Skip to content

WINDOWS INSTALLER ERROR

Error 1722 and 1723: There Is a Problem With This Windows Installer Package

A setup package can run its own helper programs and DLLs. One of those steps failed: with 1722 a program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected, with 1723 a DLL required for the install could not be run. Microsoft's text sends you to the package vendor.

WHAT WINDOWS SAYS

There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected. Contact your support personnel or package vendor. Action [2], location: [3], command: [4]

Message 1723 differs in one sentence: "There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A DLL required for this install to complete could not be run. Contact your support personnel or package vendor. Action [2], entry: [3], library: [4]". The numbers in brackets are fields that Windows Installer fills in when it shows the message.

Wording from Microsoft's documentation, linked under Sources.

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

Number1722, 1723
Where it appearsMessage shown by a setup
In PC Tweaker UninstallerShows the exit code

What causes Error 1722 and 1723

  • Error 1722: a program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected. The message has fields for the action, its location and its command.
  • Error 1723: a DLL required for the install could not be run. For package developers Microsoft adds a remark: ensure that the functions used by custom actions are actually exported.
  • A different error shares the number: in Windows' general error list, 1722 is "The RPC server is unavailable". This page is about the Windows Installer message, not that one.

How to fix Error 1722 and 1723, safest step first

Microsoft publishes no step list for these two messages beyond "Contact your support personnel or package vendor". What can be done safely, in the order of Microsoft's general page for blocked installs:

  1. Write down the Action line

    Copy the text after Action, location and command from the message, or read it later with the check below. It identifies the step that failed, which is what the vendor's support needs.

    To undo: Nothing to undo: you only looked.

  2. Restart the PC and try once more

    Use Start > Power > Restart. It is the first solution on Microsoft's page for programs that will not install or uninstall.

    To undo: Nothing to undo: a restart changes no setting.

  3. Repair the app from Settings, if it offers that

    Select Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps, select the app, then Advanced options > Repair. Microsoft lists this as its second solution and notes that not all desktop apps support it. Reset is the next button on the same page: Windows states there that the app's data will be deleted, so keep it for last.

    To undo: Repair has no undo button, and Reset cannot be undone because it deletes the app's data. A restore point made beforehand brings back the previous state of the program.

  4. Get a current installer from the publisher, or ask its support

    Download the program's current setup from its publisher and run that one. Microsoft's message says to contact your support personnel or the package vendor. Some vendors publish their own removal tool for products whose uninstall fails; our removal guides link the official ones.

    To undo: Nothing to undo until a setup completes; after that, uninstalling the program is the way back.

  5. Make a restore point before the steps that change something

    Select Start, type Create a restore point, open it, and on the System Protection tab choose Create. Microsoft notes that System Protection is not turned on by default; if Create is greyed out, choose Configure and turn it on for the system drive first.

    To undo: A restore point changes nothing by itself. To go back later, run System Restore and pick it: Microsoft says it reverts system files, the registry and installed programs, and leaves your personal files alone.

  6. On Windows 10, run Microsoft's Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter

    Microsoft's page offers the download under its Windows 10 tab. Microsoft says it fixes corrupted registry keys on 64-bit systems, corrupted registry keys that control update data, and problems that prevent programs from being installed, completely uninstalled or updated, or that block uninstalling through Add or Remove Programs. On Windows 11 the same page gives the Settings steps instead.

    To undo: The troubleshooter has no undo of its own, which is why a restore point comes before it.

  7. Repeat it once with a log, to see the step that failed

    From an administrator Command Prompt run msiexec.exe /x {ProductCode} /L*V "%TEMP%\msi-remove.log", with the program's product code in place of {ProductCode}. Microsoft documents /x as uninstall and /L*V as logging all information including verbose output. Open the log and read the lines just before the error number.

    To undo: This runs the real setup or removal again, so it is not a dry run. The log is a text file you can delete.

Check it yourself, without changing anything

  1. Find the message in the Application log (PowerShell)

    Microsoft documents that errors from the installer's Error table are logged in the Application log with an event ID equal to the error number plus 10,000, so 1722 is event 11722 and 1723 is event 11723. Nothing is changed.

    Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{ LogName='Application'; ProviderName='MsiInstaller'; Id=11722,11723 } -MaxEvents 5 |
  Format-List TimeCreated, Message
    PowerShell

  2. Read what Windows Installer logged (PowerShell)

    Microsoft documents event 1033 (installation completed with status) and 1034 (removal completed with status): each names the product, its version and the status number, which is 0 on success. Nothing is changed.

    Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{ LogName='Application'; ProviderName='MsiInstaller'; Id=1033,1034 } -MaxEvents 10 |
  Format-List TimeCreated, Id, Message
    PowerShell

What PC Tweaker Uninstaller does with Error 1722 and 1723

Shows the exit code

PC Tweaker Uninstaller removes a Windows Installer program with the command it shows you first in the Removal Brief, msiexec.exe /x {ProductCode} /qn /norestart, after asking Windows for a restore point when the removal needs administrator rights. Because that run is silent, no message box with this number appears: the report shows the exit code msiexec.exe returned and says the program may not be fully removed, and the attempt is kept in the Removal Ledger with that code. The Uninstaller cannot skip or repair a step inside another vendor's package and does not force the entry out of the list; to read the numbered message with its Action line, use the check above.

PC Tweaker Uninstaller: see the exact command before a removal runs

Common questions

Is error 1722 the same as "The RPC server is unavailable"?

No. They share a number. "The RPC server is unavailable" is Windows' general error 1722. The Windows Installer message 1722 says a program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected.

What do Action, location and command mean in the message?

They are the three fields Microsoft's text reserves for the failing step: the action, its location and its command (for 1723: the action, its entry and its library). Give them to the vendor's support.

Can I fix error 1722 or 1723 myself?

You can restart, repair the app from Settings, and try a current setup from the publisher. Microsoft's own text for both messages ends with contacting support or the package vendor.