Facing The Feature You Are Trying To Use Is On A Network Resource That Is Unavailable? Try Out Smart Hacks

While you are trying to install a program on your Windows PC, you might receive an error message that the feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable. If the error message continues to pop up, Windows fails to install the specific program. Now, you may ask why this error appears. Actually, a number of processes take place while installing or removing software on Windows. The users generally don’t come to know about these processes as most of them are not shown in the GUI. But, problems might occur due to the complexity of the underlying software and Operating System. As a result, you encounter this unexpected error message. Most Windows users have experienced this issue at least once in their life. Therefore, there is nothing to be worried about as we have all the possible fixes for this problem.  

Methods to Resolve the Feature You are Trying to Use is on a Network Resource That is Unavailable:

When you face this error message, close the wizard in order to restore the uninstallation or installation process to the earlier stage. Thus, go through the potential fixes discussed below to get rid of this critical issue. 

Method 1: Ensure that the Windows Installer Service is Running

It is obvious for an installation or uninstallation service to fail if the Windows Installer Service is not running on your PC. So, start with this preliminary fix and then continue with the rest. 

  1. To check that this service is running, press the Windows logo key and ‘R’ key simultaneously to open the Run application. 
  2. Type ‘services.msc’ into the Run dialog box and click on ‘OK’ to see the list of services running on your PC. 
  3. Locate the Windows Installer service, right-click on it and select ‘Properties.’ 
  4. On the ‘Properties’ window, navigate to the ‘Startup type’ and open the drop-down arrow.
  5. Check the service status to ensure that it is enabled. 
  6. If the service status says ‘Stopped,’ then click on the ‘Start’ button in order to enable it.  
  7. Hit the ‘Apply’ button and click on ‘OK’ to save the changes that take place. 
  8. Close the Service Manager window and restart your PC. 
  9. Now see whether it is possible to install or uninstall the particular application or not. 

Alternatively, you can double-click on the Windows Installer service and change the ‘Startup type’ to ‘Automatic’ or ‘Manual.’ Then tap the ‘Apply’ button and click ‘OK’ to save the changes and solve the issue.  

Method 2: Download Another Copy of the Installer or Change the Location

The installation or uninstallation process will fail if the installer that you are using has gone corrupted or damaged. If this is not the issue, then the directory where you have downloaded the installer is unable to communicate with your PC. In this case, you can download a different copy of the installer and save it to another directory on your PC. After that, use the installer to install or uninstall the underlying program and hope you are not going to face any issues. 

Method 3: Run Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter

Microsoft has developed an inbuilt troubleshooter to troubleshoot problems arising while installing or uninstalling an application. This troubleshooter is capable of dealing with the most common issues that are known to trouble Windows users. Thus, run the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter on your PC by following the listed below steps. 

  1. If the troubleshooter is not installed on your PC, then search for it in a web browser. 
  2. Then, tap on the ‘Download’ button to download this troubleshooter on your PC. 
  3. After downloading the troubleshooter, navigate to the drive where you have downloaded it. 
  4. Click on the troubleshooter and follow the on-screen wizards to run it on your PC. 
  5. Wait until the troubleshooter scans your PC and detects the glitches. 
  6. If it finds any glitches such as a corrupted or damaged registry, then it repairs them.   
  7. After the repairing task is finished, try to install or uninstall the program in question.  

Method 4: Edit the Windows Registry

Though editing the Windows Registry is an effective method, you shall use it as a last resort. Otherwise, wrong editing might have adverse impacts on the stability of the Operating System. Follow these steps below if you want to edit the registry manually.  

  1. Hold the Windows key and press ‘R’ to open the Run application. 
  2. Type ‘regedit’ in the Run application and press the  ‘Enter’ button to launch the Registry Editor 
  3. Navigate to the ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE’ path on the Registry Editor. 
  4. Choose ‘Installer’ under the ‘Classes’ tab on the navigation pane. 
  5. Click ‘Installer’ on the right pane and double-click on the ‘Products sub-key. 
  6. Windows displays the components of the product key on the right pane. 
  7. Under the Product key, check out the Product Name registry string (REG_SZ) for each subkey. 
  8. Remember that the value data of the related subkey contains the name of the application causing this issue. 
  9. Continue the above step until you find which subkey is related to the application having installation or uninstallation issues. 
  10. After locating the specific subkey, right-click on it and select the ‘Delete’ option. 
  11. Click ‘Yes’ on the confirmation dialog box to delete the selected key. 
  12. Exit from the Registry Editor window and restart your computer. 
  13. When the PC boots up, run the installer package to ensure that you aren’t encountering an issue. 

Hope that like others you will find this article useful and fix the feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable issue. But unfortunately, if you fail to fix the issue or are unable to perform the steps described above, then the best option is to opt for a professional’s assistance.

Nathaniel Villa
Nathaniel Villa

Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Undefined constant "REQUEST_URI" in /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-content/mu-plugins/index.php:4 Stack trace: #0 [internal function]: callback() #1 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-content/mu-plugins/index.php(29): ob_end_flush() #2 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php(324): buffer_end() #3 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php(348): WP_Hook->apply_filters() #4 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-includes/plugin.php(517): WP_Hook->do_action() #5 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-includes/general-template.php(3068): do_action() #6 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/blocksy/footer.php(28): wp_footer() #7 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-includes/template.php(790): require_once('...') #8 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-includes/template.php(725): load_template() #9 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-includes/general-template.php(92): locate_template() #10 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/blocksy/single.php(20): get_footer() #11 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-includes/template-loader.php(106): include('...') #12 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-blog-header.php(19): require_once('...') #13 /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/index.php(17): require('...') #14 {main} thrown in /var/www/internettablettalk.com/public_html/wp-content/mu-plugins/index.php on line 4