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I accidentally deleted the Windows\Installer folder in Windows 7. Is there a way to repair this, because I can't install new Microsoft software anymore.

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Have you tried using the Windows install cd and selecting the repair option? – Daisetsu Oct 7 '10 at 19:39
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migrated from stackoverflow.com Oct 7 '10 at 19:31

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4 Answers

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Try recovering the files using a Shadow Copy (Previous Versions). If your edition of Windows doesn't expose the Previous Versions tab, use the free ShadowExplorer to do it.

If that doesn't work, recover from backup.

If you don't have a backup, you're in big trouble.

The only real options you have at that point are reinstalling Windows (and all of your applications that use Windows Installer) or, maybe, trying to use the msizap.exe command line tool to reset all the Installer's registry information.

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msizap *! ALLPRODUCTS worked for me - but as a last ditch effort - not recommended! Everything has to be reinstalled now. – user12007 Jan 17 at 17:08
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up vote 2 down vote

Open an elevated command prompt and type:

sfc /scannow

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

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up vote 1 down vote

You can't reinstall it, because actually version 5.0 is not redistributable.

The simplest solution is to copy the folder from an other Win7 computer.

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up vote 1 down vote

Have you tried using System restore, or even just restore from the recycle bin?

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