Windows Installer Continuously Popping Up

Hello, I was given this link from the Malware Removal forum on Safer Networking (Spybot Search and Destroy), so I have already been through the Malware removal process and it appears that this may be some sort of issue with my printer. I started with the Malware Removal forum because directly prior to this problem I had several viruses and malware that I removed with avast and malwarebytes. I believe we also removed a couple of worms during the malware removal process with Safer Networking. I have not installed or uninstalled any of the HP software on my computer. Here is the problem: The Windows Installer is constantly popping up and saying "Please wait while Windows configures Unload". Then another window pops up saying that "the feature you are trying to use is unavailable" and it says to look for an alternate path for the uninstall package 'unload.msi'. The use source box shows the path: c:\hp\tmp\src\setup\UnloadIntent\ . If I press Cancel to this, I get an "Error 1706 No valid source could be found for the product Unload. The Windows Installer cannot continue". Then the Installer will pop up repeatedly and I just have to keep hitting cancel dozens of time until it stops. Then, several minutes later it will start over again. It is constantly popping up no matter what I am doing on the computer. My computer specs are: HP Pavilion a1410n AMD Athlon 64 Process 3800+ 2.61 GHZ 960 MB Ram Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002 SP3 I would appreciate any help with solving this problem. Thank you!!

Hi catjsykes,

Head on over to this link and download to your desktop the HP driver only for your model:
http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html

I have recently just installed a HP printer too and their disks are loaded with junkware. There is nothing on the disk you need or want except the driver anyway.

Install the driver you downloaded but make sure your printer is connected and switched on first. The XP "found new hardware" wizard should then come up.

Let me know how you go.

Cheers,
Lee

Download and install the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility.

Find the Windows installer cleanup utility on your start menu after installation and run it.

Find and remove an entry that says "unload" on it. Do not remove anything else, especially if you are not sure what it is.

Lee, Thanks for the advice. I have been to the HP website and downloaded the latest drivers for my printer. I think that all went through okay, but I never got the XP prompt for new hardware. The driver utility asked me if I wanted to add any other HP products and I just said "no" to that . The windows installer did pop up again once after installing the drivers, but I haven't been on my computer as much this weekend, so I will have to see if it is going to continue. Appleoddity, Thank you too. I am going to install the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility now and I will let you know what happens! Thank you so much for all the help

It will pay to run "Windows Installer Cleanup Utility" as appleoddity suggested, then go to your Control Panel and click on "Printers and Faxes". It probably won't be showing up there yet in the window that opens (the printer should be plugged in and on). Click on "add Printer" in the left column and follow the simple directions. All you need is the printer driver installed and you should be fine. Cheers, Lee

Hi Lee and Appleoddity, My printer was not a new installation as you mentioned yours was. It has been installed and hooked up to my computer for a couple of years. The Malware Forum people said they thought the problem was to do with my HP printer, perhaps from looking at my logs, I'm not sure. It was definitely something to do with the HP software I have on here. In any case, I have installed the drivers, I have also run the Windows Installer Cleanup and I removed the "Unload" entry that I found there. My printer is working and I have been on and off the computer for a couple of hours this morning and so far I have not had the Windows Installer pop up, so it really looks like the problem has been solved. Yay!!!! Thank you sooooooo much for your help!! Happy Holidays

The Windows Installer Cleanup Utility has been removed from the Microsoft website since August of 2010. It was removed from the Microsoft Download Center as it sometimes could cause issues with other programs or components that were installed on the computer. You may have downloaded from a 3rd party site, but the utility should not be used.
But if you still want to download the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility, please read the instructions provided here:
http://www.windows-installer-cleanup-utility.com/

You will find step by step instructions to get rid of your error.