Windows Installer Coordinator endless loop

If you are installing Java on a Windows Server 2008 and the «Windows Installer Coordinator» dialog enters an endless loop, the cause is the Remote Desktop Services installer compatibility feature.

Open the local group policy editor on the server (gpedit.msc, or the relevant Active Directory GPO) and go to:

Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Remote Desktop Services → Remote Desktop Session Host → Application Compatibility → Turn off Windows Installer RDS Compatibility

Set it to Enabled, then run the installer again.