Windows Installer Error 2203 – Revisited (and Security Essentials Error 0x80070643)

So I ran into this issue again, (see my previous post here), and again after a TDSS rootkit and other malware removal…  but my previous “fix” of taking ownership/permissions of the user’s %temp% directory didn’t work this time.

After numerous attempts at fixing the issue with trying to take permissions on various locations suggested in various articles, I gave up.

But I fixed it.  

By “gave up” I mean, I assigned new permissions to the ENTIRE OS PARTITION.  That did the trick!

FYI, non-D7 users can download subinacl.exe from Microsoft if not already on the system, drop that bad boy in %systemroot%System32, and execute the following at a command prompt:

subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /grant=administrators=f 

D7 users can simply run the new and updated Repair Permissions function, or the “Windows Installer 2203 Fix” on the Repair tab.

A LONG time later, you should be past the issue.

Also FYI, I ran into the installer 2203 error with an MS FixIt after attempting to install Microsoft Security Essentials and failing with error 0x80070643

Hope this helps!