Why do I get an unknown exception regarding mwinstall.dll or MS visual C++ 2005 redistributable error when trying to install MATLAB on Windows?

I am trying to install MATLAB on my Windows computer and get the error:

 unknown exception mwinstall.dll

I may also get a message saying an installation is already in progress. This may also happen if I try to install or uninstall Visual C++ Redistributable Libraries.

I may also be getting an error:

 Application Failed to Initialize Properly (0xc0150002)

If I look in the event viewer, there are side by side configuration errors under System.

In some cases, no error is displayed, the MATLAB installed simply quits after trying to install MS Visual C++ 2005.

How do I get past this and install MATLAB?

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

This will happen if another program tried to install or update Visual C++ Redistributable Libraries and was unsuccessful. MATLAB will try to install the Visual C++ Redistributable when installing if it detects it is not already installed.

To resolve the issue, first try rebooting your computer. Launch the installer again, it may prompt you to complete the update that Visual C++ Redistributable was trying to finish, in which case you should complete this update and try installing MATLAB again.

If that doesn't work, go to your Control Panel and open Programs (Add or Remove Programs in Windows XP). Click on Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable. Click on remove. If Add or Remove Programs doesn't allow you to uninstall this, reboot your computer and try again.

Once this is removed, try installing MATLAB again. This should reinstall the package properly and allow MATLAB to install.

If this still doesn't work, you can restore your system to a point before the failed installation or update of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Restore (on Windows Vista and 7, Type rstrui into the Search Box in your Start Menu and hit enter). Please refer to your operating system documentation for more details about using System Restore.