Windows Live Essentials is a suite of free programs from Microsoft that provides packaged and integrated instant messaging, email, blog posting, photo sharing, security settings, and a few other Windows Live features. Unfortunately, there are times when you will experience problems trying to install this application on your computer. Error 0x80040609 is a problem that occurs when your system is unable to load the settings required to install Windows Live. This error is caused by various “bugs” in your Windows that prevent you from successfully running the installation process. In order for you to fix this, it is important that you identify the specific cause of the problem. Subsequently, you must perform the necessary steps to resolve the error.

What causes this error?

The error may arise due to some of the following reasons that are commonly encountered by users. Most likely your Windows Firewall is disabled or your PC settings are corrupted or damaged. It is also possible that the Windows Installer program on your computer is not able to correctly read the settings required to run, or that it has mishaps in its registry.

How to fix error 0x80040609

To address any of the possible causes, you should start by enabling your Windows Firewall. To do this, press “Start” and then go to “Control Panel” and continue by selecting “System Security”. After that, search for “Windows Firewall Status” and once located, click on “Turn Windows Firewall on or off”. This step will give you the option to enable Windows Firewall and possibly prevent the 0x80040609 errors from appearing.

On the other hand, if you think there are problems with your computer setup, you should resolve this by uninstalling the existing version of Windows Live Essentials on your PC. To perform this task, press “Start” and then search for “Control Panel”. Next, go to “Uninstall a program” and then search for “Windows Live Essentials”. Once found, remove the app. This process will ensure the removal of any corrupt settings your Windows may have. However, if you suspect that the installation process cannot start due to problems in the Windows Installer program, you should fix it by using what is called the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility software. This program is designed to solve any of the possible problems that the Windows Installer may have. This works by removing the installation information for programs that were installed with the Windows Installer, allowing you to start the installation process over again.

Finally, the error could have been caused by problems in the registry. Therefore, you need to run a registry cleaning program on your computer to fix the issues here. The “registry” is a large database where important files, information, settings, and options are stored. Windows will access these files when prompted by the computer user to load programs. The problem is that the registry is quite prone to damage or corruption. Once this happens, Windows will not be able to read the files needed to run an installation process; therefore, errors such as 0x80040609 occur. To solve this problem, download a registry cleaner like the highly recommended “Frontline Registry Cleaner” which has proven to be very effective in making your computer run more efficiently.