Error 1327 Solution
I encountered an interesting problem recently on a number of computers. Whenever I tried to install some software (iTunes, Steam, etc), it would throw up the following error and terminate:
Error 1327. Invalid Drive: Drive Letter
It appears you will encounter this if either:
- One of the paths to your “special folders” is changed to a location which is invalid,
- A registry value to the drive on which Windows is installed is not actually the location of Windows.
Microsoft suggests using the Windows Registry Editor to manually check if the keys are invalid, however, this only helps solve the first issue listed above, and not the second. It is also not very friendly for those unfamiliar with the registry.
However, if you were like me, you would have done the above steps, checked the “Special Folders” and found everything to be valid and still have the error appear.
So here are two solutions
1. Fix with Window’s XP TweakUI
This solution is for those who are using Windows XP, and either are fairly novice with the Windows Registry or for those who already have TweakUI installed (as there seems to be a correlation between this error and a previous installation of TweakUI).
- Download Microsoft’s TweakUI PowerToy.
- Once installed, run the TweakUI program.
- Click the “My Computer” category, and select the “Special Folders” sub-section.
- Under “Folder“, select each of the options and check that their locations are valid. Pay particular attention to the “Installation Path” option, as this is should point to the drive in which Windows was installed.
If this is in fact the source of the problem, this path will be set to something other than your operating system’s drive. Mine was set to F:\, when it should have been C:\.
Press “Change Location” to specify the drive on which Windows XP was installed. Once done, you will have to log out and back in again to complete the changes.
2. Fix by altering your Windows Register
If you feel comfortable with adjusting the Windows Registry, then the manual steps are below:
- Press Start, then Run.
- Type
regedt32 - Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup - Look for the
SourcePathkey, its value should be set to the path in which you installed Windows. If its not the correct path, then this is most probably the source of the trouble. - Follow the information in Microsoft’s KB Article 327763 to check the other Special Folders (as they are included in a different part of the registry).
With any luck, this should solve your problem. Any issues or concerns, leave a message below or email me directly.
Monday, November 24th, 2008 @ 11:13 PM • No responces
