Unable to install docker desktop for windows

I tried to install the docker desktop for windows from here:

This shows a file on my computer:
image

When I double click it nothing happens. I have also tried running it as an admin.

How can I resolve this issue?

Thank you!

It has been a while since I did this and don’t want to uninstall Docker Desktop for Windows to check, but often when installing new software on Windows with an install executable there will be a User Account Control dialog. Often this may appear under an existing window or on the primary output monitor. The way I check is to look at the end of my Windows task bar for a new icon and click on it.

HTH

Are you referring to the following image:
image
If so, then I do not see such a dialog pop up.

It won’t let me put 2 images in one response, so I have to respond to your message again.

Are you referring to this:
image
If so, then I do not see an icon that represents docker desktop

The name of the dialog is correct, User Account Control but the granted right does not look like what is needed. I take it that you just copied that from somewhere as an example.

No.

I am referring to the Windows task bar that is typically at the bottom of the screen, e.g.

My has so many items that it extends to a second row, thus why I have to go look for the UAC in the task bar as it appears at the end on the second row which I have to scroll into with image

You might also be running into Windows Controlled Folder Access, but that is something that is turned on manually for a standard install of Windows. (Odds are you are not running this.) This often will stop something from installing in a protected folder and create a Windows notification but not return an error message via the install process. Most people don’t turn this on but IMHO they should, but when it is on, if you don’t understand how it works you can spend hours to days trying to find the issue. This one will even stump developers who don’t know it exist or how it works.


As a Discourse admin on another site I am more than aware of such issues, but not being an admin on this site can’t change the setting.

The number of images you can post is tied to your Discourse trust level. You can check your trust level by checking your badges, e.g Docker Community Forums add look for one containing a Granted link in the description.

You’re assumption is correct, I took that from somewhere just as an example

Oh I see. I don’t see a new icon in the windows task bar when I run the installer.

I followed the link you sent and found these instructions:


Mine was initially turned off, but now I turned it on. After doing so, I ran the installer again and nothing happened, again.

Sorry. The mention of Windows Protected Folders was not to suggest that you turn it on, but to note that if it is turned on it makes it harder to figure out the problem. The reason, as noted earlier, that with Windows Protected Folder turned on being harder to diagnose a problem is that most support people will only look for an error on the screen or in a log, but with Windows Protected Folders if you try to access a protected folder to an app it will look like the folder does not exist when in reality it does. But what the support users will know know about unless they ask is if there was a Windows message that access to the protected folder was blocked by the security feature.

With regards to your problem I don’t know what is causing it. If it were my problem I would go back to the install instructions and carefully read them start to end and not do anything but read them. I would be looking for 2 things, 1 how to uninstall the app or an older version of the app, 2 how to install the app.

Then I would follow the instructions very carefully and checking for changes to the system such a added or removed files, changes to logs, etc. before taking the next step.

In the past when I had such problems I used a tool that took snapshots of the system by recording info on every file, and kept copies of the log files, registry, etc. then would do a step, then take another snapshot and compare. Then do the next step, and so on. This could take hours to more than a full day depending on how much data was recorded and how many snapshots needed to be created. Needless to say it was a method of last resort but often worked. Also such apps have peculiarities that you need to take into account. Lastly you need to work with taking the snapshot with an example before doing it for real to learn peculiarities of the app. In How to Track and Monitor Every System Change in Windows they note such tools but those did not exist years ago when I was doing this.

I know this is not the kind of answer you were looking for but it is what I would do.

Lastly, the instructions I followed to install Docker Desktop for Windows are from here and over the years I have been uninstalling older versions of Docker for Windows which has changed names a few times and installing and uninstalling WSL since it was alpha in the early days so yes it is possible to get it to work even if you have had many older versions on the computer.

HTH


EDIT

There are many tools for checking system changes, but the ones that take snapshots as text files are the ones that I prefer.

Here is another list of such tools.

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Thank you for the detailed response!