Running on self-hosted Windows 11 runner results in error due to registry access

[ansjsia]

Description:
Running actions/setup-python@v5 on a self-hosted Windows 11 runner, despite the fact that Python 3.10 is already installed on the runner and is available to all users, results in an error due to being unable to edit registry keys.

Action version:
v5

Platform:

• Ubuntu
• macOS
• Windows

Runner type:

• Hosted
• Self-hosted

Tools version:
3.10.0

Repro steps:

1. Set up the runner as a service on a self-hosted Windows 11 machine.
2. Install Python 3.10.
3. Restart the machine.
4. Attempt to run the setup-python action with the version set to 3.10, as below:

    - name: Set up Python 3.10
      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
      with:
        python-version: "3.10"

Expected behavior:

Python is set up, allowing tasks like pytest to be run.

Actual behavior:

The action throws the following error message:

Version 3.10 was not found in the local cache
  Version 3.10 is available for downloading
  Download from "https://github.com/actions/python-versions/releases/download/3.10.[11](https://github.com/ansys-internal/crtech-test-tools/actions/runs/15353688916/job/43208044424?pr=37#step:3:12)-11114431484/python-3.10.11-win32-x64.zip"
  Extract downloaded archive
  "C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe" -NoLogo -NoProfile -NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop' ; try { Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.ZipFile } catch { } ; try { [System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::ExtractToDirectory('C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\python-3.10.11-win32-x64.zip', 'C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836', $true) } catch { if (($_.Exception.GetType().FullName -eq 'System.Management.Automation.MethodException') -or ($_.Exception.GetType().FullName -eq 'System.Management.Automation.RuntimeException') ){ Expand-Archive -LiteralPath 'C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\python-3.10.11-win32-x64.zip' -DestinationPath 'C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836' -Force } else { throw $_ } } ;"
  Execute installation script
  Check if Python hostedtoolcache folder exist...
  Check if current Python version is installed...
  Python3.10 (x64) was found in C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool\Python...
  Deleting C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool\Python\3.10.11\x64...
  Remove registry entries for Python 3.10(x64)...
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:35 char:17
  + ...             Remove-Item -Path $key.PSParentPath -Recurse -Force -Verb ...
  +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...1-5-18\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce 
     ption
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:35 char:17
  + ...             Remove-Item -Path $key.PSParentPath -Recurse -Force -Verb ...
  Error: +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...1-5-18\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:35 char:17
  + ...             Remove-Item -Path $key.PSParentPath -Recurse -Force -Verb ...
  Error: +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...1-5-18\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce 
     ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:35 char:17
  Error: + ...             Remove-Item -Path $key.PSParentPath -Recurse -Force -Verb ...
  Error: +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...1-5-18\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:35 char:17
  Error: + ...             Remove-Item -Path $key.PSParentPath -Recurse -Force -Verb ...
  Error: +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...1-5-18\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:35 char:17
  Error: + ...             Remove-Item -Path $key.PSParentPath -Recurse -Force -Verb ...
  Error: +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...1-5-18\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:35 char:17
  Error: + ...             Remove-Item -Path $key.PSParentPath -Recurse -Force -Verb ...
  Error: +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...1-5-18\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:35 char:17
  Error: + ...             Remove-Item -Path $key.PSParentPath -Recurse -Force -Verb ...
  Error: +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...1-5-18\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:35 char:17
  Error: + ...             Remove-Item -Path $key.PSParentPath -Recurse -Force -Verb ...
  Error: +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...1-5-18\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:35 char:17
  Error: + ...             Remove-Item -Path $key.PSParentPath -Recurse -Force -Verb ...
  Error: +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...1-5-18\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:43 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityE
  Error: xception
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:43 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityE
  Error: xception
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:43 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityE
  Error: xception
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:43 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityE
  Error: xception
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:43 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityE
  Error: xception
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:43 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityE
  Error: xception
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:43 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityE
  Error: xception
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:43 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityE
  Error: xception
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:43 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityE
  Error: xception
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:43 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityE
  Error: xception
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:56 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:56 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:56 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:56 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:56 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:56 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:56 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:56 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:56 char:13
  Error: +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:56 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  Error: +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Create Python 3.10.11 folder in C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool\Python
  Copy Python binaries to C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool\Python\3.10.11\x64
  Install Python 3.10.11 in C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool\Python...
  Error: Error happened during Python installation
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\f9f3160f-d9f9-41bc-a214-5dfcc6557836\setup.ps1:[12](https://github.com/ansys-internal/crtech-test-tools/actions/runs/15353688916/job/43208044424?pr=37#step:3:13)7 char:5
  +     Throw "Error happened during Python installation"
  +     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : OperationStopped: (Error happened ...on installation:String) [], RuntimeException
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Error happened during Python installation
  Error: The process 'C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe' failed with exit code 1

[priya-kinthali]

Hello @ansjsia👋,
Thank you for reporting this issue. We will investigate it and get back to you as soon as we have some feedback.

[MajorPainTheCactus]

I'm having the same issue installing Python 3.13.3 on the runner as a service on a self-hosted Windows 11 machine, from my logs with debug enabled:

##[debug]Evaluating condition for step: 'Set up Python'
##[debug]Evaluating: success()
##[debug]Evaluating success:
##[debug]=> true
##[debug]Result: true
##[debug]Starting: Set up Python
##[debug]Register post job cleanup for action: actions/setup-python@v5
##[debug]Loading inputs
##[debug]Evaluating: (((github.server_url == 'https://github.com') && github.token) || '')
##[debug]Evaluating Or:
##[debug]..Evaluating And:
##[debug]....Evaluating Equal:
##[debug]......Evaluating Index:
##[debug]........Evaluating github:
##[debug]........=> Object
##[debug]........Evaluating String:
##[debug]........=> 'server_url'
##[debug]......=> 'https://github.com'
##[debug]......Evaluating String:
##[debug]......=> 'https://github.com'
##[debug]....=> true
##[debug]....Evaluating Index:
##[debug]......Evaluating github:
##[debug]......=> Object
##[debug]......Evaluating String:
##[debug]......=> 'token'
##[debug]....=> '***'
##[debug]..=> '***'
##[debug]=> '***'
##[debug]Expanded: ((('https://github.com' == 'https://github.com') && '***') || '')
##[debug]Result: '***'
##[debug]Loading env
Run actions/setup-python@v5
  
##[debug]Python is expected to be installed into C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool
::group::Installed versions
Installed versions
  ##[debug]Semantic version spec of 3.x is 3.x
  ##[debug]isExplicit: 
  ##[debug]explicit? false
  ##[debug]isExplicit: 3.13.3
  ##[debug]explicit? true
  ##[debug]evaluating 0 versions
  ##[debug]match not found
  Version 3.x was not found in the local cache
  ##[debug]Getting manifest from actions/python-versions@main
  ##[debug]set auth
  ##[debug]check 3.14.0-beta.[2](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:2) satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]check [3](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:3).14.0-beta.1 satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]check 3.1[4](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:4).0-alpha.7 satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]check 3.14.0-alpha.6 satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]check 3.14.0-alpha.[5](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:5) satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]check 3.14.0-alpha.4 satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]check 3.14.0-alpha.3 satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]check 3.14.0-alpha.2 satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]check 3.14.0-alpha.1 satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]check 3.14.0-alpha.0 satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]check 3.13.3 satisfies 3.x
  ##[debug]arm[6](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:6)4-freethreaded===x64 && darwin===win32
  ##[debug]arm64===x64 && darwin===win32
  ##[debug]x64-freethreaded===x64 && darwin===win32
  ##[debug]x64===x64 && darwin===win32
  ##[debug]x64-freethreaded===x64 && linux===win32
  ##[debug]x64===x64 && linux===win32
  ##[debug]arm64-freethreaded===x64 && linux===win32
  ##[debug]arm64===x64 && linux===win32
  ##[debug]x64-freethreaded===x64 && linux===win32
  ##[debug]x64===x64 && linux===win32
  ##[debug]arm64-freethreaded===x64 && linux===win32
  ##[debug]arm64===x64 && linux===win32
  ##[debug]x64-freethreaded===x64 && linux===win32
  ##[debug]x64===x64 && linux===win32
  ##[debug]arm64-freethreaded===x64 && win32===win32
  ##[debug]arm64===x64 && win32===win32
  ##[debug]x64-freethreaded===x64 && win32===win32
  ##[debug]x64===x64 && win32===win32
  ##[debug]matched 3.13.3
  Version 3.x is available for downloading
  Download from "https://github.com/actions/python-versions/releases/download/3.13.3-143440[7](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:7)6652/python-3.13.3-win32-x64.zip"
  ##[debug]Downloading https://github.com/actions/python-versions/releases/download/3.13.3-14344076652/python-3.13.3-win32-x64.zip
  ##[debug]Destination C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\python-3.13.3-win32-x64.zip
  ##[debug]set auth
  ##[debug]download complete
  Extract downloaded archive
  ##[debug]Using pwsh at path: C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe
  "C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe" -NoLogo -NoProfile -NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop' ; try { Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.ZipFile } catch { } ; try { [System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::ExtractToDirectory('C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\python-3.13.3-win32-x64.zip', 'C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f[8](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:8)45e2a-b20c-4fee-acf9-19040f7[9](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:9)6034', $true) } catch { if (($_.Exception.GetType().FullName -eq 'System.Management.Automation.MethodException') -or ($_.Exception.GetType().FullName -eq 'System.Management.Automation.RuntimeException') ){ Expand-Archive -LiteralPath 'C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\python-3.[13](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:13).3-win32-x64.zip' -DestinationPath 'C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f845e2a-b20c-4fee-acf9-19040f796034' -Force } else { throw $_ } } ;"
  Execute installation script
  Check if Python hostedtoolcache folder exist...
  Check if current Python version is installed...
  Python3.13 (x64) was found in C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool\Python...
  Deleting C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool\Python\3.13.3\x64...
  Remove registry entries for Python 3.13(x64)...
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f845e2a-b20c-4fee-acf9-[19](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:19)040f796034\setup.ps1:57 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce 
     ption
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f845e2a-b[20](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:20)c-4fee-acf9-19040f796034\setup.ps1:57 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce 
     ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f845e2a-b20c-4fee-acf9-19040f796034\setup.ps1:57 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f845e2a-b20c-4fee-acf9-19040f796034\setup.ps1:57 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f845e2a-b20c-4fee-acf9-19040f796034\setup.ps1:57 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f845e2a-b20c-4fee-acf9-19040f796034\setup.ps1:57 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Error: + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce 
     ption
  Error: + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f845e2a-b20c-4fee-acf9-19040f796034\setup.ps1:57 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Error: Remove-Item : Requested registry access is not allowed.
  Error: At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f845e2a-b20c-4fee-acf9-19040f796034\setup.ps1:57 char:13
  +             Remove-Item Registry::$_ -Recurse -Force -Verbose
  +             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACH...rsion\Uninstall:String) [Remove-Item], SecurityExce
  Error: ption
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.Security.SecurityException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
  Create Python 3.13.3 folder in C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool\Python
  Copy Python binaries to C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool\Python\3.13.3\x64
  Install Python 3.13.3 in C:\actions-runner\_work\_tool\Python...
  Error: Error happened during Python installation
  At C:\actions-runner\_work\_temp\6f845e2a-b20c-4fee-acf9-19040f796034\setup.ps1:1[31](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:31) char:5
  Error: +     Throw "Error happened during Python installation"
  +     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : OperationStopped: (Error happened ...on installation:String) [], RuntimeException
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Error happened during Python installation
  Error: The process 'C:\WINDOWS\System[32](https://github.com/InfiniteDesktop/modder_runtime/actions/runs/15441635229/job/43460608265#step:8:32)\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe' failed with exit code 1
  ##[debug]Node Action run completed with exit code 1
  ##[debug]Finishing: Set up Python

[MajorPainTheCactus]

Fixed the above problem as my python installation was installed under my user account not the github runners account. But I'm still failing with a different issue:

Execute installation script
Check if Python hostedtoolcache folder exist...

Check if current Python version is installed...

Python3.13 (x64) was found in C:\actions-runner_work_tool\Python...

Deleting C:\actions-runner_work_tool\Python\3.13.3\x64...

Remove registry entries for Python 3.13(x64)...

Create Python 3.13.3 folder in C:\actions-runner_work_tool\Python

Copy Python binaries to C:\actions-runner_work_tool\Python\3.13.3\x64

Install Python 3.13.3 in C:\actions-runner_work_tool\Python...

Error: Error happened during Python installation
Error: At C:\actions-runner_work_temp\0486349c-8e7a-4300-96b5-76b49f83745d\setup.ps1:131 char:5

Throw "Error happened during Python installation"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CategoryInfo          : OperationStopped: (Error happened ...on installation:String) [], RuntimeException

FullyQualifiedErrorId : Error happened during Python installation
Error: The process 'C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe' failed with exit code 1

Which I think is to do with powershell on windows 11 being used rather than GitHub's pwsh but still trying to get to the bottom of it.

[ansjsia]

@MajorPainTheCactus How were you able to install Python under NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM? I had it installed to Program Files.

[priya-kinthali]

Hello @ansjsia👋,
Thank you for sharing the error logs and steps to reproduce the issue.
We have tried to replicate the error, but were unable to reproduce it on our end. It appears that the issue may be related to your self-hosted runner’s configuration rather than the setup-python action itself. Here are some possible causes and recommendations to help resolve the problem:

• Administrator Privileges: Ensure that your self-hosted runner is running with administrator privileges. This is necessary for setting up the appropriate directories and files when downloading and installing a new version of Python. If your runner is configured as a service, make sure the account that is running the service has the appropriate write permissions so that Python can get installed. Please refer to the documentation for further details related to using setup-python with a self-hosted runner.

• Pre-installed Python & Installer Limitations: Please note that on Windows, the Python MSI installer will not allow installing the same version or patch version of Python if it is already present. If setup-python is failing for a specific version, please ensure that any previous installations of that Python version are fully removed by going to "Apps & Features" in the Windows Settings app and uninstalling any existing installations of the affected version.

• Concurrency Issues: If multiple processes are attempting to access or modify the Python installation or cache directories at the same time, it may cause conflicts and installation failures. Please ensure that no other processes are interfering during the workflow run.

• Disk Space: Make sure the runner has sufficient disk space available. Inadequate space can prevent Python and other tools from being installed properly.

@MajorPainTheCactus👋, for further troubleshooting, we recommend testing with different Python versions(e.g.,3.12) with actions/setup-python@v5 and re-running the job. To prevent any conflicts when attempting to set up the same version with setup-python, please make sure that all previous installations of the affected Python version have been completely uninstalled in the runner. Additionally, you can clear any existing tool cache in your runner using the following snippet and re-run the workflow:

- name: Clear any existing tool cache
  run: |
    mv "${{ runner.tool_cache }}" "${{ runner.tool_cache }}.old"
    mkdir -p "${{ runner.tool_cache }}"
- uses: actions/setup-python@v5
  with:
    python-version: ‘3.x’

We hope these suggestions are helpful! Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.

[MajorPainTheCactus]

@priya-kinthali Firstly thank you for the reply, greatly appreciated. I managed to fix this by setting my runners login to be my local user account that had admin rights on the machine. This is a little scary due to the privileges that service has now. What's the best way of doing this? Ideally I'd like to run a script locally that installs Python for the runner and keep my runner service using the restricted Network Service account but it seems like that would only work for machines I have actual admin access to rather than potentially virtual machines on the cloud.

[ansjsia]

@priya-kinthali Thank you, uninstalling existing Python and setting up the runner to use my administrator account fixed the issue - however, I have a follow-up question. I also use the machine for other work relying on Python, is there any way to have the action run when Python is already installed on the machine?

[priya-kinthali]

Thank you so much for your feedback! 😊 Glad to hear that your issues have been resolved!

@MajorPainTheCactus👋, It’s generally recommended to run your self-hosted runner with administrator privileges, both on local machines and and cloud environments, to ensure that all necessary directories and files can be created when downloading and installing Python. If your runner is configured as a service, please make sure the service account has the appropriate write permissions. The default NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE should be sufficient, as outlined in the setup-python documentation.

That said, running your GitHub Actions runner service as an account with administrative privileges does pose security risks, as you've noted. From a security standpoint, in general, any machine running a self-hosted runner should be considered potentially untrusted, regardless of whether it's running as an administrator or not. 


The appropriate setup can depend on your project’s context: For smaller, private repositories with trusted collaborators, running a self-hosted runner on a workstation may be reasonable. However, for a larger private repo or a public repo, the risks increase and you should consider dedicated build infrastructure. If you’re managing self-hosted runners for a larger project, we recommend looking into actions-runner-controller and enabling the ephemeral feature. This ensures each job runs in a fresh environment, similar to GitHub-hosted runners, which greatly improves security.

@ansjsia👋, You can use the setup-python action to install additional versions of Python alongside those already present on your machine. However, please note that installing the exact same version or patch release as one that is already installed may not be possible and could lead to installation conflicts. If your workflow specifically requires a version of Python that is already installed, it may be necessary to completely uninstall the existing version first to avoid these issues.

The pre-installed Python and versions managed by setup-python can coexist, provided there are no overlaps in the specific versions being used. This setup allows you to use setup-python for your workflows while still utilising your system’s Python installation for other tasks.

Hope this clarification helps! Please let us know in case of any other concerns or need further assistance. Thanks again!✨




[priya-kinthali]

Hello👋,
Could you please confirm if we may proceed to close this issue, if there are no further queries or concerns? Thank you!

[MajorPainTheCactus]

Yes sorry close it. Thank you!

[priya-kinthali]

Thank you for your confirmation!😊
We are closing this issue. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us.