Summary

Symptoms

When an installation is launched, the following error occurs after the setup initialization process:

Error 1606. Could not access Network Location [2].

In the error, [2] is replaced by the folder name or registry key that causes the error.

Cause

There are several known causes for this error message. While the following list may not be complete, it will be updated periodically when more causes are known.

1. If the value of INSTALLDIR or DATABASEDIR under the General Information view is incorrect, this error can occur.

   An example of a incorrect value is an invalid path or folder name (for example, testfolder, C;). Examples of correct values are C:\testfolder, [ProgramFiles]\test, and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\test\

   Note: In InstallShield Express 3.x, only the INSTALLDIR variable accepts registry path values. Registry path values cannot be used for the DATABASEDIR variable.

2. Sometimes the cause of this error message may not be the project, but the target system where the setup is being run. At run time, the Windows Installer service uses the registry to resolve folder paths to predefined folders such as MyPicturesFolder and AppDataFolder. If the path to one of these folders is invalid in the following registry key, then this error can occur:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders.

Resolution

Listed below are the solutions to the above causes. Because causes 1and 2 are related and have similar solutions, resolution 1 can be applied to causes 1 and 2.

1. Make sure that the path pointed to by INSTALLDIR and/or DATABASEDIR under General Information is valid. Make sure that DATABASEDIR variable in the General Information view does not point to a path specified by a registry value (for example, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Test). If it does, change the value of DATABASEDIR to a predefined variable or an absolute path. Follow the steps below to correct the issue. This example uses INSTALLDIR. The same steps can be followed for DATABASEDIR:
   1. Open the General Information view and click the ellipsis (...) in the INSTALLDIR field. This launches the Set INSTALLDIR dialog.
   2. Select a predefined folder like ProgramFilesFolder or another folder and click OK. This populates the selected folder as the value of INSTALLDIR.
   3. Click the ellipsis (...) in the INSTALLDIR field again to launch the Set INSTALLDIR dialog.
   4. Scroll to the folder or registry path that was causing the error message.
   5. Right-click on the folder or registry path and select Delete.
   6. Click OK to save these changes.
   7. Rebuild your release to eliminate the error message. Launch regedit.exe from your Start / run command to launch your registry. In the registry, go to the following location and make sure that the paths to all the folders are valid and exist on the system.
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders.

This error has also occurred if the path specified by the following registry keys is not valid. Following are some other registry keys that one should verify in case the above error message occurs on the system:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WinNT\CurrentVersion (only for SystemFolder on NT-based systems)

Additional Information

Following are some Microsoft articles that discuss this error further:

• 313928 PIP: "Cannot Remove Previous Version" Error Message and Error 1606 Error Message When You Install Programs
• 315352 "Error 1606. Could not access network location <common administrative tools>.All Users\" error message when you install a program

Additional information on Error 1606 can be found in Windows Installer Help topic Windows Installer Error Messages.