Installation of VS X5 stops with fatal error

[ULRICHOBIRCH]

I have been using Ulead VideoStudio / Corel VideoStudio since the 4SE version and made all upgrades, up to X4.

On April 1, 2012, I purchased then the UG from VS X4 Pro to VS X5 Pro and downloaded the software through the link provided by Corel.

I start the installation, enter the S/N of X5 and X4 (because I purchased an upgrade).

But installation always stops with an error message at the following step: "Please wait while we configure Microsoft Visual C+++ 2005 Redistributable"

The error message is: "1: ALLUSERS property is not 1 - this MSM cannot be used for a per-user or fallback-to-per-user install".

What I already tried so far...
I already uninstalled VS X4 and used the "VS_Cleanup", but the error persists. Meanwhile, I contacted Corel support, and they recommended to uninstall Microsoft Visual C++ and then to re-install it. I followed their instructions and uninstalled all instances of Microsoft Visual C++ and then re-installed the latest version, i.e. Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 (x64).

However, the same problem persists.

Meanwhile, I tried many other approaches: I moved the installation file (.exe file) to the desktop and tried the installation from there, I tried the installation as another user (equally with administrator rights), I tried to install under Windows Safe Mode (this failed, since some necessary drivers or software was apparently not loaded), removed any remaining traces of VS X4 manually and made a registry clean up, etc.

Note also that all latest updates of Windows and related software are made.

I also re-downloaded the installation file, in order to make sure there is no problem with a corrupt installation file.

I also checked here and searched the User Forum, but did not find any related information.

The problem is still un-resolved. Now, I am running out of ideas.

The case is still pending with Corel support, but I haven't heard from them for a while. Since I should do some urgent video editing, I would like to find a solution, and any advice / hint is more than welcome.

And here is some additional information about the configuration (the rest is in my profile...):
Video standard: PAL/SECAM, manually selected during the installation process.

Thanks in advance for your ideas!

[teknisyan]

I'm sorry to hear that ULRICHOBIRCH, since you already tried to contact the Corel Support, can you send me via PRIVATE MESSAGE the case number or the order number that was given to you when you first order VS X5 Pro, so that I can escalate this to our Tech Support Team.

[ULRICHOBIRCH]

Thanks a lot, Abiel! I will do so by PM.

[ULRICHOBIRCH]

Thanks, Abiel! At least, I got now a reaction from the Support team. However, I am afraid they don't understand the problem or don't take it seriously enough. This is the answer I received:

"(...) The attached article may help to answer your question.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... s.85).aspx

If the article does not provide the answers you need, you may be able to find what you are looking for in related articles in Corel's extensive online knowledge base, and of course do not hesitate to contact us with any further questions. (...)".

However, I already read this article, before contacting Corel Support. Normally, I make an extensive search and try all options, before contacting any support team. In general, I contact any support team only once I have exhausted all my options (as I already explained to them).

Furthermore, the Microsoft article they quote is IMHO not addressed to the user (like me), but to the software developer. Therefore, the answer from Corel's Support is pretty useless.

Here is my understanding of the problem:

- When an installation is run (from an .exe file as in the case of the VS X5), then the installation package calls the Microsoft installer (msiexec.exe)
- When this installer is called, there are a number of options and properties that can be set
- One of the properties is ALLUSERS
- For installation (in a Windows 7 environment) ALLUSERS must be set to “1” for an installation for all users on the machine
- Hence, this property is set by the VS X5 installation package (= VSX5_Pro_PF.exe in my case)
- As much as I understand, this property cannot be set by the user at anytime
- If the installation is made under an account with administrator rights, the installation package should be able to set the property
- So, I conclude that the error code is cause by a programming error in the installation package (VSX5_Pro_PF.exe)

With other words, I am not able to correct the error at the user's end, but this must be done by the software development team.
Of course, I am more than happy to learn that I am wrong, if anyone can provide a solution that I can apply at my end....!

Furthermore, it is clear that I searched for related articles in "Corel's extensive online knowledge base" before I contacted Corel Support! However, the keyword "allusers" does not produce any result. Hence, this advice from Corel's Support was equally useless.

Thanks for any good idea and advice (or correction of my understanding of the matter...)!

P.S. I asked the Support team to check with the experts (software developers) to figure out what the problem could be. It appears that Microsoft made the issue around "ALLUSERS" a bit complex, and it could be that the developers made a mistake....

[ULRICHOBIRCH]

Since this topic has been open for a while, I would like to give an update on the situation.

First, it was impossible to install VS X5 by any means. It always crashed during the installation process. I received great support from Corel's technical team - thanks a lot!

However, none of their (good and correct) advices worked in my case. While still unable to install VS X5, I decided about one year ago to upgrade my computer to SSD, i.e. to replace the C:\ system drive by an SSD (Kingston 240 GB HyperX SH100S3). Hence, I had to make a clean new installation of my Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. After this fresh installation, the VS X5 installed without any problems. Therefore, I concluded that previously (before the SSD), part of my Windows installation must have been messed up.

Since then, I used VS X5 successfully and without any problems. Meanwhile, I also purchased and installed VS X6 (SP 1), and it also works fine (as much as I could test it so far).

Obviously, after the replacement of the system drive by an SSD, my machine became much faster, and I can only recommend doing so. This is of particular advantage for video editing and rendering. The processing times (namely with a powerful Intel i7 processor and substantial RAM - 24 GB) became much shorter. Now, it is a real pleasure to work with VS X6.