npm install protractor hangs at madeDirectory Program creation not in flight; initializing

[Ochea]

Been stuck trying to install protractor (for brevity, leaving out in descriptions below) for a couple weeks. Read and tried various pointers, flags posted here and other forums (as Administrator), updating PATH so C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm precedes C:\Program Files\nodejs\ reinstalling NodeJS, removing node_modules, reinstating node_modules, installing from downloaded protractor tarball. Running latest mature NodeJS v4.2.3 Any pointers? Thanks in advance!

"npm install -g" freezes at first line
"npm install -global"
"npm install --no-optional"
"npm install -ddd"

C:\Program Files\cygwin64\home\username>npm install --global -ddd protractor-3.0.0
.tar.gz
npm info it worked if it ends with ok
npm verb cli [ 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe',
npm verb cli 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin\npm-cli.js',
npm verb cli 'install',
npm verb cli '--global',
npm verb cli '-ddd',
npm verb cli 'protractor-3.0.0.tar.gz' ]
npm info using npm@2.14.7
npm info using node@v4.2.3
npm verb install initial load of C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\package.jso
n
npm verb readDependencies loading dependencies from C:\Users\username\AppData\Roam
ing\npm\package.json
npm sill cache add args [ 'protractor-3.0.0.tar.gz', null ]
npm verb cache add spec protractor-3.0.0.tar.gz
npm sill cache add parsed spec Result {
npm sill cache add raw: 'protractor-3.0.0.tar.gz',
npm sill cache add scope: null,
npm sill cache add name: null,
npm sill cache add rawSpec: 'protractor-3.0.0.tar.gz',
npm sill cache add spec: 'C:\Program Files\cygwin64\home\username\protracto
r-3.0.0.tar.gz',
npm sill cache add type: 'local' }
npm sill addLocalTarball shasum (computed) 9533f069b8c8a5a21c77b23175aeb719f7690
14b
npm verb addTmpTarball C:\Program Files\cygwin64\home\username\protractor-3.0.0.ta
r.gz not in flight; adding
npm verb makeDirectory C:"Program creation not in flight; initializing

[NickTomlin]

Interesting. What version of windows are you using? Does it work without using cygwin (from the install path it seems like you are using cygwin)?

The install completes for me on WIN 7 / node 4.2.3.

[Ochea]

Win 7 / node 4.2.3 (npm 2.14.7). I've been mostly working in Command Prompt (C:\Program Files\nodejs --remote install-- and C:\Program Files\cygwin64\home\username --tarball install) except for the couple tries using cygwin terminal. Searching in Windows, there are npm directories in:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\ (protractor directory was created here when there used to be advancement in progress bar, but protractor command was not found)
C:\Program Files\nodejs
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\Extensions\Micro
soft\Web Tools\External\npm\

"npm config get prefix -g" nets C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm

For exhaustive testing, I did try Node 4.2.3 (x86 though system is 64-bit and using Node 64-bit all other times) and separately, Node 5.3.0 (NPM 3.3.12):

C:\Program Files\nodejs>npm install -g --verbose protractor
npm info it worked if it ends with ok
npm verb cli [ 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe',
npm verb cli 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\node_modules\npm\bin\npm-cli.js',
npm verb cli 'install',
npm verb cli '-g',
npm verb cli '--verbose',
npm verb cli 'protractor' ]
npm info using npm@3.3.12
npm info using node@v5.3.0
npm verb request uri http://registry.npmjs.org/protractor
npm verb request no auth needed
npm info attempt registry request try #1 at 7:05:12 AM
npm verb request id 4e041ac3e7572cdd
npm http request GET http://registry.npmjs.org/protractor
npm http 200 http://registry.npmjs.org/protractor
npm verb headers { server: 'CouchDB/1.5.0 (Erlang OTP/R16B03)',
npm verb headers etag: '"DT7SXMTALQVBFZYVZKLHEPHK5"',
npm verb headers 'content-type': 'application/json',
npm verb headers 'cache-control': 'max-age=300',
npm verb headers 'content-length': '98965',
npm verb headers 'accept-ranges': 'bytes',
npm verb headers date: 'Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:05:12 GMT',
npm verb headers via: '1.1 varnish',
npm verb headers age: '41',
npm verb headers connection: 'keep-alive',
npm verb headers 'x-served-by': 'cache-sjc3121-SJC',
npm verb headers 'x-cache': 'HIT',
npm verb headers 'x-cache-hits': '1',
npm verb headers 'x-timer': 'S1450710312.301664,VS0,VE0',
npm verb headers vary: 'Accept' }
npm verb get saving protractor to C:"Program\registry.npmjs.org\protractor.cac
he.json
npm verb makeDirectory C:"Program creation not in flight; initializing
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In previous attempts, the progress bar actually advanced, no progress now.

[NickTomlin]

I don't want to shift blame needlessly, but this seems like more of an NPM issue than a protractor one I'd suggest doing more investigation on the NPM side of things or perhaps raising an issue there.

[Ochea]

I believe so as well, but no one on the npm board has offered any pointers. Thanks for your help in any event!

[NickTomlin]

Not a problem. Would you mind closing this for the time being? You can re-open it if the issue does end up being with Protractor.