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sandersonpj
Level 5
‎Jun 05, 2009 07:47 AM

Relocate feature/component

Hi,

Does anyone know of a way to change the directory a feature/component is installed into *after* installation? For instance, if a user wants to free up some disk space on the disk they originally selected.

I'm using a basic MSI and the only obvious way seems to be to uninstall and reinstall the feature. This is complicated and unwelcome because of configuration information having to be backed off and restored afterwards (amongst other things).

I tried running a command line with REINSTALL=feature1 DEST1=new-directory where DEST1 is the directory table entry used by feature1. However, DEST1 just gets reset by CostFinalize and the feature stays where it is.

Thanks
Phil
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RobertDickau
Flexera Alumni
‎Jun 10, 2009 08:33 AM

Right, I believe Windows Installer requires the uninstall-and-reinstall. From the help topic "Changing the Target Location for a Directory":
  • Do not attempt to change the target directory path if some components that use the path are already installed for the current user or for a different user.
  • Do not attempt to change the target directory path during a Maintenance Installation.
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sandersonpj
Level 5
‎Jun 10, 2009 08:49 AM

Thanks for that, Robert. Well spotted in finding that topic -- I must have missed it somehow.

I can now reply to the designer who wondered why we couldn't just copy the files and "tell the installer to off".

Phil
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