windows installer problem

When i try installing something this comes up:

"The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running Windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance."

I checked for that service under the administrative tools but did not find anything that is msiexec related.

I tried doing msiexec /regserver in safe mode but that didn't resolve the problem.

Anyone else have this problem before, or does anyone know a solution to this? I really don't want to format, that's not an option. lol

start services.msc and check that "Windows Installer" is running

it was set to manual, shouldn't it have worked when the application starts it. every time i tried installing the app i could see msiexec.exe running in the task manager. anyways i hit start and launched the app and it installed.

thanx

It's one of those things that happens, if you set it to auto instead, it should work every time. I have had and seen more problems with installers in xp than with any other windows os, it is such a pain.

i figured it was something stupid just didnt know what. i've used winxp for a long time and it never happned before. i also have another problem with it. when the pc starts up it stays at the log in screen even tho i only have 1 account. used to have it before. i fixed it in the registry but i forgot what i did that time.