Issue 

You are installing 2020 Office Catalog Content and receive error code 1603 on a manufacturer. For example:

Cause 

There can be several causes for this error. Error Code 1603 is a generic catch-all error code that means “fatal error during installation.” The error is returned when any action fails during an installation, and most commonly it indicates that one of the custom actions in the MSI failed.  

Solution 1 

This solution applies only to an AutoCAD user using 2020 Cap. All 2020 Applications should be closed when installing or updating catalogs. Many times, we see that when AutoCAD closes a companion process named “dllhost.exe” with a description of “COM Surrogate” is left running in the background. This process keeps in memory any catalogs you used during your AutoCAD session. and prevents those catalogs from being updated during the installation process. This can return the 1603 error. Follow the steps below if you see this error on your screen:

1. Open the Windows Task manager. 
2. On Windows 8/10 click the Details Tab. On Windows 7 click the Processes Tab. 
3. Click the Name or Image Name column to sort the processes alphabetically. 
4. Scroll down the list to see if “dllhost.exe” is listed as running.  
5. Select “dllhost.exe” and then click End Task or End Process to shut the process down.  
6. Return to the error message on the screen and click Retry.  
7. If the problem was due to the running “dllhost” the catalog should then install correctly. 

Solution 2 

This solution applies to all 2020 Applications. Sometimes the error can be triggered by a damaged / dirty disc. Follow these steps if the error appears:  

1. Ensure that all 2020 Applications are completely closed.  
2. With the error on the screen, eject the disc from the drive and examine the surface.  
3. Clean the disc if possible and reinsert the disc. 
4. Wait a moment and click Retry.  

Workaround 

If the error is persistent, you could consider skipping that manufacturer. Make a note of the manufacture that is affected by the error. This is identified in the error message by the 3 Letter Manufacturer code. If skipping the error allows the rest of the catalogs to install correctly, and you only had the error on one or two manufacturers, then you could attempt to install those manufacturers using the download from 2020.NET after the installation finishes. This will help determine if the problem was caused by the disc or some other issue.  

Further Troubleshooting 

The 2020 Office Catalog Installation does keep log files for the installation process that can be reviewed for further information. The log file will be created in the C:\ProgramData\2020\DSA folder. Look for the 2020Catalogs-xxx-xx-xx-xxx-MSILOG.txt file that has a date modified time that corresponds to the installation you are performing. This information will be useful for technical support staff.