Custom Action will not Execute

[Peter_Kosenko]

I am baffled. I have a custom action that is supposed to write and XML file. It has no conditions placed on it yet, but it WILL NOT EXECUTE. The perverted thing is that it executes during UNINSTALL. But it will not execute during INSTALL. AGGRAVATING. I am on XP. The action is specified to run once immediately in the execute sequence.

Why would an action run during uninstall but not install? Screwed up.

[#2]

Hi, Peter

You can set the condition for your CA:

Not Installed (Execute during install )
Installed (Execute during uninstall and maintenance)
REMOVE = "ALL" (Execute during uninstall)

Hope that helps.

Kevin

[KathyMorey]

Have you tried running the install with a log file to see if it gives you any explanation as to why the action is not running?

[Peter_Kosenko]

I'm starting by using a "Not Installed" condition because I want the file to be written only during installation anyway. Perhaps having a condition will "wake up" the custom action from its lethargic sleep (it is like my pothead nephew in Northern California, who smokes weed all day, refuses to look for a job, and never pays his bills . . . a worthless dysfunctional parasite).

Then if that doesn't work, I'll generate and and check out the verbose log. Sometimes that isn't very helpful, I have found. But I need to check it.

Thanks

[Peter_Kosenko]

MSI (s) (90:CC) [13:34:32:366]: Doing action: WriteSEERMetricsXMLFile
Action 13:34:32: WriteSEERMetricsXMLFile.
Action start 13:34:32: WriteSEERMetricsXMLFile.
MSI (s) (90:CC) [13:34:32:366]: Skipping action due to msidbCustomActionTypeFirstSequence option.
Action ended 13:34:32: WriteSEERMetricsXMLFile. Return value 0.

What is msidbCustomActionTypeFirstSequence ?

That seems to be what is derailing the action.

I have not encountered that before.

http://www.ureader.com/msg/1653396.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/msi/setup/custom_action_execution_scheduling_options.asp

This SHOULD NOT BE OCCURING. The action is scheduled to execute ONCE, but it exists ONLY in the Execute Sequence. It is NOT configured for the UI sequence and clearly ISN'T running there. And the fact that it ran okay during uninstall should be indication enough that it is NOT erroneously configured for execute only once.

This looks suspiciously like a BUG in MSI.

OR: I don't NEED "Execute only once" since it is already ONLY in one sequence. It seems like that may be what is confusing the MSI engine. But you can see WHY one would want to "execute only once," since you don't want to try to overwrite a file that you just wrote.

[Peter_Kosenko]

Okay, here's what's up.

"Run once" doesn't really mean "run once." It means "run once if you find the action scheduled in more that one sequence . . . but don't run at all if you find it scheduled in one sequence" (the retarded part).

So, if you configure an action in only one sequence, watch out for leaving it configured to "run once." Your human logic will stare at it and say, "Okay, nothing wrong with that." But some idiot MSI programmer at Microsoft who lives in Wonderland, invented his or her own conception of logic in which "run once" doesn't really mean "run once."

[Kelter]

LOL! Oh, man, Peter...i ran into this a little while ago, (sorry i didn't check the forum between 1/6 and now) and had a similar reaction, but not quite as funny. In my case the action was scheduled in both sequences, but it wouldn't run at all if the installation was run silently. I think the fault here is with IS people for their choice of wording in labeling the option, which the MSI people called msidbCustomActionTypeFirstSequence.