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The installer does not run or hangs

Updated on 19 October 2026

Summary

When installing MDT on a new computer, after changing machine or from a USB stick, the installer may fail in several ways: a message saying the installation file is damaged or password-protected, a hang while downloading an additional component, a permissions warning that prevents it from finishing, or simply the setup.exe never running at all. In most of the documented cases the cause is not the program but the way the installer is launched: running it from inside the ZIP without extracting, from a folder path that is too long, directly from the USB drive, or without administrator privileges. This article gathers the solutions applied in each situation. If the failure repeats at the same point after correcting the way you launch it, it may be an error in the installer build itself: see How to do a clean reinstall of MDT?, case the downloaded installer had an error already fixed.

Applies to

MDT and MDT Professional — cases documented in versions 8.5 and 25.
MDT26 (current version): the official installation process is described in the MDT26 installation manual (Confluence, KB space), pages "2.1 BEFORE YOU START - MDT26", "2.2 INSTALLATION PROCESS - MDT26" and "2.4 FINISHING THE INSTALLATION - MDT26". The recommendations in this article (extract to the local disk, short path, administrator privileges) are compatible with that process.
Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems.

Symptoms

During installation an error appears saying that the installation file is damaged or password-protected. The literal message from the InstallAware wizard is: Cannot start setup - the setup file may be corrupt, or you may have the wrong password. If you downloaded this file, please download a fresh copy. If the file is password protected, check your password and try again.
The installation reaches a point where it tries to download an additional component and hangs, without moving forward with any of the options offered; pressing cancel aborts the whole installation.
The setup.exe does not run when launched directly from a USB stick on a computer with Windows 11, even though it works correctly on another computer with Windows 10. Disabling the antivirus and Windows Defender does not solve it.
Running the setup.exe on a new computer shows an error message and the installation never completes.
A permission elevation warning appears that prevents the process from finishing.

Cause

Depending on the case, the origin of the problem is one of these:

The installer is being run directly from inside the compressed file (ZIP) without extracting it, or from a folder path with a name that is too long. Insufficient disk space can also play a part.
The installer is saved and run from a directory path that is too long, which causes the hang when it tries to download the additional component.
System restrictions when running installers directly from a USB drive, or a problem with the original copy of the installer.
Lack of execution or access permissions for the system folders where the installation needs to write files and create folders, or a Windows user without local administrator rights.

Solution

Case: the installer reports a damaged or protected file (run from the ZIP or the USB drive)

Copy the compressed installation file to the computer's local disk (do not run it from inside the ZIP or from the USB drive itself).
Extract it completely into a folder with a short path.
Go into the folder created when extracting and run the setup from there.
Check that you have enough disk space.
It is advisable to temporarily disable the antivirus during the installation process.
If the physical installation medium is damaged or inaccessible, ask support —stating the serial number of your license— for a direct download link to the corresponding version.

Case: the installation hangs while downloading an additional component

Check which folder you are running the installer from. In the documented case, the hang was caused by having saved it in a directory with a very long path: save it in a shorter folder path on the local disk, avoiding very long directory names.
Launch the installation again from that location.
If the path was already short, or if after shortening it the installation hangs again at the same point, the problem may be in the installer build itself: download the most recent installer again from your private area (see How to do a clean reinstall of MDT?, case the downloaded installer had an error already fixed).

Case: the `setup.exe` does not run from a USB stick (Windows 11)

Create a folder on the computer's local disk and copy the entire contents of the USB stick into it.
From that folder, run the setup file with administrator privileges (right-click > Run as administrator).
If the problem persists, ask support for a verified copy of the installer and run it from the computer.

Case: the installation does not complete for lack of administrator permissions

Run the installer with administrator permissions: right-click on the setup.exe > Run as administrator.
When the installer asks for it, enter the password of a user with local administrator rights.
If you do not have those rights, ask the IT department to carry out the installation with a user with local administrator privileges.

If the problem persists

Check the installation permissions on the computer again: the installation must be carried out with a local administrator user.
Ask Aplitop technical support for a verified copy of the installer, providing the serial number of your license so that they can send you the correct version of your application.
Related note: it has also been observed that a folder path that is too long (more than about 200 characters) in the location of the working file can cause AutoCAD to close unexpectedly when selecting the current surface; in that case, move the file to a shorter path (for example, to the desktop).

ANTIVIRUS - Recommendations During MDT Installation

Category: Installation and updating · Level: Basic