Error 1718 rejected by digital signature policy.

Error 1718 rejected by digital signature policy When I was upgrading to VMWare Server 2.0 Beta 2.0 from the previous version, I ran into this error - error 1728. File c:\Windows\Installer\85f15da.msi was rejected by digital signature policy.

Brief Description

Install this update to resolve an issue where you receive a digital signature policy error message when installing a large Microsoft Windows Installer (.msi) package or a large Microsoft Windows Installer Patch (.msp) package.

CAUSE:
This problem occurs if the Windows Installer process has insufficient contiguous virtual memory to verify that the .msi package or the .msp package is correctly signed.

FIX: Error message when you try to install a large Windows Installer package or a large Windows Installer patch package in Windows Server 2003 or in Windows XP: "Error 1718. File was rejected by digital signature policy"

Update for Windows Server 2003 - x86 Edition (KB925336)
Update for Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition (KB925336)
Update for Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based Systems (KB925336)

System Requirements:
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Note: You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

---

WORKAROUND

This workaround applies to Windows Server 2003 and to Windows XP.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

To work around this problem, change the PolicyScope registry value to 1 before you try to install the package. To do this, follow these steps.

Note If the computer is joined to a domain, a domain policy update may override the registry changes that you make. We strongly recommend that you disconnect the computer from the domain before you follow these steps.

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Safer\CodeIdentifiers
   
   Note Before you modify this key, we recommend that you back up this key. To do this, right-click CodeIdentifiers, and then click Export. Save the file to a location where you can find it on the computer.
3. Change the PolicyScope registry value. To do this, double-click PolicyScope, and then change the setting from 0 to 1.
4. Close Registry Editor.
5. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK to open a Command Prompt window.
6. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   net stop msiserver
   This command stops the Windows Installer service if the service is currently running in the background. When the service has stopped, close the Command Prompt window, and then go to step 7.
   
   Note If you receive the following message at the command prompt, close the Command Prompt window, and then go to step 7:
   The Windows Installer service is not started
7. Install the package that you were trying to install when you received the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.
8. After you install the package, repeat steps 1 and 2. Then, change the PolicyScope registry value back to 0.
9. If you disconnected the computer from a domain, re-join the domain, and then restart the computer.
   
   Note If you did not disconnect the computer from a domain, you do not have to restart the computer.

If the previous steps do not resolve the issue, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type control admintools, and then click OK.
2. Double-click Local Security Policy.
3. Click Software Restriction Policies.
   
   Note If no software restrictions are listed, right-click Software Restriction Policies, and then click Create New Policy.
4. Under Object Type, double-click Enforcement.
5. Click All users except local administrators, and then click OK.
6. Restart the computer.

Important After you follow the previous steps, local administrators can install the .msi package or the .msp package. After the package is installed, reset the enforcement level by following the previous steps. In step 5, click All users instead of All users except local administrators.

Notes

• The workaround may not work in an Active Directory domain environment. In an Active Directory domain environment, a domain policy refresh operation will overwrite the local Software Restriction Policies.
• Adding more RAM to the computer will not resolve the problem.