Part of the problem is your machine. It's always a tough one with new Max users who want to install in on an average laptop. I've never seen any laptop under $2500 that could run Max anywhere close to how it runs on a desktop. In my opinion, to have a great experience with Max, you must run it on a hot workstation. I've been building custom machines for Max for 25-years and I've never found a way to take shortcuts with hardware and have Max function at full efficiency.
There is literally no program that's more demanding of computer hardware than 3d software. To run, it needs certain things. If your machine just doesn't have the hardware to push it, you'll have issues.
However, even if the machine is not very powerful, I'd think that you should still be able to install a Max upgrade on it. I'm not a coder or developer and someone may correct me. I guess it is possible that during an install, if Max searches for some hardware or software required, it may "fail" the install. But again, I'm just guessing but it does seem plausible that you should still be able to install.
Back to your machine. No matter what Max you have installed, I think you are going to be hampered and frustrated by your current machine. You didn't mention your processor but from the specs I'm assuming it's a Core i5. If so, it's just not fast enough to do the calculations Max needs. It is way too low in RAM as well. You need at least 8-16MB and if you need to work on large files, you really are going to need 64MB or more. Next, your graphics card is just not powerful enough. I'm not being a hardware snob here, I'm just being technical, but that card costs $65. It's about as inexpensive as they get and with Max performance, you get what you pay for. You really need a much more capable graphic card.
Basically, to use 3d software and have a good experience and where it works as it's supposed to and at a speed that is not acceptable, you unfortunately need some pretty specific and unfortunately more expensive hardware. When you read online about how to configure a machine for Max, they always say, "build the best machine you can afford." That's very true except for one example. If you can only afford $400, you'll never have a good experience with 3d software, it's just too demanding. I feel that if you don't have at least $1500-$2000 to put into a Max machine, you are in for disappointment and frustration.
So to circle back, your issue is that Max won't install, not discussions about hardware. Sorry to diverge but I thought you might benefit from a bit of hardware suggestions. Maybe an Autodesk Max Tech will see this post and help you with installation issues. It might be as simple as finding some file on your machine that you need to manually delete or modify. I wish I could help with that but I can't really.
Lastly, here is a Hardware Compatibility List for Max 2017 that is interesting to read. This one is for GPUs but there are others for other components.
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/sites/default/files/file_downloads/3dsmax2017_GFX_Results_Feb_2018.pd...
Rob Holmes
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3ds Max (2023-2025), V-Ray 6.2, Ryzen 9 3950-X Processor, DDR 4 128MB, Gigabyte Aorus X570 Master motherboard, Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 M.2 drives, NVidia RTX 4090, Space Pilot Pro, Windows 11 Pro x64, Tri-Monitor, Cintiq 13HD, Windows 11 x64
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