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While trying to install *.msi or file on a windows 7 operating system I got the following error:

error 1325 <username> is not a valid short File Name

How can I fix this issue so the install will go through?

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What is the username in question? (If you prefer to remain anonymous, does it have any characters that aren't ASCII?) – David Yaw Mar 14 '11 at 22:07
The username is any ASCII username. In this case it will be any username over 8 characters – Whitecat Mar 14 '11 at 22:11

migrated from stackoverflow.com Mar 16 '11 at 9:29

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

To the original poster of this question, this fixes more than just .Net

I was fighting the same error installing AutoCAD, in an environment of GP's and Roaming profiles with locked out Local Admin accounts. (We are also in the process of migrating to Win7 from XP and having to install/test software) At one point months back I had to go into several registry profiles and hardcode the UserShellFolder because the prior Admin had created a Default User profile based on his profile which, of course, screwed up the pointers to the Personal settings and made it point to his User profile anytime a new user profile was created.

Also, you may need go into the Shell Folders in the same Explorer folder as mentioned above and tweak the profile references there too.

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I found out this was the issue with installing any file actually. – Whitecat May 30 '12 at 3:37
up vote 1 down vote accepted

This happens on file that is within a domain.

From what I have seen so far this only happens with users that log in from a domain.

This solution is simple go to the following registry location in regedit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/User Shell Folders

Here you should change the personal registry key: from \\<domain>\profiles$\<username> to %USERPROFILE%\<username>.

Then try to reinstall the program.

Another option is to create a new Admin User on your computer and install it that way. Below is a PDF that shows how to create a user account. https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BxY3ysueTgj9NWM3MjYwZjAtMTU5NC00NGFmLTk4YjEtMzBiYjRhNWJhMWRh&hl=en

Edit: Found more information on the topic. Corrected location of the registry.

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Please mark this as accepted if you solved your own problem :) – Tim Post♦ Mar 15 '11 at 7:30

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