Problem
Tomcat 5.5.x fails to complete installation with an error message indicating failed to install tomcat 5 as a a service.
Failed to install tomcat 5 service
Check your settings and permissions
Abort Retry Ignore
This error occurred using Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with Service Pack 1 and Apache Tomcat Version 5.5.9. This resolution worked for me.
Resolution
Right click on “My Computer“, go to Properties. Look under Startup and Recovery and press the Environment Variables button. On the Environment Variables page, change the values for TEMP and TMP in User variables and in System variables from the defaults to C:\temp.
Make note of the original Variable values. The default System Variable value is %SystemRoot%\TEMP and the default User Variable value is %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp
(Original Inspiration: Source)