8 FIXES: Error 1500. Another Installation in Progress

The error 1500. another installation in progress is an error message that appears when you try and install a new program or an application to your System.

As per the users, the error message appears on the screen “Another installation is in progress. You must complete that installation before continuing this one” on their Windows screen.

The message appears mainly because of a conflict between your current and a previously installed program.

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What Causes “Error 1500. Another Installation in Progress”?

Windows Installer Running: If there is a Windows Installer already running in the background, this causes the error message and code 1500 to appear.
Corrupted System Files: The corrupted system files can also conflict with the latest program and cause the Error 1500. Another Installation in Progress.
Other reasons: In some cases, the error code appears when there is an “In progress” key left in the previous set of installation

How to Fix “Error 1500. Another Installation in Progress”?

Table of Contents

Solution 1: Turning the Conflicting Background Processes

The probability of another installation in progress initiates the conflict, and the easiest remedy is closing the process. Here is how you turn off the conflicting background process,

Tap on Start.
Type Task Manager and hit Enter.
On the Task Manager window, choose the Processes tab.
Choose the entry and then click on the End Task option.

Then click on those processes that read setup.exe as well as msiexec.exe on the list.
Close the Task Manager
Check if the installation is resumed or not

Solution 2: Turning off the Windows Installer Service on Startup

Windows Installer service runs on the PC and allows you to install programs. In some instances, the Installer doesn’t stop once the installation is complete and thus shows an unwanted conflict. Sometimes, you need to turn this feature off while the type your System boots, which should stay disabled. Here is how you disable Windows Installer service on Startup,

Press Win+R together and open the Run dialog box.
Type services.msc and hit Enter.

On the Service Manager window, scroll along the list of running services till you find the Windows Installer services option and double-click on it.

On the new window appearing, check under the General tab and choose the Startup type to Automatic from the drop-down option.
Choose the Disabled option and tap on the OK button to apply the changes
Restart your System
Do steps 1 and 2 to reinitiate Windows Installer once more
Change the Startup type to Manual and click on Apply and then OK

Solution 3: Run SFC & DISM Command

One of the tested methods is to fix error 1500. another installation is in progress error code using the SFC/Scannow option. This helps you to repair corrupted Windows system files that might conflict with the Windows system files. Here is how you do it,

Tap on Windows and type Command Prompt
Out of the list of options, choose to Run Command Prompt as an Administrator.
On the Command Prompt Window, type the following command and press Enter,

sfc/scannow

Allow the scan to take place and wait for the completion
Once done, restart your PC
Alternatively, it is recommended to perform a DISM Scan to ensure all System Files are fixed.
To perform this, start Command Prompt and reach Step 3 and type the following,

dism.exe /Online /cleanup-image /scanhealth

dism.exe /Online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup

dism.exe /Online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Once the scan is complete, re-do the SFC scan once more to ensure the process continues without any error.

Solution 4: Run the Windows Store & Windows Update Troubleshooter

If you see the error while installing an app via the Windows store, then running the in-built Windows store and Windows update troubleshooters are suggested.

Follow the steps to do so:

Press the Windows + I key to open Settings
And click on Update and Security and then click on Troubleshoot

Look for the Windows store Apps and click on Run the troubleshooter button.

Wait for the scanning process to finish.
Once the process is finished, click on the Troubleshoot option again and find the Windows Update.
Click on Run the Troubleshooter under Windows update and follow the instructions.
Once the scanning is finished then, reboot your PC

Now try installing the program and check if the error still appears or is fixed.

Solution 5: Reset Update Components

Resetting the update components on your Windows PC will restart essential services like BITS, MSI Installer, Cryptographic, and Windows Update Services. It also renames SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders, which help you troubleshoot the discussed problem.

Open Command prompt with admin rights.
Then, type the following commands and hit the Enter key after each command.

net stop wuauserv

net stop cryptSvc

net stop bits

net stop msiserver

ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old

ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 Catroot2.old

net start wuauserv

net start cryptSvc

net start bits

net start msiserver

Wait until the commands are processed; the error will not occur again.

Solution 6: Run Malware Scans

In some cases, the Windows Defender Firewall will not recognize any virus or malware threat that uses system files. These threat files will intrude into your system and damage your private data. Although there are a few anti-malware programs to eliminate these threat files, you can also eliminate them using the malware scan as instructed below.

Go to Windows Settings on your PC by pressing the Windows + I keys
Now, click on the Update & Security

Then, go to the Windows Security option in the left pane.

Then, select the Virus & threat protection option in the right menu.

Now, select the Quick Scan button to start the malware scan.

If any threat is available, click on Start Actions under the Current threats.

If no threat is available, you will get No current threats message.

Solution 7: Uninstall Apps in Safe Mode

Still, if you face the error 1500 on your PC, it implies that any third-party app or antivirus program is interfering with the files in your PC. In this case, launch your computer in safe mode and delete the conflicting apps.

Open Windows Settings on your computer.
Then, click on Update & Security.
Then, press the Recovery tab in the left menu and click on Restart now under Advanced startup.

Let your PC restart completely to Windows Recovery Environment
Then, select the Troubleshoot
Next, press the Advanced options menu.

Next, click on Startup Settings.

Then, select the Restart button and wait until the Startup Settings screen appears.

Note: Press the 5 buttons to boot in Safe Mode with network access.

Then, go to Windows Apps & features settings and click on Open.
Select the Conflicting app and click on Uninstall.

Confirm the prompt, if any, and complete the on-screen instructions to finish the uninstallation process.
Restart your computer, and now the error code will vanish.

Solution 8: Disable the Installation Reference using the Registry

While a Windows Program is installed, a status reference gets embedded with the Registry function. This is removed once the process is over. While in some cases, the registry does not remove the status reference even after the installation is complete, leading to multiple conflicts. Here is how you remove using the Registry function,

Tap Win+R together.
On the Run dialog, type Regedit and hit Enter.

On the Registry editor window, scroll down till you find this,
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Expand it and open this entry,
- \Software\Microsoft\Installer\InProgress
On the right-hand side window, double tap and choose Default string
Go to the Value data field on the newly opened Window and delete the entry
Click OK and apply to the Change
Close the Registry and restart your PC once again

Frequently Asked Questions:

1: What does mean error 1500. Another installation is in progress.

Error 1500 is a general MSI error message that appears due to the failure of installation because of a conflicting Installer already running in the background.

2: How do I stop an in-progress installation?

The easiest way to stop a progress installation is by performing the following steps,

Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open Windows Task Manager

Choose More Details on the bottom-left corner of the page

Over to the Processes tab, choose Windows Installer from the Background Processes

Tap on End Task to finish the process, and this would stop the installation

3: How do you fix another Java installation that is in progress you must complete that installation before you can run this installer.

Here is how you remove another Java Installation in progress,

Tap on Start Menu and type services.msc and tap OK

Look out for Windows Installer

Out from the Windows Installer, right-click and choose Properties

Click on the Startup Type drop-down and choose Disabled

Click on Apply and choose OK

Restart the System

Once more, do steps 1 to 4

On the Windows Installer Properties, choose on Startup type drop-down and choose Manual

Click on Apply and OK

Manually download and install Windows offline installer package

Conclusion

So, these fixes work for you to fix error 1500. another installation in progress on Windows 11 & 10.

Follow the solutions given one by one to solve the error completely on Windows OS. I hope our guide works for you to fix the error and install the program easily.

Apart from this, if you have any questions or suggestions regarding this article or other queries, write to us on our FB page, and we will get to you soon.

Good Luck..!

Hardeep Kaur

Hardeep has always been a Windows lover ever since she got her hands on her first Windows XP PC. She has always been enthusiastic about technological stuff, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI) computing. Before joining PC Error Fix, she worked as a freelancer and worked on numerous technical projects.