Err Msg: Setup Could Not Retrieve the Needed Information to Complete the Installation

ID: Q207539

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you run Ie4setup.exe from an IEAK 4.01a-created download package, the program fails to install. You will either receive an error message that the download site list could not be found or the following:

Setup could not retrieve the needed information to complete the installation.
The network is probably busy. Please try again later.


CAUSE

This error is usually caused by an invalid path and/or unsigned .cab files.


RESOLUTION

There is a very specific way to set up the directory structure that the Ie4setup.exe looks for.

When an Internet Explorer 4.0 package is created using the IEAK, there is a directory structure similar to the following:

TargetDir\PlatForm\IE4Site\Lang
Where TargetDir = The name of the directory you specified in the IEAK Wizard
Platform = Win95_Nt, Unix, Win31.
And Lang = Language such as En for English.
When you run through the IEAK Wizard, it will ask you for a download URL. This is the URL where the Internet Explorer 4.0 directory structure is placed. For example:
Download URL = http://www.mycompany.com/ie4 (this is just an example it could be any valid URL)
On the Web server, the directory structure would look similar to the following:
C:\InetPub\wwwroot\ie4\win95_nt\ie4site\en
Note: When you are going through the IEAK Wizard, only specify the path to the Target directory; the IEAK Wizard will automatically append Win95_nt\ie4site\en to whatever you enter in the Download URL field.

You can check this by opening your Install.ins file and looking under "ActiveSetupSites." It should appear as follows: 

[ActiveSetupSites]
SiteUrl0=http://www.mycompany.com/ie4/WIN95_NT/ie4site
SiteName0=Download Site 0
SiteRegion0=North America
SiteUrl1=/WIN95_NT/ie4site
SiteName1=
SiteRegion1=
SiteUrl2=/WIN95_NT/ie4site
SiteName2=
SiteRegion2=
If your download URL has duplicate IE4Site or Win95_NT directories, then one of these two directories was included in the path that you entered in the wizard. This causes download failures.

Another method to verify that path is to open the Active Setup Log.txt on the client computer. This is located in the Windows or WinNT directory (depending on your operating system). Look for the Download Site entry and note the exact path that Ie4setup.exe is searching for.

You can also open Ie4sites.dat, which is located in the Win95_nt\ie4sites folder.

One final note: the Ie4setup.exe that is used to install this Web-based package is located in TargetDir\Platform\Download\Platform\Lang. This file can be placed ANYWHERE on the Web server or distributed through a floppy disk, compact disc, and so on.

Another common reason for "The Internet May be Busy" error is that the package's .cab files may not be signed. You can test this on a computer running Internet Explorer 4.0. Set the security to LOW for the Internet and Intranet Zones and attempt to run the Ie4setup.exe. If it is a .cab signing issue, you will receive a warning from Internet Explorer asking if you want to run and install one of the .cab files.

To correct this problem, do one of the following:

  • Sign the .cab files as indicated in the IEAK Help file. For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    Q193038 How to Sign IEAK Files Using Microsoft Certificate Server


  • Use the CD-ROM version and run Ie4setup.exe from the Packages directory.


    • Additional query words: 

    
Keywords          : 
Version           : WINDOWS:4.01a
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

    Last Reviewed: February 25, 1999