Windows msi: error 1316: the specified account already exists

Question

The execution of a wix package from a bundle outputs "error 1316: The specified account already exists" during upgrade. How can a windows installer output this error code? I'm afraid there isn't much documentation about it.

We previously released a product consisting of a single msi package, and now we are preparing an upgrade which consists of a wix bundle containing a new version of this msi package. The product code and filename between the original msi package and the update haven't changed.

Edit: The msi package for now doesn't support upgrade. When the user needs to upgrade (whenever it's a major upgrade, minor upgrade or small update), he must first manually uninstall the previous package...

Edit 2: I just removed the references to util extension for compilation and the installer seems to work fine... I still need to fully test it though.

Answer 1

Like MrFusion, I ran into this problem with the uninstall/install of another program. Unfortunately, the link in that answer is no longer valid, and redirects to a page that lists many easy fix solutions, except for the only one that will help. That one, "Program Install and Uninstall", is currently available at: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17588/fix-problems-that-block-programs-from-being-installed-or-removed

It solved the problem for me.