Windows Installer fails on startup. It thinks it's Blender 2.79 installer? #69625

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Sergiusz Olszewski · 2019-09-07T22:33:13+02:00

2019-09-07 22:33:13 +02:00

System Information
Operating system: Windows 8.1 Pro x64
Graphics card: GTX660

Blender Version
Broken: Latest 2.8 installer from blender.org, {BB5CEFDD-D7AC-40C3-B63B-7224779EDF17}, 2019-07-29 17:50 (I guess time zones apply, I'm GMT+2 now)
Worked:

Short description of error
Blender 2.8 Installer (win64, .msi) relays on Blender 2.79 installation location or something.

Exact steps for others to reproduce the error

When I start installation I got the error "The folder path 'Blender 2.79' contains an invalid character"
After changing random key values from "blender 2.79" to "belnder279" I found the one causing the problem: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall{random numbers}\InstallationPath (I think it was Installation Path - can't check it now)
The problem continued with the error like "the shortname blender279 is incorrect" (I don't remember for sure)
After removing entire Key (the one with random numbers), installation continues until I get the error "The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable. Blah blah blah, locate installation package 'blender-2.79-windows64.msi' in the box below.
After feeding Blender 2.79 .msi installation file I got the error "The folder path 'Blender 2.79' contains an invalid character" at which point I gave up.

My verdict:
Either Blender 2.8 installer thinks it's Blender 2.79 installer or it's browsing for Blender 2.79 uninstaller against my will. Blender 2.8 Installer should not browse my computer looking for Blender 2.79 uninstaller or anything like that. I'm the owner of my PC and I decide if and when I want to uninstall previous version of the software. I guess Blender uses generic Windows installer, but it seems like this one is not configured correctly.

**System Information** Operating system: Windows 8.1 Pro x64 Graphics card: GTX660 **Blender Version** Broken: Latest 2.8 installer from blender.org, {BB5CEFDD-D7AC-40C3-B63B-7224779EDF17}, 2019-07-29 17:50 (I guess time zones apply, I'm GMT+2 now) Worked: **Short description of error** Blender 2.8 Installer (win64, .msi) relays on Blender 2.79 installation location or something. **Exact steps for others to reproduce the error** 1. When I start installation I got the error "The folder path 'Blender 2.79' contains an invalid character" 2. After changing random key values from "blender 2.79" to "belnder279" I found the one causing the problem: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{random numbers}\InstallationPath (I think it was Installation Path - can't check it now) 3. The problem continued with the error like "the shortname blender279 is incorrect" (I don't remember for sure) 4. After removing entire Key (the one with random numbers), installation continues until I get the error "The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable. Blah blah blah, locate installation package 'blender-2.79-windows64.msi' in the box below. 5. After feeding Blender 2.79 .msi installation file I got the error "The folder path 'Blender 2.79' contains an invalid character" at which point I gave up. **My verdict:** Either Blender 2.8 installer thinks it's Blender 2.79 installer or it's browsing for Blender 2.79 uninstaller against my will. Blender 2.8 Installer should not browse my computer looking for Blender 2.79 uninstaller or anything like that. I'm the owner of my PC and I decide if and when I want to uninstall previous version of the software. I guess Blender uses generic Windows installer, but it seems like this one is not configured correctly.

Sergiusz Olszewski commented

2019-09-07 22:33:13 +02:00

Added subscriber: @SergiuszOlszewski