In Feature Table, Goto Level of the particular feature which as to be disabled and set it to 0
Another way to disable feature is set the feature level to above the value of INSTALLEVEL property value.
If INSTALLLEVEL property value is 100, then feature level has to be any value above 100.
Friday 8 June 2012
File Versioning Rules
At the core of any installer is the actual installation of files. Determining whether to install a file is a complex process. At the highest level, this determination depends on whether the component to which a file belongs is marked for installation. Once determined that a file should be copied, the process is complicated if another file with the same name exists in the target folder. In such situations, making the determination requires a set of rules involving the following properties:
- Version
- Date
- Language
The installer only uses these rules when trying to install a file to a location that already contains a file with the same name. In this case, the Windows Installer uses the following rules, all other things being equal, to determine whether to install.
Highest Version Wins—All other things being equal, the file with the highest version wins, even if the file on the computer has the highest version.
Versioned Files Win—A versioned file gets installed over a nonversioned file.
Favor Product Language—If the file being installed has a different language than the file on the computer, favor the file with the language that matches the product being installed. Language-neutral files are treated as just another language so the product being installed is favored again.
Mismatched Multiple Languages—After factoring out any common languages between the file being installed and the file on the computer, any remaining languages are favored according to what is needed by the product being installed.
Preserve Superset Languages—Preserve the file that supports multiple languages regardless of whether it is already on the computer or is being installed.
Nonversioned Files are User Data—If the Modified date is later than the Create date for the file on the computer, do not install the file because user customizations would be deleted. If the Modified and Create dates are the same, install the file. If the Create date is later than the Modified date, the file is considered unmodified, install the file.
The installation of a Companion File depends not on its own file versioning information, but on the versioning of its companion parent. In the case of Companion Files, the installation is skipped only if the parent file has a higher version. Note that a file that is the key path for its component must not be a companion file because this results in the versioning logic of the key path file being determined by the companion parent file.
Nonversioned Files Using Companion Files-A nonversioned file that is associated with a versioned file using the companion mechanism abides by the rules for the versioned file. The only exception is if the versioned file on the computer and the versioned file being installed have the same version and language but the companion file is missing on the computer. In this case the companion file being installed is used even though the versioned file on the computer is used. Additionally, a nonversioned file using a companion file is installed if the REINSTALLMODE property includes the overwrite older versions options ("o" or "e") and the companion file's version is equal to a file already on the machine.
Source Resiliency
Applications that rely on network resources for installation-on-demand are susceptible to source failures if the source location should change for any reason or become damaged. The Windows Installer provides source resiliency for features that are installed on-demand by using a source list. The source list contains the locations searched by the installer for installation packages. The entries in this list can be network locations, Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), or compact discs. If one of these sources fails, the installer can quickly and seamlessly try the next.
The application developer does not need to incorporate any special information into the installer package to ensure source resiliency. Once the application is installed, the installer has the behavior of adding the last successfully used source as an entry in the source list. By default, this source is the location from which the installer package is initially installed, and is the same as the SourceDir property.
A system administrator can change the source list by applying a transform or by changing the SOURCELIST property from the command line or in the Property table.
REINSTALLMODE=amus
- a - Force all files to be reinstalled, regardless of version
- m - all required computer-specific registry entries (default)
- u - all required user-specific registry entries (default)
- s - all existing shortcuts (default)
Difference between Selfheal and Repair of MSI
Self Heal and Repair are two different concepts in Windows Installer which people gets confused with.
Self Heal is triggered by advertised shortcuts, or other advertising information in the package which eventually Repairs respective feature
Repair of an MSI can be triggered by
Repair button in Add/Remove programs
Using command line msiexec /f{optional switches} <Path of MSI>
Self Heal is triggered by advertised shortcuts, or other advertising information in the package which eventually Repairs respective feature
Repair of an MSI can be triggered by
Repair button in Add/Remove programs
Using command line msiexec /f{optional switches} <Path of MSI>
MSI Uninstallation Command
MSI can be uninstalled in two ways.
1. MSIEXEC /x <ProductCode> /qb
2. MSIEXEC /x <Path of MSI> /qb
If in case MSI and MST are installed together, MST is not required during uninstallation. just the above commands are enough
1. MSIEXEC /x <ProductCode> /qb
2. MSIEXEC /x <Path of MSI> /qb
If in case MSI and MST are installed together, MST is not required during uninstallation. just the above commands are enough
Rename Folders using VBScript
Following script renames the folder in each user profile on WindowsXP machines
Dim FSfolder
Dim subfolder
Dim i
set objshell = CreateObject("Wscript.shell")
Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
SysDrv=objshell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%systemdrive%")
Profile = SysDrv & "\Documents and Settings"
Set FSfolder = FSO.GetFolder(Profile) 'getting the user profile folders
'starting of the loop to delete the HKCUs
For Each subfolder In FSfolder.SubFolders
If (subfolder.Name <> "All Users" And subfolder.Name <> "Default User"_
and subfolder.Name <> "LocalService" and subfolder.Name <> "NetworkService") Then
folder1=Profile & "\" & subfolder.Name & "\Application Data\Documentum\Client for Outlook"
RenameFolder(folder1)
end if
Next
'*******************************************************************************************************
Function RenameFolder(FolderName)
If FSO.FolderExists(FolderName) Then
'msgbox Foldername & ".old"
FSO.MoveFolder FolderName, Foldername & ".old"
End If
End Function
Dim FSfolder
Dim subfolder
Dim i
set objshell = CreateObject("Wscript.shell")
Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
SysDrv=objshell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%systemdrive%")
Profile = SysDrv & "\Documents and Settings"
Set FSfolder = FSO.GetFolder(Profile) 'getting the user profile folders
'starting of the loop to delete the HKCUs
For Each subfolder In FSfolder.SubFolders
If (subfolder.Name <> "All Users" And subfolder.Name <> "Default User"_
and subfolder.Name <> "LocalService" and subfolder.Name <> "NetworkService") Then
folder1=Profile & "\" & subfolder.Name & "\Application Data\Documentum\Client for Outlook"
RenameFolder(folder1)
end if
Next
'*******************************************************************************************************
Function RenameFolder(FolderName)
If FSO.FolderExists(FolderName) Then
'msgbox Foldername & ".old"
FSO.MoveFolder FolderName, Foldername & ".old"
End If
End Function
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)