Hi all, We have changed from deploying MSDE (Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine) to using SQL Express 2005 and some of our customers already have MSDE installed and I get errors when installing sql express over MSDE. So MSDE needs to be removed first, rather than ask the user to remove MSDE manually first before starting the install, is there a way for the installer to detect if msde is installed and then install sql express? How?
You probably need to write an .exe that will do your desired task, and run it as a setup prerequisite before installing a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express. You can retrieve the ProductCode of a MSDE installation package from the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\InstanceName\Setup registry key, and then retrive the PackageCode using the MsiGetProductInfo() API. You can uninstall the MSDE by executing the "C:\WINDOWS\system32\msiexec.exe /x {PackageCode}" command line.
