NO and NO as answers for both the questions. No direct conversion is possible. But you can surely install your app using the current Installscript setup and use one of the repackaging tools to create an MSI. ... View more

Installation is a tricky business. You can use various methods of installation wherein: a) You use the OS APIs and install your application b) You use a software that abstracts the step a) and provides you a framework which you can use to accomplish the task. There are softwares like Nullsoft NSIS, Installshield's Installscript etc that do this. c) Use Windows Installer technology which is much more than a simple framework. Will do all that you want and much more... I have some very simple installation tasks and I'm wondering if there's any reason to use installshield when I could just open up visual studio and create a quick windows or console app to do the job (probably) You do not need Installshield or any other software for the prupose. You can simply write an exe, use system APIs and go ahead. But that is not the way. I assume installshield, at the end of the day, just compiles everything into it's own exe a lot like what would come out of visual studio, but with some predefined gui stuff, only I have no idea how to use installshield. This is a wrong assumption. You need to understand installation and the issues involved therein to fully appreciate the work a setup developer does. Various installation techniques exists. And its not simply xcopy. ... View more

We downloaded the repackager tool and even that does not show any option to convert a InstallScript (.ISM) project to a project that can generate an MSI installer First of all, .ism is just a project file. For an analogy, it is similar to the .sln file of the Visual Studio IDE. Its conversion is not going to give you an MSI. You need to create an MSI project for that. Conversions are not possible. ... View more

But am I right that this seems an error by the Windows Installer? As I stated earlier I would expect the exact same result in Situation A en Situation B. Yes, the end result should be same in both situations. Somehow when upgrading(uninstall and install together) the ref count is not properly updated. When manually uninstalling the ref count is properly updated. I do not know what caused the error. Might be an error on Installer's part. Why is the component SHARED property set to Yes by default Ref count is internally maintained by Windows Installer Engine. There is no need for the shared bit in the modern world. Its still there for legacy compatibility. I too am not happy with this default option. So I make it a point to disable it the moment I create a component. ... View more

Read this for analysing your log: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367858(v=vs.85).aspx MSI (s) (B0:4C) [10:04:46:154]: Component: Logistic.exe; Installed: Local; Request: Absent; Action: Null This means no action was taken. That means in an uninstall your file remains as such. In this case you need to check further if you have marked the component as SHARED etc... MSI (s) (D4:30) [10:34:19:765]: Component: Logistic.exe; Installed: Local; Request: Absent; Action: Absent This means your file has been removed. ... View more

The msi file is certainly stored but the cab files are never. So during a repair, it searches for the source files. Also if I delete any of DLLs installed in project installation folder, I get a popup asking for "c:\vikas\XXX.msi" when that DLL is required. Just think about how the installer asked you for "c:\vikas\XXX.msi" and nothing else. By default, the Installer engine takes the installation media path and writes it down in the registry. There is a SOURCELIST property where you can add source paths. During repair, it searches for msi at the locations resolved by SOURCELIST property. If not found, it pops up the message. For some more info read this and see if it helps: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/heaths/archive/2007/10/25/resolvesource-requires-source.aspx ... View more

From Media-->Releases select your release and use the Build Tab to modify the path. ... View more

Good to hear that. ... View more

One way to do so: In the OnMaintUIBefore() event, check for MODIFY. This will ensure that the install is running in Modify mode. After the check use FeatureSetData function to deselect the features you do not wish the user to see. This will modify the tree view and the features deselected will no longer be visible. ... View more

Use LaunchAppAndWait with LAAW_OPTION_WAIT parameter. Get the return value of the exe form LAAW_PARAMETERS struct's nLaunchResult variable. ... View more

You need to configure: Major OR Minor upgrade Minor Upgrade can be packaged as: Full msi or msp PATCH. The keywords for the purpose would be: REINSTALL and REINSTALLMODE The abovementioned public properties need to be mentioned in the command-line to get rid of the error in case you want to stick to your msi package. Something like: msiexec /i REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=vomus Or you would need a bootstrapper to pass REINSTALL and REINSTALLMODE to the msi. You can avoid this by creating a Major Upgrade or a patch. ... View more

Its not about what IDE you use to package the MSI. Its about how the Windows Installer Engine reacts to situations. If it detects keyfile missing from a component, it will repair and replace the keyfile. We can tweak the registry if we understand the various schemes that Installer Engine employs to obscure install data from users(COMPONENT GUIDs and their storage mechanism etc...). But can we be ever sure of what all we might be breaking? ... View more

One possible issue: IF the P drive is open in the explorer, try closing it and rebuilding. ... View more

Were those files installed by your package? If so, you need to find why they are not getting deleted. If they are created during the lifetime of the app on the machine(NOT during install), those files will not be deleted. ... View more

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run An entry here can autostart any app during a boot. But one needs admin privileges during install to write there. This may not work if a standard user account is used to logon after a reboot. I think, an app with "requireAdministrator" in manifest will not start after reboot for any user account. I've found out that in order to make this to work, I need to modify the manifest for the program exe file. In the manifest, I have to change the setting of "requestedExecutionLevel" from "requireAdministrator" to "asInvoker". Unfortunately, this change causes side effects to the program. Just adding a manifest with "asInvoker" will not be enough. "asInvoker" manifest will work fine when coupled with the above method. Even a standard user account will be able to launch the app after reboot. But if your app needs admin rights, this will not work. Unfortunately, this change causes side effects to the program. You may need to refactor code for UAC compliance. I do not think there are acceptable workarounds. ... View more