I'm having a problem with a multi-instance installation I've created,
specifically using the msiexec /qn and /x options. I'm hoping someone can give
me some insight on the root cause.
Background
The installer I've created uses instance transforms and works fine when
installed using msiexec with the /i option to perform the installation. For
example, the following works:
msiexec /i product.msi COUNTRY=US ENVIRONMENT=PROD
Note that the COUNTRY and ENVIRONMENT properties are used to calculate the
specific transform to use (I've included the relevant WiX code below). I could
have also used the following instead:
msiexec /i product.msi TRANSFORMS=":US_PROD;"
The product shows up with the right instance-specfic description in Programs
and Features (I'm using Windows 2008 R2) and can be properly uninstalled from
there.
Platform = Windows Server 2008 R2
VersionMsi = 5.00
WiX Version = 3.6 Beta
Problem
The problem occurs when I specify the /qn (no user interface) option during
install. Although the correct files and registry entries are created i.e. the
right transform is used for execution, the product is now uninstallable. The
following is an example install command:
msiexec /qn /i product.msi COUNTRY=US ENVIRONMENT=PROD
I've also tried the following with no luck:
msiexec /qn /i product.msi TRANSFORMS=":US_PROD;"
Programs and Features shows the wrong description (not instance-specific) and
trying to uninstall gives the error "This action is only valid for products
that are installed"
Another problem is that uninstall isn't possible using the /x option unless the
product was installed *without* using the /qn option and also that the
TRANSFORMS property is specified during uninstall. For example, the following
works:
msiexec /i product.msi COUNTRY=US ENVIRONMENT=PROD
msiexec /x product.msi TRANSFORMS=":US_PROD;"
The following does not (installs fine, but uninstall fails):
msiexec /i product.msi COUNTRY=US ENVIRONMENT=PROD
msiexec /x product.msi COUNTRY=US ENVIRONMENT=PROD
Analysis
>From the install's debug log, it looks like the top-level, instead of the
>instance-specific, product code is being used to populate the installer
>database. This is also reflected in the description under Programs and
>Features as if the instance-specific transform is being used to actually
>install the files and registry entries, but not to create the installer record.
It seems the product code is being picked up and remembered before any sequence
can kick in and intervene. I could be wrong, but from what I can tell, it
happens every time I see the installer switching to a cached installer.
I have both the InstallUISequence and InstallExecuteSequence elements
specified, but I can't seem to get the appropriate transform to be calculated
and used for install/uninstall.
I've tried scheduling the transform calculation as early in the process as
possible, going so far as to use InstEd to inspect the sequence and adjusting
the WiX accordingly.
Code
Here's some excerpts of the relevant code.
<Property Id="InstanceId" Value="INVALID" />
<InstanceTransforms Property="InstanceId">
<Instance Id="US_PROD" ProductName="Some Product US_PROD 1.0.0.0"
ProductCode="<SOME-GENERATED-GUID-1>" />
<Instance Id="US_QAT1" ProductName="Some Product US_QAT1 1.0.0.0"
ProductCode="<SOME-GENERATED-GUID-2>" />
</InstanceTransforms>
<Property Id="COUNTRY" Value="INVALID" />
<Property Id="ENVIRONMENT" Value="INVALID" />
<Condition Message="COUNTRY and ENVIRONMENT properties must be specified during
installation
Example: msiexec /I <path_to_msi>
COUNTRY="US" ENVIRONMENT="QAT1""><![CDATA[Installed OR
((COUNTRY <> "INVALID") AND (ENVIRONMENT <> "INVALID"))]]></Condition>
<!-- Store the instance-specific product code for uninstall/upgrade of a
specific instance -->
<Property Id="INSTALLED_PRODUCTCODE">
<RegistrySearch Id="INSTALLED_PRODUCTCODE" Type="raw" Root="HKLM"
Key="Software\MyCompany\$(var.ApplicationId)\[InstanceId]" Name="ProductCode" />
</Property>
<!-- Custom actions that configure the installation -->
<CustomAction Id="SetInstanceId" Property="InstanceId"
Value="[COUNTRY]_[ENVIRONMENT]" Execute="firstSequence" />
<CustomAction Id="SetTransforms" Property="TRANSFORMS"
Value="{:[InstanceId];}[TRANSFORMS]" Execute="firstSequence" />
<!-- Set the special WiX property so only the current instance is upgraded or
downgraded -->
<CustomAction Id="SetWixDowngradeDetected" Property="WIX_DOWNGRADE_DETECTED"
Value="{[INSTALLED_PRODUCTCODE]}" Execute="firstSequence" />
<CustomAction Id="SetWixUpgradeDetected" Property="WIX_UPGRADE_DETECTED"
Value="{[INSTALLED_PRODUCTCODE]}" Execute="firstSequence" />
<CustomAction Id="SetMsiNewInstance" Property="MSINEWINSTANCE" Value="1"
Execute="firstSequence" />
<InstallUISequence>
<Custom Action="SetInstanceId" Before="SetTransforms"><![CDATA[InstanceId
= "INVALID"]]></Custom>
<Custom Action="SetTransforms"
Before="FindRelatedProducts"><![CDATA[INSTANCEID <> "INVALID"]]></Custom>
<Custom Action="SetWixDowngradeDetected"
After="AppSearch"><![CDATA[WIX_DOWNGRADE_DETECTED]]></Custom>
<Custom Action="SetWixUpgradeDetected"
After="AppSearch"><![CDATA[WIX_UPGRADE_DETECTED]]></Custom>
<Custom Action="SetMsiNewInstance" Before="ExecuteAction"><![CDATA[ACTION
= "INSTALL"]]></Custom>
</InstallUISequence>
<InstallExecuteSequence>
<Custom Action="SetInstanceId" Before="SetTransforms"><![CDATA[InstanceId
= "INVALID"]]></Custom>
<Custom Action="SetTransforms"
Before="FindRelatedProducts"><![CDATA[INSTANCEID <> "INVALID"]]></Custom>
<Custom Action="SetWixDowngradeDetected"
After="AppSearch"><![CDATA[WIX_DOWNGRADE_DETECTED]]></Custom>
<Custom Action="SetWixUpgradeDetected"
After="AppSearch"><![CDATA[WIX_UPGRADE_DETECTED]]></Custom>
<Custom Action="SetMsiNewInstance"
Before="InstallInitialize"><![CDATA[ACTION = "INSTALL"]]></Custom>
</InstallExecuteSequence>
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