one WindowsXP-KB942288-v3-x86.exe Click the download.

Try the stuff in the above post first.

Here is a link that might be useful: Windows Installer 4.5

ok,the last part,installer downloaded,now what do i do?can i put the cd in?

Once you download the windows installer from above link in last post to you, then install it onto the computer by double clicking the file like any install of any application or program. Then I would reboot the computer. Then try to install your printer by using the printer disc. If none of this works we will install the printer driver for xp and your printer model.

triedcd...nope!now i can't even uninstall with revo.this is the message i got
D:\setup\hpzmsi101.exe-m selfinstallingportmoitor-FC\windows\hpoins11.datvol
1st the windows installer service could not be accessed.this can cause if you are running windows in safe mode, or if the windows installer is not correctly installed.contact your support personnel for assistance
went back to uninstall what was done at point it stopped,got error reporting-fatal error 1601' message appear during software install in windows xp
i'm ready to pull every grayhair in my head out.could i do system restore to before he touched my puter and my memory wouldn;t be bothered?
thanks again

Try a restore sure, you can always undo a restore point and we won't need the stupid windows installer to do it.

No go there! Then we will install the printer driver from Hp I already have it on hand.

Let us know how the restore goes. Be prepared for it not to work though. I hope it does! If it does not we disconnect the Printer via USB, download the basic driver, and see what that does.

won't i need windows installer for other things?i downloaded before repair and the scan part didn't download.that's why i deleted and ordered a new cd from HP

Yes you will need the windows installer for other things. How can we test the windows installer? Not sure yet. In my first post I said that error may be the result of the HP Printer software causing the Windows installer error. So it may not be a Windows installer error at all. The windows installer is included in service pack2, when your tech installed service pack3 the windows installer should have been installed again so it should be ok. Lets look at it form a point of an HP Problem for now.

Disconnect the printer form the computer. Now run this program:

Clean out your temporary internet files and temp files.

Download TFC by OldTimer click Here to your desktop. Click the Save file tab, save it to the desktop. Then double click it to run it.

Double-clickTFC.exe to run it.

Note: If you are running on Vista, right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator

TFC will close all programs when run, so make sure you have saved all your work before you begin

* Click the Start button to begin the cleaning process.
* Depending on how often you clean temp files, execution time should be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two.
* Please let TFC run uninterrupted until it is finished.

Once TFC is finished it should restart your computer. If it does not, please manually restart the computer yourself to ensure a complete cleaning.

Once that is completed and with the Printer disconnected lets try to install the printer driver for your printer,

HP Photosmart Basic Print and Scan Driver
2009-08-21 , Version:7.0.2, 66.96M

Click the link I provided below, download the driver above in bold. Once it downloads to the desktop, double click it to install it. Reboot the computer. Connect the printer and try to print something.

Here is a link that might be useful: printer driver HP photosmart c3135 all in one

Maybe you might want to try manually starting the service.

In run box the command:
dcomcnfg

Services local, scroll to 'Windows installer'
Double click it or Right click & select Properties.
Start it !

That's a good idea mikie I saw that too!! But I'm getting distracted by this Information provided by HP Web Site..

Fatal Error 'Fatal Error 1601' (MSI Error 1601) Displays During HP Software Installation in Windows XP

See link for more,

Here is a link that might be useful: Fatal Error 1601

ok guys,gotta go to thr grocery.i'm gonna try when i return.om TFC,i didn't see TFC.exe...oh hell can't read my chicken scratch.be back in a few hours....and got the grand to unlug everything already YIKES..i'd like to take this thing back to him and put it where the sun don't shine.can i go back to SP2?
later,patricia

can i go back to SP2? no!

But taking it back to shop is the best idea, you paid for a working computer. See last link I posted above it explains a lot Fatal Error 1601 should have posted it before.

zep,paint me a clearer pic,how do i save it to desktop?

You're talking about the Printer driver right.

Where do your usual downloads go? I save mine to the desktop it really does not matter as long as you can find the printer drive once you download it. It can go to the desktop or to the download folder that's where it goes if you don't tell the browser where to download it to. What browser would you be using?

in the 1601 error,it told me to uncheck all.i did it and got it all back in safemode******now i'm not sure if IE works?when i try to download the cd it checks drivers and updates and said fine.i'm gonna try this one more time and call it a night.have to take mom(alzhiemer)back to neuro tomorrow,so my day will be shot.be back tomorrow nite.i'm not giving up. thanks to all of you,patricia

one thing to remember since that pc had xp sp2 on it prior to going to the shop and he put sp3 on it if a system restore was done to a date prior to install of sp3 it can cause major issues, you will end up with a mish mash of both. Back when everyone was doing sp3 installs it was highly recommended not to do a system restore because of that, instead the recommended method was to go to add remove programs and remove it from there. However since you already have sp3 on the pc and the tech did this and you had asked him not to and now you have problems the best and logical thing to do is bring it right back to him and tell him it needs to be fixed, He apparently did not check to make sure everything was working properly.

You paid for it to be working he should make it good.

If you can have it with sp3 you definitely should have it with sp3 so you can continue to get your windows updates on it.
Thats my thought anyway.

so raven,i can't remove sp3 and go back to sp2?

I personally would not advise it your pc needs sp3 to be able to continue to get windows updates they are no longer putting out updates for sp2 it has past it's life span.
Best thing to do is get it working as it should be with sp3 since he already wen ahead and did that.

So yes you can, but it is not the recommended path if you want to continue to have windows as secure as possible.