How to fix Error 1723 in Windows

A peculiar type of error that I used to have while I was using Windows 8 was "Error 1723. There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A DLL required for this install could not be run. Contact your support personnel or package vendor..." At a first glance, I was totally driven back to see this as I never had the rarest of ideas to get rid of this. You often get this error while trying to run the InstallShield wizard for a particular program, i.e, .msi installers. Normal .exe installers wont be having such errors as they aren't very related to them. And just as I stated, I too met these while trying to run .msi installers.

Google is normally every netizen's first choice to find out a remedy for such occurrences  However, in almost all the search results, I only found 'fixes' for Java installers which was, I believe, to be one of the most common cases for this type of error. And digging into the posts relating to Java, I couldn't find much as it referred specifically to Java only and not for other installers. The main remedy given there was to uninstall older Java and install the latest version. A registry tweak was also given, but again, for Java only. However, I never faced any problem with my Java installer and this was the first time I met such. It occurred to me the first time while I was trying to install Nokia Care Suite and I presumed it was due to the lack of compatibility. However, I saw it again when I tried to run the Steam Client Installer. Referring to the error statement, it is probably due to some 'missing dlls' but every necessary package for the referred two programs were already installed.

Method #1

One way to solve this problem easily (if this occurs at multiple times) is to enable the hidden Administrator account and use that as your main account if you don't wish to segregate your PC. I have already posted an article explaining the steps needed to achieve this. To see the post, click here.

Method #2

One possible remedy provided by Microsoft for corrupted installers is to use the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility which is available here. However, that wasn't my problem as there was no way one of my installations went wrong. After a very wide research including a few guesses of my own, I figured out that the installer is always failing to extract the required files to the 'temp' folder for installers. In a better way, some of the installers unpack the required files to a 'temp' folder inside %appdata%. However, when it fails to do this, it shows up an error, namely, error 1723. And why doesn't it extract to 'temp' -- because my account wasn't given permission to. So, figuring that out, we simply need to change the permissions of the temp folder to allow your account to access it, i.e, give it full control. So, if you are having similar troubles like mine, follow these steps to easily give full control for 'temp' folder to your account.

Note: The error seems to be more spread on Windows 7 and Windows 8. I'm not sure whether the same steps can be applied for older versions but this works for the respective OS'.

1. Login to your account and open file explorer or 'My Computer'.

2. Copy and paste this on your address bar: DL:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local where DL is the drive letter of the Windows drive and USERNAME is the name of the user account that you are using.

3. Right-click the temp folder and select Properties. Click on Security tab.

4. Click Edit below the the list. Click Add. Type in the username you have given or the email address if you associated your account with your Microsoft account. Click OK.

5. Select the added account from the list and tick 'full control' box under 'Permissions for USERNAME'. Click OK once you're done. Click OK once again to close the Properties.

Now, try running the installer again and if you properly added your respective account, then you will not be greeted with the error any more and the InstallShield would run fine. Also note that this may not work for Standard Account types. You must be an Administrator in order to earn the rights if my assumptions are right.

If you still can't fix it, try uninstalling all related software and installing again. Also try to use registry cleaners to clean the registry if there's a corrupted installer present. For more help, do leave a comment and I'll try to work it out if I can. I hope this would fix your problem. Do give your valuable feedbacks and rate my posts. Will be back with more tips, tricks and fixes. Adios for now.