MSG_GUID_FAILED

Windows could not generate a new GUID.

Error code: [%u] %s

Indicates that an attempt to generate a new GUID (Globally Unique IDentifier) failed; the error code is included with the message.

Parameters

%u

Windows error code

%s

Windows error message

Background

GUIDs are guaranteed to be unique across all computers that use the same (standardized) GUID generation algorithm. To achieve this uniqueness, the GUID generator uses the identifier of the network card in the computer, the current date and time, and a counter. The result is then securely hashed to form the 128-bit number that is the GUID. (The hashing ensures that the original information cannot be reconstructed, so no identifying information will leak out.)

If the computer does not have a network card installed, or if it is not working properly, the GUID generation will fail. Without a truly unique identifier, information from different installation packages might get mixed up if different packages with that use the same GUID are installed on the same computer.

Solution

In general, this message indicates that no new GUID is available, usually due to a problem with the computer's network card. The most common error codes are:

• 1739 - No network address is available to use to construct a universal unique identifier (UUID). This indicates that the computer does not contain a functioning network card and that Windows could not generate a GUID. This is a genuine problem; you may have to install a (new) network card to remedy this.
• 1824 - A UUID that is valid only on this computer has been allocated. This indicates that Windows did generate a GUID, but that it is not guaranteed to be unique across different computers. (I.e., another computer may generate the same GUID.) You may use this GUID, but you should be aware that it may collide with others. Within the context of installation packages, this is probably not a major problem.

In practice, these errors should rarely occur. If they do occur, the safest remedy is to install a new network card.