Error 18 is one of most stubborn issues reported by users. The problem usually occurs when one tries to reinstall the application. When a user installs the application again after uninstalling it, the application shows an error 18 along with a message which reads – “The installer is unable to install Spotify because the files to write are in use by another process. Please make sure Spotify is not running and retry.” If you are also facing the same issue with your Spotify app, you can try the following measures.
Steps to Fix Spotify Error Code 18
NOTE: The following measures are suggested by the Spotify community users. So, the measures may or may not work in your specific case.
METHOD 1
- After uninstalling Spotify, make sure to delete all the traces of Spotify including the appdata.
- Next, remove Comodo and reboot your device.
- Then, install the fresh copy of Spotify and then install Comodo back.
- The error should not appear.
METHOD 2
- Go to Start menu on your computer.
- Next, go to Apps option by swiping to the right side of the Start page and clicking on the down arrow located at the bottom.
- Then, search for “msconfig” (without quotation marks) and click on it when it appears on your screen.
- After that go to the “Services” tab, select “Disable All” option and restart your computer.
- Upon restarting, you will find the internet and several other services not working as usual.
- Then, again go back to Start > Apps > Msconfig > Services. This time, you will need to click on the Enable all
- Next, restart your computer again and reinstall Spotify. The error 18 should get cleared away.
NOTE: Make sure to uninstall Spotify before following these steps. Also, make sure to deselect the checkbox next to Spotify under the “Services” tab in Msconfig before installing a fresh copy of Spotify.
METHOD 3
Some of the users have got the issue cleared by disconnecting the connection of Spotify with Steam Client Service. If you are using Steam Client Service, it could be using the SpotifyWebHelper and SpotifyHelper files located in the AppData/Roaming folder. So, it is suggested to first close Steam Client service and then install Spotify again.
METHOD 4
This measure was suggested by a user who was unable to open Spotify because of error 18. The person also tried deleting some files as well but wasn’t able to do that even. Whenever trying to delete anything from the computer there was “Invalid MS-DOS function” error appearing on the screen. So, the user tried fixing the error by following this method which eventually cleared the Error 18 of Spotify as well.
- Start by uninstalling Spotify.
- After uninstalling Spotify, press Windows + R keys on your keyboard.
- In the text field, type “msconfig” and go to the Boot
- Under Boot Options, select “Safe boot” option and click Apply > OK. Then restart your computer.
- Your computer will reboot in safe mode.
- Once your computer gets rebooted, again go to Msconfg > Boot
- Under Boot option, deselect Safe Boot option and click Apply >
- Restart your computer again and see if the problem is fixed.
METHOD 5
- Start by uninstalling Spotify from your PC.
- Next, open windows explorer and enter Spotify in the Search bar located on the top-right corner.
- Next, delete all the files that appear to be associated with Spotify.
- After that, restart your computer and reinstall Spotify.
- The Error 18 should get fixed.
So, these are the five methods you can try to fix Spotify Error Code 18 on your computer.
