Error 20 Occurs When Installing AutoCAD-based 2022 software

Issue:

When attempting to install any AutoCAD-based software you get the following error:

Error 20 at 1 -2% when installing AutoCAD based 2022 software.

Causes:

This is usually caused by a DirectX component failing to install or Update.

To confirm this is the issue, inspect the Install.log (from here: %localappdata%\Autodesk\ODIS) you see this in the log:

Line xxx: 2021-12-06T11:06:40.643 [Install Manager: 6760, single] [InstallManager INFO] [ InstallManager::HandleInstallFailure ]   Failed to install Package (upi2:  {C9D7C6BF-A352-3EE7-AF06-BFE6D5507BED} name: Microsoft DirectX for Windows )  Error Code:  -20  Exit Status: 2

Solution:

First, manually installed DirectX from the Microsoft Website:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

Then In this folder (you must have the full download package to do this step):

C:\Autodesk\Autodesk_<product name>_2022_English_Win_64bit_dlm\x64\acad

There is a pkg.acad.xml

Make a copy of that file, and rename it to pkg.acad Copy.xml.old

Then open pkg.acad.xml using Notepad and remove this line entirely (should be near the bottom):

<Package installAs="core" name="Microsoft DirectX for Windows" external="true" path="3rdParty/DirectX/pkg.dxsetup.xml" upi2="{C9D7C6BF-A352-3EE7-AF06-BFE6D5507BED}" upgradeCode="{E4625438-EBA5-36E6-A3EE-AF5DEB6E7AC0}"/>

Then save and close the pkg.acad.xml, and re-run the setup to install the software

About the Author

Support Team Manager - AEC Team<br><br>An AutoCAD Certified Professional, Ryan is responsible for taking client cases and assisting with issues with the software - everything from regular glitches to software deployments and whatever else goes wrong. He's proficient in AutoCAD (including customization), VBA, LISP, and Civil 3D.

Follow on Linkedin More Content by Ryan Wunderlich