Skip to main content
INTERNAL: English | Deutsch | Español | Français | Italiano Report article issue
  • eLicenser service closes down on May 20, 2025
    After years of managing your Steinberg software licenses, the eLicenser-based licensing service will be closing down.
    Read more...

Fixing update installation issues on Windows

Updated


In rare cases an update for an already installed Steinberg product cannot be applied on Windows.
You might experience one or more of the following:

  • When launching the update installer it will just briefly open and instantly close again, without the installation actually starting.
  • Windows may inform you that the product to be updated is not installed.
  • Windows may inform you that a newer version of the product is already installed, even though the update to be installed is newer.
  • The installer may display an error message while preparing the installation, such as:
    "Error applying transforms. Verify that the specified transform paths are valid."
  • The following error message appears: "error 1603: A fatal error occurred during installation"

Please refer to this Microsoft support article, if you get a 1603 error message.
Otherwise, please follow these steps:

  1. Make sure that the update you are trying to install is indeed for the Steinberg product currently installed on your PC.

    One example: an update for Cubase LE 5 will not work for Cubase 5.
    When you launch your Steinberg product the startup screen will inform you about which exact version of the product you have. In many Steinberg programs you can also click on "Help" -> "About…" to view the exact version of the product.

  2. Make sure that the update you are trying to install is indeed newer than the version already installed on your PC.

    One example: a Cubase 6 update version 6.0.2 cannot be installed on top of an existing Cubase 6.0.5 installation.

  3. If you are sure that you are trying to install the proper update and yet it is still not working please go to the following website:

    support.microsoft.com/mats/program_install_and_uninstall/en-us

    This is a tool provided by Microsoft to help with installation issues. It will look for problems with software installations and attempt to fix these.
    Click on the "Run now" button and follow the instructions on screen.

    You will be presented with two options:
    • "Detect problems and apply fixes for me (Recommended)"
    • "Detect problems and let me select the fixes to apply"
      Please choose this option and then select the Steinberg product you have update issues with, e.g. Cubase 6.
    Again follow the instructions on screen.
    Once the issue has been fixed try to run the installation again.


Related articles