Installation Advice For Locked-Down Windows 7 System
I apologize in advance if this is newbie question....
I am looking for some advice regarding the logic used to create an installer, which will be repeatedly used (for new, incremental versions of our software) on locked-down Windows 7 systems.
Let me explain a few things on what we do today:
1. We use InstallShield to build all our OEM installer packages
2. We purchased a digital signing certificate from Comodo Security Services and this is used to sign the installer
3. Based upon InstallShield's recommendations, we update the Product Code and Package Code for each new version of our software, when building a new installer. We never change the Upgrade Code as this is what allows the Windows installer service to upgrade our software without alerting the user it is already installed. Essentially, as long as the Upgrade Code remains the same through all our installer builds, each new one simply overwrites the prior installation like it was never there.
So, based upon this, if the original installation of our Client:
1. Used the signed installer
2. Used an administrative password to install
Are we able to run any new installer (created with the same signing certificate) and we will not require elevated privileges, no matter how locked down the Windows 7 PC is?
Nope, that's not how Windows works. Windows Installer supports two methods that allow for installations that don't require the end user to elevate. One is the installation of a package that has been advertised by an administrator; the second is through UAC Patching. UAC Patching shares most of the end-user experience that you describe, but will likely not handle the major upgrade scenario you described using. Furthermore it's possible for administators to disallow UAC patching through the DisableLUAPatching policy.
