Problem

Installing OfficeWriter 3.9.1 may fail on Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. The installer appears to proceed normally, but eventually rolls back and displays the following error message:

Error: -1603 Fatal error during installation. Consult Windows Installer Help (Msi.chm) or MSDN for more information.

The installation failure is due to a problem in InstallShield, a software tool used to build the OfficeWriter installer. The problem occurs in an InstallShield method that interfaces with IIS 7, which comes with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. OfficeWriter installer for versions 4.6.0 and earlier attempt to interface with IIS to create a new website for sample applications during installation. Because of the InstallShield problem on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, the installer fails and subsequently rolls back.

Solution

Option 1: Upgrade to OfficeWriter 3.9.2 or later

Upgrade to a newer version of OfficeWriter. Subsequent to the 3.9.1 release, the OfficeWriter installer is built with a patched version of InstallShield which fixes the problem described above. We recommend that, whenever possible, customers upgrade to the newest release of OfficeWriter to take advantage of the latest bug fixes and new features.

Option 2: Install OfficeWriter 3.9.1 without the samples

Install OfficeWriter 3.9.1 without the samples. Because the error occurs when the installer attempts to create a new website for the samples, not installing the samples would allow the installer to succeed. On the Setup Wizard dialog box which allows selection of the features to install, deselect the “OfficeWriter Samples” option.