Windows Installer Team Blog

Update to MSI 4.5 (KB958655)

Hello everyone,

We wanted to let you know that a non-security QFE was released recently for MSI 4.5 redistributable, available via Microsoft download center (Search for KB958655). The KB article contains information on the symptoms and cause of the issue. The intent of this post is to clarify some concerns/questions you may have that are necessarily not addressed via the KB article. Additionally, we will monitor this post, so feel free to post comments.

Also as noted in the KB article, you are most likely to be affected by this issue during installation of SQL Server 2008 or during upgrade from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008.

Some FAQs:

1.       I already have MSI 4.5 on my machine. Do I need to install this update?

It’s optional. As mentioned above, this issue is hit only in rare cases, so it’s not absolutely critical for you to install this update.

2.       Is this update applicable to all OSes and architecture types?

Yes, this update is applicable to all supported OSes and architecture types as the original MSI 4.5 redistributable. Vista RTM/SP1, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP SP2/SP3, and Windows Server 2003 SP1/SP2.

3.       Is it true that on Vista & above platforms, I can install this update even if MSI 4.5 redist is NOT present on my machine?

Yes. The QFE packages for Vista & above platforms are just like a refresh to the original MSI 4.5 redist. It targets both MSI versions 4.0 and 4.5. If MSI version on the machine is 4.0, the QFE installs just like the original redist package, while if MSI version is already 4.5 then only the affected binaries are updated. So if you have not already installed 4.5, you can choose to do so by installing this QFE package directly.

4.       I have removed the MSI 4.5 redistributable from my Vista machine, but why is the MSI version on my machine still 4.5?

If MSI 4.5 redist is uninstalled, the Windows Installer version on the machine will still remain 4.5 as long as this QFE is present. If MSI 4.5 redist is uninstalled followed by removal of the QFE, only then the Windows Installer version on your machine will go back to 4.0.

5.       Are these changes (specifically #3 and #4 above) also applicable to Windows XP and Windows Server 2003?

No. For these Operating systems, the QFE package will only be applicable if you have already installed MSI 4.5 redist on your machine. Also if you later try to uninstall MSI 4.5, you will be warned about dependent QFEs still existing and be asked to remove these manually.

6.       What is the expected version of Windows Installer after I install this QFE?

[Author: Zainab Hakim]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm.

Take the Windows Application Platform Team survey

Hey all,

The Windows engineering teams are putting together plans for how application installation and servicing will work in future versions of the operating system. We would like to take this opportunity to hear from you to better understand your current pain points and needs going forward.

We have put together a survey to collect your valuable feedback. We hope you will take this opportunity to tell Microsoft what you feel are the needs and priorities to take into consideration to improve the overall application setup & deployment experience.

Sincerely,

Windows Application Platform team

[Author: Zainab Hakim]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm.

Did you miss PDC 2008?

Hey everyone --

In case you missed my presentation at PDC 2008 in Los Angeles last weekend, the streaming version is now available online! This talk covers recent changes in Windows Installer and ClickOnce, plus information about upcoming changes in Windows 7.

http://channel9.msdn.com/pdc2008/PC42/

[Author: Tyler Robinson]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm.

Windows Installer 4.5 versions

The current version of Windows Installer is in the form; major.minor.build.update. We have received a few questions regarding the differences in the "build" and "update" fields of the version of Windows Installer 4.5 installed across different supported Windows Operating Systems . I will try to explain what these differences are and why they are expected.

The Windows Installer 4.5 redistributable can install on the following Windows Operating Systems:

Windows Vista RTM build number is 6000, while Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 RTM are build number 6001. Hence, to comply with the different OS build numbers and applicability logic on Vista RTM and Vista SP1/Server 2008 operating systems, the Windows Installer binaries are built from the Vista RTM and Vista SP1 servicing branches respectively.

The "update" field is based on the OS revision number.  Since the redistributable packages to install Window Installer 4.5 on the different target operating systems are built from different Windows servicing branches, the revision number is different for each.

However, the different versions have no effect on the functionality provided by Windows Installer 4.5.

[Author: Zainab Hakim]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm.

Introduction for Zainab Hakim

Hi, I'm Zainab (pronounced Zay'nab) and I am the test engineer for the Windows Installer (MSI) team. I have been a part of the MSI team for just a little under 3 years now. I love coming in every day to my job and working on the technology that significantly affects a variety of customers worldwide and enables them to provide a great installation and configuration experience of their applications.

I served as the test lead for Windows Installer 4.5 out-of-band release, which is the latest release of Windows Installer. This article describes all the new and improved features of Windows Installer 4.5. 

In addition to contributing to the Windows Installer Team blog <grin>, I also look forward to the future challenges in the application deployment space and working on the next generation application model.

Windows Installer 4.5 is now available!

Join us at TechEd 2008! (part 2)

Members of the Windows Installer team will be at both the TechEd Developers (June 3-6) and TechEd IT Professionals (June 10-13) conferences in sunny Orlando, Florida. For information about our Breakout and Interactive Theatre Sessions, please see my previous post. In addition to the scheduled sessions, we will be staffing the Technical Learning Center (TLC) for both conferences. Information on the TLC area for the Developers conference is available here and information on the TLC area for the IT Professionals conference is available here.  

Robert Flaming and Hemchander Sannidhanam will be manning the TLC area at the Developers conference. You will be able to find them at the Microsoft Product Demo Station area during the following times:

·         Robert Flaming – Windows Presentation Foundation

o   June 03 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

o   June 03 11:45 AM - 2:45 PM

o   June 03 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM

o   June 04 8:15 AM - 11:45 AM

o   June 04 11:30 AM - 2:45 PM

o   June 04 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM

o   June 05 8:15 AM - 11:45 AM

·         Hemchander Sannidhanam - .NET Framework

o    June 03 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

o    June 03 11:45 AM - 2:45 PM

o    June 04 8:15 AM - 11:45 AM

o    June 04 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM

o    June 06 11:30 AM - 2:45 PM

o    June 06 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM        

Tyler Robinson and Ken Wong will be manning the TLC area at the IT Professionals conference. You will be able to find them at the Microsoft Product Demo Station area during the following times:

·         Tyler Robinson – Vista Application Compatibility and Deployment

o   June 10 11:45 AM – 2:45 PM

o   June 11 11:45 AM – 2:45 PM

·         Ken Wong – Vista Application Compatibility and Deployment

o    June 10 11:45 AM - 2:45 PM

o    June 11 8:15 AM - 11:45 AM

o    June 11 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM

o    June 12 8:15 AM - 11:45 AM

o   June 12 11:30 AM - 2:45 PM

See you there!

[Author: Tyler Robinson]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm.

What changed in Windows Installer 4.5?

Apart from the feature work that we did in Windows Installer 4.5, we made a few changes to Windows Installer to address some user feedback or pain points. Here's some of the important issues that were addressed:

1. Added SeBackupPrivilige back to the Windows Installer service. This sould help any custom actions that needed this privilige like the ones that were reported on the Vista Compatability Team blog.
2. Some case sensitive service name comparisions in InstallValidate used to result in an unnecessary files-in-use message on Vista. This is now fixed in Windows Installer 4.5.
3. When a patch added new content in the form of a new component and that patch was being uninstalled, we used to remove that content, even if that content is shared by other products. This is now fixed in Windows Installer 4.5.

In addition to this, since Windows Installer 4.5 is the latest release of Windows Installer, it will have all the fixes and feature work that we did till Vista SP1.

[Author: Hemchander  Sannidhanam]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm.

What changed in Windows Installer (MSI) in Windows Vista Service Pack 1?

Stefan Krueger met with us a few weeks ago for the Microsoft MVP Global Summit. Among the many topics we discussed was a suggestion from Stefan that we use the team’s blog to communicate relevant bug fixes that we make in our releases. This posting is the result of that suggestion. (Thanks, Stefan!)

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 was recently released and you may have noticed that the version of MSI on the system has incremented to 4.0.6001.18000. Below you will find a list of the most important issues that we addressed in Service Pack 1 and the SDK.

Updates that can be found in Windows Vista Service Pack 1:

·         User Shortcuts in Redirected Start Menu Do Not Get Removed On App Uninstall

If you attempt to uninstall an application that was installed for a roaming user, you may receive error 1910 and the shortcuts from the start menu will not get removed.

·         Win32_product does not work on vista when more than one per-user application is installed

Queries to the Win32_Product WMI class will fail if the machine has at least 2 per-user applications installed with a generic failure error.

Updates that can be found in the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008:

·         PatchWiz 4.0 ignores the IgnoreMissingSrcFile property

This property in the TargetImages Table is often used to reduce the time necessary to generate a patch, but the property was ignored in patchwiz 4.0 that was included in the Windows Vista SDK.

·         Patchwiz 4.0 does not recreate the Patch table if dropped

Previous versions of patchwiz would automatically recreate critical tables (eg: Patch, PatchPackage) if they were dropped in the patch. Patchwiz 4.0 did not include this behavior, which caused failures in some cases.

·         PatchWiz 4.0 does not support authoring of OptimizeCA MsiPatchMetadata property

The OptimizeCA property can be included in the MsiPatchMetadata of a MSP to restrict custom action usage and improve performance during patch application. Using this property with patchwiz 4.0 caused a build failure.

·         PatchWiz 4.0 is unable to build patch for products with large number of files (>32767)

Previous versions of patchwiz supported building patches with a large number of files, but patchwiz 4.0 did not.

·         Orca crashes when a transform is generated and a row is deleted from the current table

Orca crashes if the user attempts to generate a new transform and deletes a row from an existing table.  (Using Orca, select New Transform, then delete a row from a table).

·         ICE30 does not display all ICE errors

ICE30 only detects a subset of the total number of SFN/LFN collisions for components that contain files.

[Author: Tyler Robinson]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm.

We're Hiring!

The Windows Installer (MSI) team is part of the rapidly-growing Windows Application Platform (WAP) team here at Microsoft. We currently have several openings for talented Program Managers with real-world knowledge of the Application Deployment, Platform and/or related Tools space.

The positions we have open are job codes 225586, 225368, 228382, 223260, and 226806. (Please go to the Microsoft Career web site and log in before clicking on these links.) If you think you might be a good fit for any of these positions, please apply through Microsoft’s Career web site.

[Author: Tyler Robinson]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm.

Join us at TechEd 2008!

Hello Everyone --

The schedules for Microsoft TechEd 2008 in sunny Orlando, Florida have recently been posted and I am pleased to announce that we will have FOUR Windows Installer-related sessions: two during the Developers Conference June 3-6 and two during the IT Professionals Conference June 10-13.

IT Professionals Conference Sessions:

Developers Conference Sessions:

If you plan to attend TechEd, please attend our sessions and say HI to myself, Ken, Hem and Robert!

[Author: Tyler Robinson]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm.

Issues with Patchwiz.dll v4.0

Issue Description

Performing any of the following operations using patchwiz.dll v4.0 could result in data loss in the root directory:

1.       UiCreatePatchPackage is called with the hwndStatus parameter set to NULL OR

2.       UiCreatePatchPackageEx is called with the hwndStatus parameter set to NULL and dwFlags set to 0x8000 OR

3.       Using msimsp.exe v3.0 to create Windows Installer patches while using patchwiz.dll v4.0.

Cause

When invalid parameters are supplied to UiCreatePatchPackageEx API, it bails out with an error code. However, while returning, the API erroneously uses partially initialized data to clean up the temporary directory. This partially initialized data results in deleting the writeable data in the root drive.

Resolutions

There are four resolutions for this issue currently:

1.       Do not use patchwiz.dll v4.0 to call UiCreatePatchPackage and UiCreatePatchPackageEx with these parameters.

2.       Get the latest patchwiz.dll v4.5 from the Windows Installer 4.5 Beta program. The latest version of patchwiz.dll there fixes the data loss issue mentioned in this blog. However, the call to UiCreatePatchPackage with hwndStatus parameter set to NULL will fail to create a patch. We understand that this is a regression. It will be fixed in Windows Installer 4.5 RTM.

3.       Use patchwiz.dll v3.1.

4.       Use msimsp.exe v4.0 to create Windows Installer patches while using patchwiz.dll v4.0 or higher.

[Author: Hemchander  Sannidhanam]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm.

Windows Installer 4.5 Multi Package Transaction and UAC

What does this blog cover?

With Windows Installer 4.5 support for multi package transaction, the Windows Installer transaction boundary can span more than a single package. Additionally, UAC credential prompts are tied to a package trust boundary. This means, there can be more than one UAC credential prompt per transaction. If you want to use multi-package transactions and don’t want more than one credential prompt, then this blog is for you.

How do I author my packages to not get more than one UAC credential prompt per transaction?

Here’s what you got to do:

1.       Author MsiPackageCertificate table into the package that will be installed first in your multi-package transaction.

2.       Sign all the subsequent packages with one of the certificates listed in the MsiPackageCertificate table.

How does the MsiPackageCertificate table look like?

The MsiPackageCertificate table identifies the possible signer certificates used to digitally sign packages that are part of this product install and do not need separate UAC credential prompt to acquire admin approval. Using this table, setup authors can list the digital certificates that the packages that constitute this product will be signed with.

The table definition is listed below:

Columns

PackageCertificate
The unique identifier for this row in the MsiPackageCertificate Table.

DigitalCertificate_
An external key into the first column of the MsiDigitalCertificate Table. The row indicated in the MsiDigitalCertificate Table contains the binary representation of the signer certificate.

Could you please walk me through on how all of this fits together?

1.       User clicks on a setup.exe.

2.       Setup.exe calls MsiBeginTransaction.

3.       Setup.exe calls MsiInstallProduct to install First.msi that carries an MsiPackageCertificate table that lists the certificates that this package trusts.

4.       Windows Installer puts up a credential prompt for administrator’s consent to install First.msi.

5.       Upon admin consent, Windows Installer goes about installing the product.