Troubleshooting UltraTax CS installation issues

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New (tax) year, new help!

Fixed Assets and UltraTax CS 2023 help is now on Help and Support. We're still moving articles, but you can find most content for the 2023 tax year there. Continue using the Help & How-To Center for tax years 2022 and older.

This article can help you through any issues or error messages you might encounter while installing UltraTax CS. If you're looking for installation instructions, check out the UltraTax CS installation toolkit.

Downloading

Can't find the download

  1. You're looking for a file called utdownload_2020_#_#.exe. The # signs represent the version number.
  2. Check your download folder. You can click the Start menu and type "downloads". You can also go to My Computer or click the folder icon at the bottom of your screen, if you have it.
  3. Try looking in C:\Users\[windows-profile-name]\Downloads and X:\Downloads (X is the mapped drive or network location for the server).
  4. Try downloading the file again from cs.tr.com/support/downloads. Make sure to save the file.

File won't download

There's something preventing the file from downloading. This could be a browser setting, a Windows permissions issue, or an antivirus or firewall issue. You'll need to do some research or contact your IT professional, since these kinds of issues are outside the scope of UltraTax CS support.

Running the installer

"File downloaded from the internet" warning message

  1. Right-click on the installation file and select Properties.
  2. In the General tab, if it exists, click the Unblock button next to Security: This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer.
  3. Click OK on the Properties dialog.

See File downloaded from the internet warning for background on this warning.

Installer won't start

Potential problems:

  • Nothing happening after clicking the installer.
  • Mouse or wheel spinning after clicking the installer.
  • Only one/certain user(s) or workstation(s) can run the installer.
  • An error message after clicking the installer, before the installation starts.

Try these steps:

  • If you're getting an error message, try searching for a solution using Google. You can also scroll to the bottom of this article for errors we can help with, or check the Alerts and Notices for common issues.
  • If there are no errors, right-click the installation file and choose Run as administrator.
  • We recommend all our customers review their permissions, but it's especially important if you're running into trouble. See Permissions guidelines for the CS Professional Suite.

Starting the installation

Installer fails instantly, doesn't run, or never finishes

There's likely a permissions issue. Try running logging in with the Hidden Administrator account and run the installation again. See Permissions guidelines for the CS Professional Suite for instructions on using Hidden Admin. If Hidden Admin works, there's a bigger permissions issue that your IT professional needs to address. Our permissions requirements are in the permissions guidelines.

"No internet connection detected" error message

Checking system requirements

If the installation gets stuck checking system requirements, or you get the error "Missing one or more components above", consult your IT professional. They can manually install the required components.

License installation

Firm ID and PIN do not match our records

Failed to install security policy. File does not exist.

Could not find required file setup.exe

Cannot find C:\Wincsi\Tools\CSLP.exe

Federal and state product installation

Installation result failed

Desktop setup

Desktop setup needs to be performed over and over

Windows cannot find desktop_ut.msi make sure the name is typed correctly and try again

More desktop setup troubleshooting

Error logs

UltraTax CS usually generates error logs if the installation fails. See Reading UltraTax installation logs to find out what went wrong during the installation.

Nothing helped. Now what?

If there are no errors, error logs, or the steps above don't solve your problem:

  1. Make sure you complete the recommended pre-installation steps in the installation toolkit.
  2. Work with your IT Professional to perform a clean boot in Windows.
  3. Visit the UltraTax CS alerts and notices page to check for common issues.

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