How Do I Correct the 'Another Installer is Already Running' Error Message?

Issue Details

I am trying to uninstall LabVIEW, or any other National Instruments product that uses the Microsoft Installer, but every time I run the uninstaller, I get an error message telling me that "Another installer is already running". I am not installing any other applications. How do I get rid of this message so that I can run my uninstaller?

Solution

It is possible that a previous installation on your computer has become corrupted. If this happens, it will not complete execution properly, and may continue to run in the background, even after a restart. The Microsoft Windows Installer does not allow multiple products to install simultaneously, so if one product appears to be installing, you will not be able to install others.

You may want to run the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter, which can be found on Microsoft's support pages here.

If you still receive errors, you may need to reinstall the Microsoft installer. Reinstalling the installer should cause any current installations to terminate. Follow this link and download the Windows Installer for your software version. Running the installer may generate an error, but it usually kills the corrupted process. After running the installer, reboot the machine and attempt your installation.