Windows Installer Error

[KUKI1245]

So I just bought Cities Skylines off of steam and when it was done downloading I tried to launch it, only for it to say "This installation package could not be opened. Verify that the package exists and you have access to it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid windows installer package." PLEASE HELP I JUST WANT TO PLAY MY GAME!!

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Did you confirm all the game files are there?

Where did the game get installed to exactly?

Well generally after you are done any download, you should go and click Verify, and allow that to finish. So yea, don't jump to launching stuff until that has been done.

[KUKI1245]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

Did you confirm all the game files are there?

Where did the game get installed to exactly?

Well generally after you are done any download, you should go and click Verify, and allow that to finish. So yea, don't jump to launching stuff until that has been done.

I don't know where it downloaded to and I'm not sure how to check. I'm ASSUMING it installed to steam?... Or my SSD, I really have no clue. The last part I had no idea about, thanks for telling me!

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Steam > Library > Game Name > Properties > Local Files > Browse
Then it should jump to File Explorer and you should see the full path in the address bar.

[KUKI1245]

if im reading it correctly it says: "SSD > steam > steamapps > common > Cities_Skylines

[Bad 💀 Motha]

launch the game EXE in that folder and see what it does and/or says

[KUKI1245]

I dont see anything with EXE on it, and when I tried searching it up in the files, nothing cities skylines related came up.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

It might be one of the sub-folders; such as Binaries

[KUKI1245]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

It might be one of the sub-folders; such as Binaries

ive just searched everything for a couple minutes and still nothing with exe popped up.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

File Type = Application... files that end in .EXE

Gotta be in the game folder somewhere

[KUKI1245]

Hate to waste your time or drag this out but I’m gonna catch up with this sometime tomorrow! It’s 2am for me. Night and thanks for all your help thus far!!!

[AmaiAmai]

Originally posted by KUKI1245:

I dont see anything with EXE on it, and when I tried searching it up in the files, nothing cities skylines related came up.

0. If you have Windows 24 H2 there is a known issue with Steam and some games simply not running or installing properly. If you use Windows 12 or are part of the BETA you can get assistance on MSDN even if it is not linked to that issue stated.

A. If you can't find it and Steam cannot, then maybe your antivirus program quarantined the file without telling you. Sometimes they are overagressive and block software that appears to be auto-installing, and some are just bad like Avast and AVG.

B. But should it be there and it not work, where do you have STEAM installed?

The default locations of PROGRAM FILES and PROGRAM FILES (X86) are not recommended for applications that install other applications because most Windows editions have anti-tamper and anti-malware settings enabled (you use Home so it likely is set up this way).

One thing that does is restrict programs from installing other ones, esp. in selected folders: DOCUMENTS, WINDOWS, PROGRAM FILES, etc. Only TrustedInstaller can install applications from those directories if you have the anti-malware settings on. Steam does not call TrustedInstaller to perform installation of games.

Antivirus software will also reinforce that if the settings are enabled.

Easiest method to check this is to move the Steam folder out of a restricted location like PROGRAM FILES.

[PopinFRESH]

Originally posted by AmaiAmai:

Originally posted by KUKI1245:

I dont see anything with EXE on it, and when I tried searching it up in the files, nothing cities skylines related came up.

0. If you have Windows 24 H2 there is a known issue with Steam and some games simply not running or installing properly. If you use Windows 12 or are part of the BETA you can get assistance on MSDN even if it is not linked to that issue stated.
...

They are running Windows 10 Home; which is why I asked them to run the CPUz validator to check that their hardware actually meets the games requirements and which OS they are running to see if there are any known issues with the game.

Originally posted by KUKI1245:

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

It might be one of the sub-folders; such as Binaries

ive just searched everything for a couple minutes and still nothing with exe popped up.

I have both Cities Skylines and Cities Skylines 2 so I can install it when I get home and tell you what the specific executable filename is called (Will be about 8hr). Are you meaning the original Cities Skylines or Cities Skylines 2?

Do you know if your Windows user account is a limited user account or if it is an admin account?

You have two disks; a 500GB NVMe SSD and a 1TB SATA HDD. Do you know which disk you have Windows installed on and which disk you have Steam installed on? Also, do you have a Steam library folder on both disks?

Try to repair the Steam Library folder via the Steam Storage UI

1. Open the Steam client.
   
2. Click on Steam in the top left corner menu and then click on the Settings option in the context menu.
   
3. In the settings window, scroll down and click on the Storage tab.
   
4. You should see your two disks along the top of the right side of the Steam Library UI; one of them will have a Star next to it indicating your selected Default installation location. If you don't have a library on both disks try adding a library to the other disk to test installing to that disk if this doesn't work.
   
5. Select the disk where your default library is located
   
6. With the disk selected, click on the horizontal ellipsis (three dots) on the far-right side of the Steam Library UI.
   
7. Select the Repair folder option from the context menu and allow Steam to attempt to repair the Steam Library folder.
   
8. Uninstall the game through Steam
   
9. Go back to the Steam settings menu and scroll down to select the Downloads tab.
   
10. In the Downloads setting find the Clear Download Cache section and click the Clear Cache button on the right side.
    
11. Reinstall the game through Steam
    
12. Try to launch the game

[_I_]

thats not going to solve when steam tries to install its redists, that need to be run as admin to install on the system properly

either run the redists by yourself as admin
or run steam as admin

but after steam already tried to run them, it assumed they installed properly, which they did not
so you still need to run them yourself as admin

browse to
..\Steam\SteamApps\_CommonRedist
run each as admin

[Carlsberg]

The focus is on steam, just want to point out that error will often come up if windows is not fully updated.

[Midnight Aurais]

if you are installing on the c drive then a fix for if trusted installer is being a prick add the c drive again in the storage section this should create a steam library outside the program files both program files are just effectively taken hostage by trusted installer

this was not the original intention for trusted installer to so call protect the whole program files folders as seen in windows 7 were some had trusted installer claiming folders as a bug this turned now into a feature because microsoft could not fix the problem it was intended to only protect the windows created folders within program files

so if you ever need to install anything on the c always install it outside the program files for a less headache inducing experience when a game or program does complain about trustedinstaller not giving them enough privileges