Windows Installer Team Blog

Developing for Windows 7

I recently came across several resources that are available from Microsoft to help developers get...

Author: zhakim Date: 09/11/2009

Windows 7 Taskbar support with the MsiShortcutProperty table

Starting with Windows 7, Windows Installer enables native support for setting properties on...

Author: zhakim Date: 09/02/2009

Authoring a single package for Per-User or Per-Machine Installation context in Windows 7

Prior to the introduction of UAC in Windows Vista, setup authors were able to create a single...

Author: zhakim Date: 09/02/2009

Latest SDK for Windows Installer 5.0

The RTM release of the Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is now available for...

Author: zhakim Date: 08/12/2009

MSI 4.5 natively included with SP2 for Windows Vista & Server 2008

As you may already know that Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista (SP2) is...

Author: zhakim Date: 08/12/2009

Windows 7 released to manufacturing

As some of you may have already heard, Windows 7 has now been released to manufacturing! Read the...

Author: zhakim Date: 07/31/2009

Adopting Windows Installer 4.5

It's been a few months now since the Windows Installer 4.5 redistributable was released [link]. Over...

Author: zhakim Date: 03/05/2009

Enhanced Permissions Setting with Windows Installer 5.0

Setting appropriate permissions for an object is one of the core operations in creating an...

Author: zhakim Date: 03/05/2009

Enhanced Service Configuration with Windows Installer 5.0

In Windows 7, Windows Installer provides enhanced native support for setup authors to configure...

Author: zhakim Date: 03/05/2009

MSI 5.0 in Windows 7 Beta

Windows Installer version 5.0 is included in Windows 7 Beta. The MSDN documentation section "What's...

Author: zhakim Date: 02/10/2009

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...

Author: zhakim Date: 12/05/2008

Take the Windows Application Platform Team survey

Hey all, The Windows engineering teams are putting together plans for how application installation...

Author: zhakim Date: 11/20/2008

Did you miss PDC 2008?

Hey everyone -- In case you missed my presentation at PDC 2008 in Los Angeles last weekend, the...

Author: zhakim Date: 11/05/2008

Windows Installer 4.5 versions

As you all may already know the final release of the Windows Installer 4.5 Redistributable and SDK...

Author: zhakim Date: 06/06/2008

Introduction for Zainab Hakim - An update

Hi all, It was recently pointed out to me that I had not yet updated my introduction post. So I...

Author: zhakim Date: 06/06/2008

Windows Installer 4.5 is now available!

I am pleased to announce that the final release of the Windows Installer 4.5 Redistributable and SDK...

Author: zhakim Date: 06/03/2008

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...

Author: zhakim Date: 05/29/2008

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...

Author: zhakim Date: 05/01/2008

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...

Author: zhakim Date: 04/29/2008

We're Hiring!

The Windows Installer (MSI) team is part of the rapidly-growing Windows Application Platform (WAP)...

Author: zhakim Date: 04/26/2008

Join us at TechEd 2008!

Hello Everyone -- The schedules for Microsoft TechEd 2008 in sunny Orlando, Florida have recently...

Author: zhakim Date: 04/25/2008

Issues with Patchwiz.dll v4.0

Issue Description Performing any of the following operations using patchwiz.dll v4.0 could result in...

Author: zhakim Date: 04/21/2008

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...

Author: zhakim Date: 04/03/2008

Windows Installer 4.5 Transaction Enhancements: Multi Package Transaction

Why Multi Package Transaction? Application vendors who compose their applications from multiple MSI...

Author: zhakim Date: 04/03/2008

Windows Installer (MSI) 4.5 Technical Chat

Windows Installer 4.5 chat is due in another two days. The MSDN Technical Chat is scheduled on April...

Author: zhakim Date: 04/01/2008

Windows Installer 4.5 UI Enhancements: Embedded UI

Why Embedded UI? Windows Installer’s existing internal UI does not provide the flexibility necessary...

Author: zhakim Date: 04/01/2008

Windows Installer 4.5 Servicing Enhancements: Shared Components and Patch Uninstall

Why do I care about shared component patch uninstalls? There has been an ask from Windows Installer...

Author: zhakim Date: 03/29/2008

Windows Installer 4.5 Servicing Enhancements: Patch Uninstall Custom Actions

In this blog post, I will provide an overview on what you can do with the new patch uninstall custom...

Author: zhakim Date: 03/25/2008

Windows Installer 4.5 Beta 2 Now Available!

Hello everyone -- I am pleased to announce that Windows Installer 4.5 Beta 2 is now available from...

Author: zhakim Date: 03/21/2008

Windows Installer 4.5 beta 2 - coming soon (and a chat too!)

Hello everyone! First off, I wanted to let you know that I have re-joined the Windows Installer...

Author: zhakim Date: 03/07/2008

Growing Windows Installer Experts through Troubleshooting

Windows Installer expert Dennis Bareis responded to a previous post, Request for suggestions for...

Author: zhakim Date: 01/19/2008

Request for suggestions for updating the 1603 KB article?

Feedback on our existing Knowledge Base article for the error 1603 is that 'it is not very useful.'...

Author: zhakim Date: 01/18/2008

Tips to find Windows Installer specific product support

Customers have mentioned having trouble finding Windows Installer support when they try to navigate...

Author: zhakim Date: 01/03/2008

Release date for MSI 4.5 now looks like Q2-ish

Back on September 1st, I answered the question When will Windows Installer 4.5 be RTM-ed? with Q1 of...

Author: zhakim Date: 12/10/2007

What is the protocol for releasing beta software that depends on Windows Installer 4.5 beta?

A question been raised in a couple of contexts is the protocol for shipping a beta on beta software....

Author: zhakim Date: 10/04/2007

What happened to Windows Installer 4.1?

For a time, there was a release named Windows Installer 4.1 on the MSDN topic Released Versions of...

Author: zhakim Date: 10/01/2007

Speaking at Packaging Event 2007 in Amsterdam on October 11th

The Packaging Event 2007 in Amsterdam has kindly invited the Windows Installer team to speak on...

Author: zhakim Date: 10/01/2007

Will there be an updated ICE and _Validation table that supports the schema changes?

Our friends with WiX (principally blogger Rob Mensching) had some questions about the schema...

Author: zhakim Date: 09/16/2007

Did you really mean to build a patching feature that we can't patch to because of a schema change?

Our friends with WiX (principally bloggers Rob Mensching and Heath Stewart) had some questions about...

Author: zhakim Date: 09/16/2007

MSDN posted Windows Installer 4.5 Beta documentation

Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) now contains the Windows Installer 4.5 beta documentation. From...

Author: zhakim Date: 09/16/2007

Where is good, comprehensive training covering the Windows Installer?

Our friend and blogger Aaron Stebner asked on behalf of his readers whether the Windows Installer...

Author: zhakim Date: 09/08/2007

A starting point for Windows Installer 4.5 embedded UI?

A few questions have come in asking for a starting point for building a Windows Installer 4.5...

Author: zhakim Date: 09/08/2007

What Windows platforms will Windows Installer 4.5 ship in?

Our friends at InstallShield had some questions about schedule and platforms. One of those questions...

Author: zhakim Date: 09/01/2007

When will Windows Installer 4.5 be RTM-ed?

Our friends at InstallShield had some questions about schedule and platforms. One of those questions...

Author: zhakim Date: 09/01/2007

Do the new API's Msi(Begin/Join/End)Transaction work with external UI as well as the new internal UI?

Our friends at InstallAware had some questions on issues we have yet to answer in the beta MSI.CHM....

Author: zhakim Date: 08/25/2007

Is it possible to silently run the Vista installation package for MSI 4.5?

Our friends at InstallAware had some questions on issues we have yet to answer in the beta MSI.CHM....

Author: zhakim Date: 08/25/2007

Can I talk about the Windows Installer 4.5 Beta now? Yes, please

A number of Windows Installer enthusiasts have asked whether they can talk about the Windows...

Author: zhakim Date: 08/25/2007

Windows Installer 4.5 Beta is Now Posted

The Windows Installer 4.5 Beta binaries, CHM, headers, and libs are all now accessible at...

Author: zhakim Date: 08/25/2007

Walkthrough for Signing up for Windows Installer 4.5 Beta

Here's a walkthrough of the process I've used to signup for the Windows Installer 4.5 Beta 1) go to...

Author: zhakim Date: 08/21/2007

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