AutoCAD 2007/2008/2009 DWG Format

[#1]

This is not a question, just a solution I found that may be of use to others.

Recently I came across an error while attempting to install AutoCAD 2007 on the Windows 7 (32-Bit) operating system.  After the prerequisites were installed and the AutoCAD installer was about to launch I was presented with this error:

Error 1606:  Could not access network location Autodesk\AutoCAD 2007\R17.0\enu\.

After searching the internet for a solution and looking at as many forums as I could I still wasn't finding the answers I needed.  There were a lot of different solutions that I found, but none of them were very specific to what I needed.  One entry I came across was talking about registry entries, but that entry did not have much detail along with it and it was also referring to Windows Vista, not Windows 7.  Another post I came across talked about running the installer as an administrator but that post didn't solve the issue.

I tried a few things on my own by combining some of the information I had found on Microsoft's knowledge base and these 2 forum entries.  Here is what worked for me.

I added information to the registry, or rather copied information from one spot in the registry to another.  If you are not comfortable with editing the registry then stop and get someone who is comfortable.  If you change the wrong thing in the registry you can end up having issues.

Note:  This is something that worked for me, I have only tried it a couple times.  This may not be the correct/ideal thing to do.

Steps to try:

1. Backup (Export) the following keys in the registry:

    a. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

    b. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

2. Export the following keys from the registry:

    a. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

    b. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

3. Edit the .reg files you just exported in step 2, change the text "User Shell Folders" to "Shell Folders" in both files.

4. Double-click on each .reg file you just edited in step 3 to enter them into the registry.

5. Right-click on the file "acad.msi" and click Run as administrator.

AutoCAD 2007 should now install. 

[#2]

KillerMungkay, you ARE the man!

I've just registered to say thanks, it worked like a charm

[#3]

I'm glad this helped you! 

[#4]

Sorry to bother everyone but i want to download autocad 2007 and cant seem to find it on this website. Help would be highly appreciated

[#5]

yanga,

This is the wrong place to post your question, but I can tell you that the current version of AutoCAD is AutoCAD 2012.  If you are on subscription you are only permitted to download AutoCAD 2012 and 3 versions prior.  Anything else is unsupported.

[#6]

Presumably the first export is in case you have to reload the originals.