Windows Installer Error 1304

Windows Installer Error 1304 indicates that the Microsoft Windows Installer is having issue writing to a file location. 

The most common reasons this will happen:

• No write permission for the file location
• File location’s total path exceeds 260 characters
• Installation files were unable to be cached correctly in RAM so Windows cannot use them to write to the file location

If install files are on the current machine, use the following steps to troubleshoot this issue:

1. Log into the computer with a Windows Administrator account.
2. If you cannot use an Administrative account for login, locate the folder/directory showing in the error message, right click > properties.  Go to the Security tab and grant full permission to the folder.  How to Geek: Take Ownership of Folders
3. Confirm both the installation directory and installation media are not multiple folders deep.
   Example paths:
   (good path) C:\Users\<username>\Downloads\SOLIDWORKS Downloads\SOLIDWORKS 20## SP0#
   (bad path) C:\Users\<username>\Documents\SOLIDWORKS Documents\SOLIDWORKS Downloads\SOLIDWORKS 20##\SOLIDWORKS 20## SP0#
   Where the first located in the downloads folder directly is better than the one located deeper in your documents folder.
4. Confirm neither the installation directory and installation media folder are set to sync to any Cloud Service (such as OneDrive or Dropbox).  
   For example: C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents\SOLIDWORKS Downloads\SOLIDWORKS #### SP##

If install files are on a network machine or you are using an Admin Image, use the following steps to troubleshoot this issue:

1. Confirm the Windows User has full permission to the network folder where the files or admin image are located.  For an Admin Image, adding the Share permission (full) for EVERYONE is the best way to confirm all users can access the Admin Image.
2. Confirm the network location for the install file or Admin Image is a UNC path rather than a simple drive letter. Windows file paths
3. Confirm the network location for the install files or Admin Image are set as close to the root folder as possible. 
   For example: \\servername\rootfolder\Documents\Install media or admin image folder not something like \\servername\rootfolder\Engineering Software\Downloads\SOLIDWORKS Documents\Install media or admin image folder
4. Confirm the account being used for installing has full administrative permissions to the installation directory.  In a case where you are using an Admin Image that installs as another user (not the logged in Windows User), confirm that user has logged into the computer at least once and has the full write access to the installation directory.

If installing from physical media (DVD), use the following steps to troubleshoot this issue:

1. Log into the computer with a Windows Administrator account.
2. Copy all files to a local folder on the computer. 
3. Confirm your install files are relatively near the root folder so the path does not exceed 260 characters.
   for Example:  C:\Users\<username>\Downloads\SOLIDWORKS 20## SP0# 
4. Confirm your install files are not syncing with a Cloud Service.
   For example do not put it here: C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents\SOLIDWORKS Downloads\SOLIDWORKS #### SP##
5. If install still fails, your DVD may be damaged and therefore your installation files are unusable.  Get a fresh download of full media from Solidworks.com or a Hawk Ridge Support agent.

If you still have issues, please contact support directly:

Email: support@hawkridgesys.com

Login and submit a request online: https://support.hawkridgesys.com

Call: United States: 877.266.4469 or Canada: 866.587.6803