If you encounter error 2203 while installing applications such as Microsoft Office or Skype, this article will guide you through the troubleshooting process. It’s worth noting that this error typically occurs on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 (less frequently on Windows 10 and 11). In this example, I’ll demonstrate the solution on Windows 7, but you can apply this guide to any version of your system.
Error 2203 usually occurs because the installer cannot access temporary files, specifically the TEMP folder. Many application installers unpack their files into temporary folders and then install the application from there.
1) The path to the TEMP folder uses special characters, Cyrillic, and other non-Latin characters. Some applications can only work with numbers and Latin characters, so errors may occur during installation. For example, if your Windows user name is in Cyrillic (Russian, Ukrainian, and so on), the application might fail to install.
How to fix it:
This is easily fixed by moving the “TEMP” folder to the root of drive C, D, or any other local hard drive on your PC. In our example, I’ll create a TEMP folder at the root of drive C. Remove the read-only attribute in the properties of this folder.
Go to Start => Properties.
Advanced system settings.
In the “Advanced” tab, click “Environment Variables.”
Now change the value of the variable in both TEMP and TMP. You can type C:\TEMP in both fields.
After you click OK, you’ll see that the values have changed.
Now try installing the application again.
2) In the second scenario, if your username is in Latin characters and you don’t want to change the TEMP folder, the issue might be due to difficulties accessing the TEMP folder in its “system location.”
Go to Start, type %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp in the search, right-click on the Temp folder in the results => Properties.
Go to the “Security” tab => Select “System” => Click “Edit” => Add “Everyone” and give them full rights.
Now try to install the desired application again.
