I just spent 4 hours trying to figure out why the latest version of CiscoVPN Client wouldn’t install, and kept giving me this:
Error 1720: There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A script required for this install to compelete could not be run. Contact your support personnel or package vendor.
When I tried to google the error (and an unreal number of permutations of it), the results came up with all kinds of suggestions (specifically, re-download the file, clean your registry, clean your partial installs, and re-install windows installer package.) Unfortunately for me, none of those worked – the problem wasn’t a corrupted file, a glitch in the registry or an outdated installer package.
I uninstalled my anti-virus and even disabled UAC, it didn’t make a difference. I downloaded 4 different versions of the VPN Client, all of which failed at the exact same point with the exact same un-informative “Error 1720″ error message.
After some digging I was able to see that the .exe I downloaded actually just extracted an .msi and some other files (12 in total). Realizing I could run msiexec in verbose mode and dump it to a log file:
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Temp>msiexec /i vpnclient-setup.msi /l*vx vpn.log
… I did just that.
I got a whole bunch of spew and somewhere buried was this error:
MSI (s) (80:84) [21:53:31:545]: Doing action: CsCa_GetLocalPrivName Action 21:53:31: CsCa_GetLocalPrivName. Action start 21:53:31: CsCa_GetLocalPrivName. MSI (s) (80:84) [21:53:31:549]: Creating MSIHANDLE (894) of type 790542 for thread 7556 MSI (s) (80:F4) [21:53:31:549]: Creating MSIHANDLE (895) of type 0 for thread 7412 DEBUG: Error 2835: The control ErrorIcon was not found on dialog ErrorDialog Internal Error 2835. ErrorIcon, ErrorDialog Error 1720. There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A script required for this install to complete could not be run. Contact your support personnel or package vendor. Custom action CsCa_GetLocalPrivName script error -2146827858, Microsoft VBScript runtime error: Class doesn't support Automation Line 9, Column 1, MSI (s) (80:F4) [21:53:33:888]: Product: Cisco Systems VPN Client 5.0.05.0290 -- Error 1720. There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A script required for this install to complete could not be run. Contact your support personnel or package vendor. Custom action CsCa_GetLocalPrivName script error -2146827858, Microsoft VBScript runtime error: Class doesn't support Automation Line 9, Column 1,
To be honest, I really have no idea what that means, even now after fixing the installer. I spent some time on google looking for the missing control ErrorIcon – that turned out to be a red herring and not really even a problem.
I then spent time looking up this: CsCa_GetLocalPrivName
This looked a little more promising and I found this link.
It said:
Had some problems with 5.0.02.6060 when logged in to a domain, using localized (Swedish) Windows so I’m not sure if the problem exists on other configurations.
The installation took about 35 minutes to complete if the computer where attached to the network when installing, when logged in locally it took 4 minutes.
Solved it by make an MST and remove custom action CsCa_GetLocalPrivName and then set these properties with custom actions:
GROUP_INTERACTIVE
GROUP_USERS
GROUP_LOCAL_SYSTEM
GROUP_ADMINISTRATORS
Now I consider myself a pretty proficient power user, but this just baffled me. WTF is an MST, what are custom actions, and what are these groups all about?
After some more googling, I found Orca, available here. Orca is an amazing utility that allows you to edit many of the parameters contained within a .msi installer file.
So going headfirst, I backed up the vpnclient_setup.msi and started up Orca and opened the msi.
Orca now opened a whole slew of tables, each of which I could click on and edit the data inside — pretty cool!
The first thing I did was go under the CustomAction table and find the CsCa_GetLocalPrivName Action. Sure enough it was there. Simply right clicking on the row and selecting “Drop Row” took care of that – deleted.
Could it be that easy? I saved, closed it in Orca (otherwise it will not allow you to run the .msi) and attempted to run the .msi file.
It got past the sticking point that it had always failed at, proceeded to do a few more things and failed again — this time with Error 1721.
Before I went and did the whole diagnostic thing (with verbose logging), I tried to do the rest of the steps in the linked post, remember? The stuff about adding properties with CustomActions…
Well I have no idea about CustomActions, so I tried searching for how to set properties with CustomActions and couldn’t figure it out quick enough. From the random snippets of pages I read about CustomActions in Orca, I ended up getting enough confidence to just add the properties in the Property table and hope for the best.
I added the keys (Properties) but didn’t know what to put for the value… hmm.
I searched for one of the Properties I added: GROUP_USERS. It came up with the key I just added (obviously), but one press of F3 came up with an entry in the LockPermissions table:
| LockObject | Table | Domain | User | Permission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INSTALLDIR | CreateFolder | [GROUP_USERS] | -1610612736 |
Farther down in the table was a row with LockObject=registry7 that had User=Everyone.
That’s interesting. It looks like the [GROUP_USERS] is just some sort of variable. I took a guess that a reference to [FOO] would really just evaluate to the corresponding value of the FOO key in the Property table — it seemed logical.
Before I left the LockPermissions table, I noted that that acceptable permissions were “Everyone” and “Administrators”.
I thought, I’ll just go into Users and Group Management, find out the group names, and replace them as values to the appropriate keys in the Property table. Almost! The box I was working on was running Vista Home Premium Edition, and I couldn’t add the User and Group Management snap-on to mmc, of course not, why would it be that easy?
I said screw it, and just picked values I knew were acceptable “Everyone” and “Administrators”.
I assigned the value “Everyone” to GROUP_INTERACTIVE, GROUP_USERS, and GROUP_LOCAL_SYSTEM and assigned the value “Administrators” to GROUP_ADMINISTRATORS — seems good to me?
After that, I was feeling pretty good, saved the .msi file, closed it from Orca and ran it again — voila! It got past the first sticking point (Error 1720), the most recent error (Error 1721) and continued installation all the way to successful completion — It worked!
After a quick reboot I was up and running the VPN Client I have spent hours trying to get working.
I’ll recap the fix for those in a hurry, but before I do that, I’m going to list some of the versions of software that I was using:
- VPN Client Version: vpnclient-win-msi-5.0.05.0290-k9.exe
- Windows Vista: Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
- Orca: Version 3.1.4000.2049
Presented below are the quick steps to fix the problem:
NOTE: I include some steps here that are, in actuality, optional, but its good practice to make sure you’re having the same problem (or at least the same error message) I was, otherwise you could be spending a lot of time tweaking the .msi for no reason.
-
Run the unpackager (vpnclient-win-msi-5.0.05.0290-k9.exe).
-
Make note of the “Unzip to folder” location (copying it to the clipboard is useful), uncheck the “When done unzipping open” box and click “Unzip”
-
Open a console window (might want to run as Administrator just to be safe) – Start, Run, “cmd”, Hold Ctrl+Shift and Press Enter
-
Navigate to the “Unizp to folder” location. Mine was C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Temp\
-
Run msiexec in verbose logging mode: msiexec /i vpnclient-setup.msi /l*vx vpn.log
-
Follow through with the installer that pops up as you would any other time.
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Allow it to fail at Error 1720, roll back and exit.
-
Open up notepad and navigate to the same “Unzip to Folder” – you can paste the path in the filename box or you can navigate there manually (you may have to manually type AppData into the filename box and press enter when you get there, as it is hidden by default. Remember, there is no space between AppData and the A and D are capitalized. If you did it correctly, no error will pop up and you should see the Local folder to continue navigating.
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Open the vpn.log file.
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Search for “1720″ and verify that you see the same error as I listed above.
-
If you don’t, you can certainly continue, but this may not work at all.
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Close the notepad.
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Download, install and run Orca.
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Navigate to the path (or paste the location in the filename box) and open the .msi file (mine was called vpnclient-setup.msi).
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Backup the msi by clicking File->Save As and renaming a copy as vpnclient-setup-backup.msi.
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Close the backup, and open the vpnclient-setup.msi
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In the left panel select CustomAction
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In the newly populated right panel find the Action titled CsCa_GetLocalPrivName, right click on it and select Drop Row. Confirm by clicking OK.
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In the left panel select Property
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Ensure the right panel has column headers “Property” and “Value”
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Right click in the right panel, and select Add Row.
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In the Add Row Dialog, select Property (under Name), ensure it says Property above the text box and type “GROUP_INTERACTIVE” without quotes (and without brackets).
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Now select Value (under Name), ensure it says Value above the text box and type “Everyone” without quotes.
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Confirm by clicking OK
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Complete steps 21-24 for the last three entries (assigning the value “Everyone” to GROUP_INTERACTIVE, GROUP_USERS, and GROUP_LOCAL_SYSTEM and assigning the value “Administrators” to GROUP_ADMINISTRATORS)
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Save the tweaked .msi by clicking File-Save.
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Close the tweaked .msi by clicking File-Close.
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In the command window / terminal, try the install again (verbose logging is optional). Alternatively, run the installer from an Explorer window by navigating to the folder and double clicking on it.
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If you did everything correctly, and had the same problem as me, you should be off to the races!
Good Luck!
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It’s worth noting that in order for me to get this to work I had to remove the “CsCa_GetLocalPrivName” property from “CustomAction” table. This is not called out in the numbered steps, but in the body of the post. If you’re like me (and were pulling your hair out) you might have missed it.
Thanks it done the trick
Thanks — it also worked with
- XPSP2 64-bit
- vpnclient-winx64-msi-5.0.07.0240-k9-BETA.exe
Thank you so much this worked so well. Man you have no idea how much time i spent working on this issue.
thanks
Thanks
thanks
Thanks
Awesome post, i was going insane trying to figure this out.
This worked on Windows 7 64-bits and cisco cliente 5.07 too!!!! Thanks, you’re my hero =D
Greetings form Argentina
Thanks, you are my hero
Many thanks!
It worked perfectly!! (v5.0.07.0410)
I was pushing an automated install to 120 machines with identical XPSP3 32bit images. 36 failed with Error 1720. Your post resolved the issue. We will use the modified .msi from here out.
Thanks for the extremely useful help!
This worked big time! Many thanks!!!
Thanks from germany
This also worked under Win 7 Pro 64-bit for v5.0.7.0440!
Thanks for all your hard work!
Thank you very much for taking the effort to write such a clear explanation, I would never have solved this on my own. (wndows xp/ v5.0.07.0290-k9)
THANK YOU! Great steps; completely solved the 1720 issue on an x86 XP sp3 machine.
man ……..YOU ROCK !!!!!!!!!
Thanks a lot! It works fine with the same error on Win XP SP3.
Thank you very much, there are many solutions provided in google, but this has resolved both 1720 and 1721 issues. SPOT ON.
First of all – thank you. Worked well.
In my case it was Error code 1720 with this text:
Custom action CsCaVBS_CopyINIFiles script error -2146827859, Laufzeitfehler in Microsoft VBScript: ActiveX-Komponenten kann kein Objekt erstellen: ‘Scripting.FileSystemObject’ Line 7, Column 1
Your instructions worked well.
Mate – you are a f-ing legend, this was busting my balls big time! Awesome!!!!!
Unreal… this saved me several hours of gouging my eyes out. Thanks a TON!
I had a client with XP sp3 and kept getting 1720 error. I tried everything from reinstalling windows installer to reregistring wmi and so on. Nothing worked. Then i came across your article and with a grain of salt decided to give it a try knowing full well that it will not worked, but to my amazement, this worked beautifully. I wanted to thank you for sharing your results. This is amazing. Thanks from Chicago!
It worked for me!!!!!
never had to tweak an msi before either.
got Orca, did the steps listed and then did the install.
no more 1720!!!!
THANK YOU !!!!!
Man the time I spent on this thing! I consider myself quite the system issue solver but this one was out of my league. Thank you very much for solving this for us.
FYI, I had this issue on a VM with the following configuration:
Guest: Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 w/ Hyper V (Cisco installed and working)
Host: Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 w/ ActiveDirectory installed.
Guest and host are logged using domain accounts with different domains.
And also, the guest and host (precisely the virtual network to which the host is connected) share the same physical network adapter, which is a virtual switch connected to the guest’s wireless adapter.
Thank you very much for this… =)
GRAZIE MILLE AMICO
Thank you, i really need the VPN to work and this post saves me from reinstalling Windows (that might be a waste of time).
yo this works mane
Muchas gracias!
Hartelijk dank!
Vielen Dank!
آپ کا بہت بہت شکریہ!!
Thank you Very Much!!
Simply superb post.. Thanks a lot..
Thank you so much. This post was a god send – this error was driving me nuts.
Worked for me on Windows XP x86 SP3 Cisco client version 5.0.07.0290-k9.
Thank You
Worked perfectly. Many thanks!
That is simply awesome! Worked first time. You’re a star. Many thanks.
lot of thanks for solution…….after long long time i am searching about error 1720 finally i can fix it…..:D
Worked Awesomely- encountered this several times b4 w/ nobody able to solve
Dude,
I say, this is one of the best articles I have come through till date. Awesome fix.
Thanks to Ryan Eastabrook as well !!!!!!!!
- Vinod Bonagiri
It is not enough text space to write the amount of thanks I have for you.
Thank you very much!!!
Eres la mamada compadre.. you are the One!! jajaja
Hats off to you (sir or madam)! I have been trying to solve this problem for almost a year. I used Shrew until a new client’s PCF file would not import properly.
You are a life saver!
Hei, know what. I ran into that problem, followed your advice (without understanding a word, just trusting) and whoppe, IT WORX!
Thanks a lot