The message “Error opening installation log file. Verify that the specified location exists and is writable” is Windows Installer error 1622 (0x00000656). It means the installer, uninstaller or hotfix cannot open or write its requested log. The quickest documented workaround is to restart explorer.exe from Task Manager. If the message returns, check the log directory and the account’s write access, then investigate Windows Installer logging or a product-specific update.
What error 1622 means
Windows names error 1622 ERROR_INSTALL_LOG_FAILURE. The Windows error reference describes it this way: “Error opening installation log file. Verify that the specified log file location exists and that you can write to it.” The failure concerns the log operation, not necessarily the application being installed or removed.
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Windows Installer normally creates a temporary MSI log under a path such as C:Users<username>AppDataLocalTempMSIxxxxxx.log. Microsoft’s current troubleshooting article, updated February 12, 2026, documents a case in which the installer instead treats C:WindowsSystem32 as the destination after Windows Installer logging state has been lost or misapplied. If that location is not usable for the account running setup, the same 1622 message appears.
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The message can occur during three different operations:
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- Installation: a setup package cannot create or close its MSI log.
- Uninstallation: Windows Installer cannot write the removal log; this is the scenario covered by Microsoft’s Explorer-restart workaround.
- Hotfix or update application: a vendor setup can expose the same Windows Installer failure, sometimes because security software keeps a log file open.
Because the triggers differ, start with the short process restart, then use the branch that matches what you were doing when the message appeared.
The fastest documented fix: restart Windows Explorer
Microsoft’s workaround is to stop and relaunch explorer.exe. This refreshes the shell process that can be involved when the Windows Installer engine has selected an incorrect log destination. It does not uninstall anything or change installer policy.
- Save open work. Ending Explorer removes the taskbar and desktop temporarily, although open applications remain available.
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+Escto open Task Manager. If the compact view appears, select More details. - On the Processes tab, select Windows Explorer.
- Choose End task. The desktop and taskbar should disappear.
- In Task Manager, select File > Run new task.
- Enter
explorer.exeand select OK (or pressEnter). - Wait for the taskbar and desktop to return, then retry the same install, uninstall or hotfix.
If the operation succeeds after this restart, the failure was likely a transient Explorer/Windows Installer state problem. If the message immediately returns, continue with the checks below rather than repeatedly ending Explorer.
Check that the log location exists and is writable
The wording of error 1622 gives two concrete tests: existence and write access. Perform both with the same Windows account that launches the installer.
1. Identify the destination
Read the complete error and any setup documentation for a named log path. For ordinary MSI activity, compare the requested location with the normal temporary path C:Users<username>AppDataLocalTemp. In the Microsoft-documented logging-state failure, the engine may point at C:WindowsSystem32 instead. A vendor hotfix can use its own directory, such as a product folder containing Setup.log.
2. Confirm that every folder in the path exists
- Open File Explorer and enter the directory in the address bar.
- Check each part of the path, including the user name and
Tempfolder. - If Windows reports that the folder cannot be found, the installer has no destination to open. A missing folder should be restored only when it is clearly the expected installer location; do not redirect setup to an arbitrary directory.
For a product-specific setup, use the vendor’s current release notes or support instructions to confirm the intended log directory before creating or changing anything.
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3. Test file creation with the installer’s account
- Open the suspected log directory.
- Right-click an empty area and choose New > Text Document, or use another ordinary file-creation action available in that folder.
- Give the test file a temporary name, then open and close it.
- Delete the test file.
If you cannot create, save or delete the test file, the account does not have the required write access, or another process is controlling the folder. The error text specifically requires a location that the installer can write to. Ask the administrator who manages the PC to correct the folder permissions or provide the appropriate installation account; do not weaken permissions across the Windows directory just to bypass one setup failure.
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Do not test only a different administrator’s profile. Windows Installer can run under a different user context from the person who is logged on, especially during a managed uninstall or update. The account that launches the operation must be able to create the temporary MSI log in its own profile. If the expected path is present and writable but the engine still targets C:WindowsSystem32, the logging-state branch below is more likely than a simple missing-folder problem.
Investigate Windows Installer logging when the error keeps returning
Microsoft says the documented uninstall symptom occurs when Windows Installer Logging is enabled but the Windows Installer engine cannot correctly write the uninstall log. In that state, the engine can address C:WindowsSystem32 instead of the normal per-user temporary location.
Decide whether logging is still needed
Logging can be useful while diagnosing a failed installation, but leaving a troubleshooting policy enabled indefinitely can preserve a broken destination. Ask whether an administrator or support technician deliberately enabled Windows Installer logging. If it was enabled only for an earlier investigation, disabling it is the appropriate longer-term direction.
Revenera identifies disabling MSI logging in the registry as a longer-term option for the Windows 7 uninstall variant. Registry changes affect Windows Installer behavior system-wide, so record the existing setting and follow the current Microsoft or Revenera procedure for the exact Windows edition and policy in use. Do not delete unrelated registry values or apply a registry-cleaner utility. If the computer is managed by an organization, the setting may be enforced by policy and must be changed by its administrator.
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- Close the installer or uninstaller that displayed 1622.
- Apply the documented logging-policy change, if logging is no longer required.
- Restart Explorer using the steps above if the shell has not already been refreshed.
- Run the same operation again and check whether the log is created in the expected temporary or product directory.
If support still needs a diagnostic log, leave logging enabled only for the requested test and then restore the normal setting after collecting the file. The objective is a valid, writable destination—not simply suppressing the message.
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If the failure occurs during a Host Integration Server hotfix
Microsoft documents a separate timing defect for a Host Integration Server hotfix. Some antivirus programs can delay closing Setup.log. When Msiexec.exe tries to access the file while it is still held open, it encounters a sharing violation and the setup reports the installation-log error.
This branch applies to the documented Host Integration Server 2009 and 2010 case, not to every antivirus or every MSI package. Microsoft says the correction is included in Cumulative Update 2, described in a 2017 support article.
- Confirm that the failing operation is a Host Integration Server 2009 or 2010 hotfix and that the log involved is
Setup.log. - Check the installed cumulative-update level against the vendor’s current servicing guidance.
- Apply the applicable cumulative update, including Cumulative Update 2 where that documented fix is required.
- Retry the hotfix and review the setup log if it still fails.
Do not treat this case as a reason to permanently disable antivirus protection. If security software is holding the file, use the product’s supported update process or obtain guidance from the administrator responsible for that security policy.
When a product’s own installer is involved
Some vendors display the same Windows Installer text from their updater or bootstrapper even though the immediate failure is in product-specific setup logic. If the general path and permission checks pass, look for the product’s current release notes, hotfix notes or support instructions.
- Record whether the message appeared during install, uninstall or update.
- Note the product version and the full log path shown in the message or setup documentation.
- Keep the exact error number,
1622, in the support request. - Provide the relevant installer log only after confirming that it contains no information your organization must redact.
A product-specific fix can supersede a general Windows workaround. Conversely, a vendor setup cannot write anywhere if its chosen directory is missing or blocked, so the Windows checks remain necessary.
Choose the remediation that matches the trigger
| Remediation | Best match | Reversibility | Scope | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
End and relaunch explorer.exe |
Microsoft-documented uninstall symptom or a one-time shell/installer state problem | Easy to reverse by launching Explorer again | Usually one session | Windows process restart |
| Verify the directory and test file creation | Missing path or insufficient write access | Testing is non-destructive; permission changes require administrator control | The specified log directory | Windows account and folder configuration |
| Disable unneeded MSI logging | Logging was enabled and the engine repeatedly chooses the wrong destination | Registry or policy change can be reversed using the recorded setting | Windows Installer behavior, potentially system-wide | Windows configuration or managed policy |
| Install the applicable cumulative update | Host Integration Server hotfix sharing violation | Uses the vendor’s supported servicing path | Host Integration Server 2009/2010 hotfix behavior | Microsoft/vendor update |
| Follow product release notes or support guidance | Vendor updater or bootstrapper-specific behavior | Depends on the product’s supported procedure | That product’s installer | Product vendor |
Verify the result without creating a new failure
- Close any abandoned setup windows before starting a fresh attempt.
- Retry the same operation that originally failed; changing to an unrelated package can hide the original cause.
- Watch the expected log directory for a newly created MSI or product log.
- If setup fails again, note whether the message names the same path. A changed path points to a different configuration issue than an unchanged path.
- For an uninstall, confirm that the application is actually removed before deleting any remaining product files.
- For a hotfix, verify the product’s installed update level using its supported version or update screen.
A successful retry establishes that the immediate log-opening problem is gone; it does not prove that every separate installation or application error has been fixed. If the installer now reports a different error, troubleshoot that new code on its own terms.
When to stop and contact an administrator or vendor
- The destination is under a managed Windows directory and your account cannot test write access.
- A registry or policy setting reappears after you change it, indicating central management.
- The path exists and is writable, Explorer has been restarted, and the same 1622 error persists.
- The failure is tied to a Host Integration Server hotfix but the documented cumulative-update level is already installed.
- The product’s setup log identifies a sharing violation or a vendor-specific bootstrapper failure.
Give support the error number, operation type, Windows edition, product and version, requested log path, and the exact step at which the message appears. That information distinguishes a wrong destination from a permissions problem, an antivirus timing issue or a product-specific defect.
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