ssue

An endpoint computer reports that installation of package failed because of an error during package
decoding. The ALC.log shows downloading to product cache as successful but the installation of a
component - for example 'SAVXP' - has fails:
Installation of product [component] failed because of an error during package
decoding
You may see additional issues, including

Low disk space

Large number of files in the sophos_autoupdate1.dir folder (see Technical Information below),
typically can go to over 1GB in size. These can be safely deleted.
First seen in
Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows 2000+

What To Do
Windows 2000/XP
1.
o
o

Delete the contents of

C:\Program Files\Sophos\AutoUpdate\Cache\
(if it exists) C:\Program Files\Sophos\AutoUpdate\data\warehouse\
Note: On a 64-bit operating system check C:\Program Files (x86)\...
2.
Run the update again.

Vista/Win7 and above

1.
o
o

Delete the contents of

C:\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\Cache\
(if it exists) C:\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\data\warehouse\
Note: On a 64-bit operating system check C:\Program Files (x86)\...
2.
Run the update again.

Further steps
If the above fails, remove all Sophos components and reinstall them.
Technical information
In older versions of Sophos Endpoint Security and Control the sophos_autoupdate1.dir folder was located
in C:\Windows\Temp\. In Sophos AutoUupdate 2.7.1.283 and later the folder is located in the 'Cache'
folder.

Vista+: C:\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\Cache\
XP: C:\Program Files\Sophos\AutoUpdate\Cache\
Error code 0x80070005 is also known as "ACCESS DENIED." It usually occurs when you lack
file or registry permissions that are required to install the update. (Because file or registry
permissions may be changed by malware, we recommend that you scan for malware after
you repair the permissions.)
To resolve the issue, make sure that you are logged on as an administrator, and then install

the updates again. If the problem continues, use the SubInACL tool to repair file and registry
permissions. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Download the SubInACL tool and install it in the %windir%\system32 folder. The
%windir% placeholder represents the Windows operating system folder. For example,
C:\Windows.
2. Start Notepad, and then copy and paste the following commands:
3.
4.
5.
6.

@echo of

subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f

subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CURRENT_USER /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f
subinacl /subdirectories %windir% /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f
7.
8.
@Echo =========================
@Echo Finished.
@Echo =========================
@pause
9. Save the file as Reset.cmd.
10. Right-click the Reset.cmd file in File Explorer (in Windows 8.1 and Windows 8) or
Windows Explorer (in Windows 7 and Windows Vista), and then click Run as
administrator. In Windows XP, double-click the file in Windows Explorer.
11. Wait until the execution finishes, and then try to install the update again.
Note If you receive errors when you run SubInAcl, see the following Microsoft blog:
Notes about a couple of possible issues while using the SubInAcl tool.