Megh Neupane

Products: SMS 2003, SCCM 2007

Issue: SMS Advanced Client Installation

When you try to install SMS Advanced Client on a system, you receive an error log at ccmsetup.log file referring –

MSI: SMS Advanced Client does not support per-user installations

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The Microsoft® Windows® Installer (MSI) is the application installation and configuration service for Windows. Version 4.5 of the Windows Installer has several new features, including:

• Multiple Package Transaction: In a multiple package transaction, you can create a single transaction from multiple packages. In a multiple package transaction, a chainer is used to dynamically include packages in the transaction. If any of the packages do not install as expected, you can roll back the installation.

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In earlier versions of Windows, it might have been necessary to re-register the Windows Installer files in the registry (an example) if those files became damaged or corrupt. Beginning Windows Vista, damaged system files needed by Windows Installer can be repaired automatically.

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Nominations are being accepted for Windows Installer 4.5 Beta. Windows Installer Team claims that the Windows Installer 4.5 beta will deliver new functionality for multiple package products and for servicing complex products. Windows Installer 4.5 will pull down level the features from the OS version independent features in the Windows Installer 4.0 release that shipped only in Windows Vista and will ship in Windows Server 2008. Windows Installer 4.5 is expected to ship as a redistributable down level to Windows XP SP2 and up.

The draft white paper “Agility Trends in Package Software” is posted at Microsoft Connect.  The draft is a part of the information offered to the tools vendors on the Live Meeting call last month, Robert Flaming expands.

A complete set of Windows Installer 4.5 beta documents are expected to be available on July, Binary Download of the product to be available on August 07.

Sign-Up for Beta Nominations

It appears a new version of Windows Installer 4.1 is on the horizon. On May 04, Windows Installer Team at Microsoft posted Invitation to Windows Installer Tools Vendors for a Live Meeting Event at their blog web site saying, "At this event we’ll discuss the next step for the Windows Installer so you can consider the fit to your plans". Couple of days ago at MSDN pages for Windows Installer, I found the following:

Windows Installer 4.1 updates Windows Installer 4.0 without adding any new features and is available in Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008. [Link]

So when can we expect the new version of Windows Installer 4.1 to be available (also obviously as a redistributable upgrade to current Windows Installer 4.0 on Vista)? Microsoft hasn’t issued a press release with that pronouncement. Instead, it notified its Technology Adoption Partner testers of it via an e-mail regarding the imminent start of the Vista SP1 testing program where they mention:

The Technology Adoption Program (TAP) is looking for customers and partners actively test and provide feedback on Windows Vista SP1 to help us prepare for its release in the second half of CY07.

There will definitely be sessions as like Webcasts, blogs, documentation’s etc from Windows Installer Team at Microsoft about the new release, I will keep them posted as soon as I find more details. For now, either subscribe for RSS feeds or bookmark this site.

Versions of Windows Installer & Downloads

1. Windows Installer custom action code must be compatible with Data Execution Prevention in Windows Vista

2. Notification message when you remove or repair a program in Windows Vista: “An unidentified program wants to access your computer”

These articles were discussed earlier by Windows Installer Team as future candidates to be included at Microsoft Knowledge Base. As the team explains, a future scheduled to be published Knowledge Base article titled “ElevationShield will not show during maintenance mode on a Windows Installer native UI PushButton control” is already on it’s queue.

As a latest addition for “tutorials” for how to create Windows Installer Packages using Visual Studio, author Prabhakar Manikonda at CodeGuru has simplified some steps involved to help .NET programmers get used to this easy-to-setup program that allows to deploy applications even without any knowledge of writing setup scripts.

With screenshots and detailed 5-step process, author concludes, “I hope that many of the .NET developers who use traditional setup script programs will find this an easy and simple way to deploy your software. More than that, if you got the licensed Visual Studio .NET with you, there is no need to purchase setup applications from other companies because Visual Studio .NET itself offers it to you.”

Visit the Article

Previously, DevInstall had posted an Event relating to Webcast from MSDN: Designing Application Installations for User Account Control with Windows Installer 4.0 in Windows Vista. If you missed the live Webcast which was on October 18, MSDN has now made that available on-demand.

What does the Webcast talk about? Some highlights?

1. User Account Control (UAC) in Vista and Windows Installer 4.0 Integration
2. Signing Your Package – some new dialogs
3. Credential Prompt-Free Patching
4. Adding the "Shield" to your User Interface
5. When does elevation happen?
6. Precautions when using AdminUser
7. A word about Custom Actions (CAs)
8. ALLUSERS Property Under UAC
9. Creating a True "Per-User" Package
10. Using a Setup.exe Bootstrapper
11. Testing your Package

In addition, the on-going Q/A session during the presentation was highly informational. Some highlights from the session:

…

Question: We don’t want to make the customer go through the UI and then abort in the Execute sequence if Privileged is False. What can we check in the UI sequence to abort?

Answer: The UAC credential prompt is a one way door. There is no way to tell in advance whether the user will approve the credential prompt. Once the credential prompt is approved you are running as administrator. This is a constraint of UAC.

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Question: On Vista, is there a way to run an elevated install silentley? i.e: When using /qb Vista do shows the elevation dailog request – but also shows the progress bar. When using /qn – nothing happens … Is’nt a way of metigation between the two switches ??

Answer: The UAC functionality does not allow elevate silently. The recommendation from the UAC team is to 1) run from a managability tool such as SMS, Altiris, Tivoli, etc 2) run from an elevated command line 3) (for automated testing in development only) write a service that elevates a command line when passed.

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Question: There’s some confusion about whether the "no impersonate" bit can be used in the UI sequence. Docs imply it only applies to deferred custom actions.

Answer: NoImpersonate can not be used in the UI Sequence or in the InstallExecuteSequence outside of the script. To have a custom action run inside the script, one needs to mark their custom action deferred.

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Question: So where does ALLUSERS=2 bounce to?
Answer: ALLUSERS==1.

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And many more?This is a strong recommendation to Application Developers, Installation Developers and also for Application Packagers.

Presenter: Tyler Robinson, Lead Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Session Q/A: Robert Flaming, Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Watch this on-demand Webcast ||| Read the Full Session Chat Transcript

Windows Installer Team has also scheduled next similar webcast for October 30, 2006 Designing Software Installations for Windows Vista Using Windows Installer 4.0.

Additional Resources:
If you are more interested to learn about UAC in Vista and Windows Installer 4.0, Robert Flaming published a series of articles earlier: Understanding UAC in Vista and Windows Installer. Uday Shivaswamy’s earlier webcast about Modifying Your Applications to Run on Windows Vista is an additional support to understand in the sequence. There is also an upcoming event about 10 More Commandments for Software Packaging: Focus on Vista Migration, you may find it more helpful in the context.