From 0c29cfd1a6147b360a8fde600609da3835587f2b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Brooklyn Nicholson <brooklyn.bb.nicholson@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2026 12:08:39 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Clarify desktop install retry guidance

---
 apps/desktop/src/components/desktop-install-overlay.tsx | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/desktop-install-overlay.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/desktop-install-overlay.tsx
index 2ddac1b41b1..16ccc6ad3ab 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/desktop-install-overlay.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/desktop-install-overlay.tsx
@@ -348,7 +348,7 @@ export function DesktopInstallOverlay({ enabled = true }: DesktopInstallOverlayP
           </h2>
           <p className="mt-1.5 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
             {failed
-              ? 'One of the install steps failed. Check the details below or the desktop log for the full transcript.'
+              ? 'One of the install steps failed. On Windows, this can happen if another Hermes CLI or desktop instance is running. Stop any running Hermes instances, then retry. Check the details below or the desktop log for the full transcript.'
               : 'This is a one-time setup. The Hermes installer is downloading dependencies and configuring your machine. ' +
                 'Subsequent launches will skip this step.'}
           </p>