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Endpoint Management Community Blog

Showing posts tagged with Wise Packaging
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All About the Four Types of MSI Transforms
R-Vijay | 08 Oct 2007 | 6 comments

The MSI format lets you easily modify or customize the software install by creating a transform. An MSI transform is a file (.mst) that describes how WIS (Windows Installer Service) should install an MSI package. The four types of Windows Installer transforms are embedded, unembedded, secured, and unsecured.

Embedded transforms:

Embedded transforms are stored inside the .msi file of the package. This guarantees to users that the transform is always available when the installation package is available.

If the installation source is read-only, such as a CD or a network share to which the person creating the transform has read-only access, this is not an option because you must be able to write to the source to embed the transform in the *.msi file.

To add an embedded transform to the transforms list, add a colon (:) prefix to the file name. Embedded transforms are not cached separately on the client computer, because Windows Installer can always obtain...

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File\Registry Access Errors in MS Office Service Packs
R-Vijay | 05 Oct 2007 | 0 comments

When you are logged on as a standard user and you run a Microsoft Installer (MSI) package, you may receive error messages similar to the following:

1913, Could not update the file... Verify that the file exists and that you we access it.
1321 The Installer has insufficient privileges to modify this file: filename
1401 Could not create key: registry key

Other error messages may occur, depending on whether the change was made in the registry or the file system, but the error message usually reports a lack of privileges on the part of the user or service to perform an action relating to the installation of the software.

When you try to install Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP-3), you may receive the following error message, where path\filename indicates the CD-ROM drive letter and the path of a file that is located on the Office CD:

The Installer has insufficient privileges to modify this file: path\filename
For example, you may...

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Registering a File Extension
R-Vijay | 05 Oct 2007 | 0 comments

If your application uses special file extensions, you might want to register them so that the application gets started when the icon associated with the file gets double-clicked.

There are special tables for this in the MSI structure (Extension and ProgId). The contents of these tables are used for advertising. You can also make your own registry entries to create application-to-file-extension relations. This example shows how to register the .dvi extensions to be opened with the yap.exe program.

Link the extension .dvi to the DVI.Document class:

Key:   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\.dvi
Value: <default> = "DVI.Document"

Describe the DVI.Document class:

Key:   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\DVI.Document
Value: <default> = "DVI Document"

Select Icon #0 from yap.exe which is in the MSI:

Key:   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\DVI.Document\DefaultIcon
Value: <default> = "[!yap.exe],0"

How to open the .dvi file if it is...

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Wise Package Studio Quiz
WiseUser | 05 Oct 2007 | 1 comment

Here are a few questions (and their answers) about some obvious and some obscure Wise Package Studio functionality -- just to make sure you're keeping up with your homework. There will be a test at the end of the semester so read up ;)

  1. Which capture method should you use to capture registry keys and replace files that are same version and service on a clean machine?
    A: SMART MONITOR
  2. Where do resources reside?
    A: COMPONENTS
  3. What Type of update must you do if the product code and the version of an application installation changes?
    A: MAJOR UPGRADE
  4. Files added to your installation acquire the attributes (such as hidden or read only) of the original files stored where?
    A: YOUR HARDDRIVE
  5. In Which installation sequences should you place install MSI custom actions?
    A: EXECUTE DIFFERED
  6. What is a Primary Key?
    A: Unique identifier that identifies a record in a table from other records...
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Identifying Installation Failure Through CAs Using MSI Logs
R-Vijay | 04 Oct 2007 | 0 comments

When an installation fails, it may be because of the Custom Action(s) it contains. Here's how to examine the MSI logs to troubleshoot the problem.

Generate the MSI log and search for RETURN VALUE 3. This will help you identify and solve the problem in some cases.

Further, the possible Return Values for CAs are:

Value Description

  • 0 Action not invoked; most likely does not exist.
  • 1 Completed actions successfully.
  • 2 User terminated prematurely.
  • 3 Unrecoverable error occurred.
  • 4 Sequence suspended, to be resumed later.

Also note that there is an MSI verbose log parsing tool (wilogutl.exe) in the Windows Installer PSDK that is also very useful in locating errors inside verbose log files.

This tool is more thorough in identifying errors -- just browse to the log file, wait for it to parse the whole log and then read the output it produces.

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Wrapping MSI and MST
ropree | 04 Oct 2007 | 2 comments

Here are the steps I followed to create an .EXE which contains MSI and MST. Hopefully this will help other application packagers faced with the same challenge.

  1. Launch WPS
  2. In Tools, double click on Windows Installer Editor.
  3. Double click on Run Wise Script from Installation at "Untitled -- Windows Installer Editor."
    1. Create a new WSE.
    2. Save it in the same location as the package files or on the desktop.
    3. Close Windows Installer Editor screen.
  4. Launch the .wse file just created.
  5. On the left pane, double click on Install File(s).
    1. Select the source where the MSI is located (use the location from where Authenticated Users can get to such as the WISE sharepoint).
    2. Destination should be the temp directory on the user's PC.
    3. Select the other options as they apply for e.g. check of '...
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Concurrent Installations: Significance and Directions
R-Vijay | 04 Oct 2007 | 0 comments

Concurrent Installations, also called Nested Installations, install another Windows Installer package during a currently running installation.

The use of concurrent installations is not a good practice because they are difficult for customers to service. Patching and upgrading may not work with concurrent installations. The recommended alternative to using concurrent installations is to instead use a setup application and external UI handler to install several Windows Installer packages sequentially.

Concurrent installations are sometimes used in controlled corporate environments to install applications that are not intended for the public.

Follow these guidelines if you decide to use concurrent installations.

  • Do not use concurrent installations to install or update a shipping product.
  • Concurrent installations should not share components.
  • An administrative installation should not contain a concurrent installation...
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Source Resiliency
WiseUser | 03 Oct 2007 | 3 comments

Source Resiliency: Applications that rely on network resources for installation-on-demand are susceptible to source failures if the source location should change for any reason or become damaged.

The Microsoft® Windows® Installer provides source resiliency for features that are installed on-demand by using a source list.

The source list contains the locations searched by the installer for installation packages. The entries in this list can be

1) Network locations
2) Uniform Resource Locators (URLs),
3) Compact discs.

If one of these sources fails, the installer can quickly and seamlessly try the next.

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Capture Methodologies: SmartMonitor and Snapshot
R-Vijay | 03 Oct 2007 | 0 comments

Here's a nice tip that explains the advantages (and disadvantages) of two capture mechanisms and how to use them both to create the best possible installation packages.

SmartMonitor

This Setup Capture mechanism monitors and records the installation's operations as they happen. This method is faster than snapshot comparisons, because it doesn't require a time-consuming scan of the computer. SmartMonitor records the following operations:

  1. Copying, moving, deleting, or opening a file.
  2. Replacing files even if they are the same size, modification date, and version.
  3. Creating or removing a directory.
  4. Creating, starting, stopping, or deleting a service.
  5. Setting or deleting a registry value, creating or deleting a registry key.
  6. Overwriting existing registry keys with the same value.
  7. Installing ODBC drivers or configuring ODBC data sources.
  8. Changing .INI files regardless of their...
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Component Rules
R-Vijay | 02 Oct 2007 | 1 comment

Components are collections of resources that are always installed or removed as a unit from a user's system. A resource can be a file, registry key, shortcut, or anything else that may be installed. Every component is assigned a unique component code GUID.

Few Component Rules are listed below:

  1. Two components must not have the same key path file. The key path value points to a particular file or folder belonging to the component that the installer uses to detect the component. If two components had the same key path file, the installer would be unable to distinguish which component is installed.
  2. No file, registry entry, shortcut, or other resources should ever be shipped as a member of more than one component. This applies across products, product versions, and companies.
  3. ...
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