This is what I did to successfully install Matlab (Home Use) on my Windows 7 x64 SP1 system. Note that I do not know which one of the following things helped to make things work; I just did all of them. Also note that I am not using a proxy server, if you are, this will probably not help you.
1. Turned off internet router and then turned it back on.
2. Restarted the PC in Safe Mode.
3. If applicable to you: The installation file was on hard drive volume D:\ and I moved it to C:\
4. From control panel->administrative tools->Services, I right-clicked "Windows Firewall" and selected "Stop".
5. I ran the Matlab installation file from c:\.
6. When the installation screen came up, I did not click on the button at the top right of the dialog. Instead, I clicked the "next" button at the bottom. (Of course, I am not using a proxy server.)
7. A dialog appears to enter your login credentials: do that and the installation will continue.
8. The installation will eventually complete and then you can activate it by following the on-screen directions.
9. I restarted the system normally and verified that Matlab was working.
(Hopefully, I did not leave anything out.)