What does Windows error code 14108 (ERROR_SMI_PRIMITIVE_INSTALLER_FAILED) mean?

ERROR_SMI_PRIMITIVE_INSTALLER_FAILED

The SMI primitive installer failed during setup or servicing.

ERROR_SMI_PRIMITIVE_INSTALLER_FAILED is Windows status 14108 (0x0000371C) associated with a primitive installer operation in the servicing management infrastructure.

Likely impact: Manual recreation of the primitive side effect can leave the servicing database inconsistent with the machine.

Typical causes

• the primitive receives invalid package data.
• the target resource is locked or unavailable.
• the operation violates servicing state.
• the underlying file, registry, or service call fails.

Troubleshooting steps

1. Verify that the primitive operation completes its narrowly defined file, registry, service, or component action.
2. Collect primitive installer type and target resource.
3. Use the first lower-level Win32 error or HRESULT in CBS.log to identify the primitive operation and target that actually failed.

Useful evidence

• Collect CBS and setup log section.
• Collect transaction rollback state.

Recovery and retry

Repair the underlying target or package data and rerun through servicing so transaction ownership is preserved.

Related errors

ERROR_ADVANCED_INSTALLER_FAILED reports an advanced installer; this code names the lower-level primitive installer

Example

A primitive registry operation fails on a protected key during package apply. CBS logs identify the exact target and access status for correction.

References

• Microsoft: exact Win32 system error range
• Microsoft: Assembly manifests
• Microsoft: Side-by-side assemblies