InstallSite Blog

InstallShield, AdminStudio, InstallAnywhere Special Offers extended until 30th July

Flexera Software announced that the special offers which originally expired on 30th June will be extended for one month, until 30th July (actually they say 31st July but that's a Saturday). This applies to the following offers:

• 18% off InstallShield Maintenance Bundles
• InstallShield 12 and InstallShield German "end-of-life" Upgrades
• Wise Installation Package Studio to InstallShield Conversion
• Wise Package Studio to AdminStudio Conversion
• 20% discount on all InstallAnywhere 2010 upgrades, including "end-of-life" versions and InstallShield Multiplatform
• InstallAnywhere 2010 Upgrade with Maintenance Bundle for "end-of-life" versions and InstallShield Multiplatform

More information about eligible products and versions can be found in the InstallSite Shop at http://www.installsite.biz 

Microsoft's Windows Installer Cleanup Utility no longer available

The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility (MSICUU) was a last resort to work around problems with broken or partially installed Windows Installer (MSI) packages if the regular measures like uninstalling from Add/Remove Programs control panel have failed. Officially it was available to fix broken installations of Microsoft Office but could be used for any msi based install.

Unfortunately many web sites recommended the tool as a simple way to fix any msi problems, and some users damaged their operating environment by misusing the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility.

As reported by The Windows Club two days ago, Microsoft has removed the MSICUU download from their web site. Knowledge base article 290301 has been updated with the following notice:

This article previously contained a link to the Windows Installer Cleanup utility (MSICUU2.exe). If you were directed to this article to solve a problem installing a product other than Microsoft Office, please contact your software manufacturer for installation support on the product.

While the Windows Installer Cleanup utility resolved some installation problems, it sometimes damaged other components installed on the computer. Because of this, the tool has been removed from the Microsoft Download Center. The Fix it Solutions in this article provide the ability to fully remove Office 2003, 2007 and 2010 suites without damaging other Windows components.

Instead of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility the knowledge base article now includes "Fix It" tools in the form of msi packages to safely remove broken installations of Office 2003, 2007 and 2010. Since the Fix It tools are packaged as msi files, this won't help in situations where you can't run any msi setup.

MSICUU could also be used to clean the Windows Installer cache from msi files that were no longer needed because the software had already been uninstalled. This could be useful in low disk space situations. I don't know if the mentioned problems also apply to this use of the tool.

Advanced Installer 7.7 adds full support for Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0

On June 17th, 2010 Caphyon Ltd. announced the release of Advanced Installer 7.7.

This release adds full support for the latest Microsoft development tools: Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0. The included Installer Repackager has also been improved: It will now detect and preserve high-level constructs like services, drivers, file associations, environment variables and assemblies in scan results. Also new is the ability to create installer packages for Visual Studio add-ins from the Advanced Installer IDE.

• Release Notes

Owners of Advanced Installer can get updates free of charge within 6 months after purchase, or as long as they have an active maintenance plan.

Advanced Installer is licensed on a per developer basis and can be installed on multiple machines. It is available in four editions, starting with the Freeware community edition and offering a 30-day trial period for the other editions.

For more information and to purchase Advanced Installer please visit the InstallSite Shop at http://www.installsite.biz/advancedinstaller.htm.

InstallAnywhere and InstallShield Multiplatform Upgrade Offer

Yet another special offer from Flexera Software:

Users of any previous version of InstallAnywhere (including end-of-life versions) and even from the discontinued InstallShield Multiplatform can get 20% off the upgrade price to InstallAnywhere 2010.

Note that upgrade eligibility for InstallAnywhere 2008 will end on 30th November 2010, so owners of that version may want to upgrade now instead of later.

This offer expires June 30, 2010.

• You can purchase InstallAnywhere in the InstallSite Shop at http://www.installsite.biz

InstallShield Maintenance Bundle Offer

Here's another special offer from Flexera Software, available through June 30, 2010:

When buying InstallShield Professional or Premier with a Silver or Gold maintenance plan, you can get 18% off the bundle price. This means that you essentially get the maintenance plan at a very low add-on price.

As a benefit of your maintenance plan, you'll receive free product upgrades (e.g. InstallShield 2011) and technical support from Flexera Software for 12 months. Note that a single upgrade costs more than a maintenance plan, so if you plan to keep your InstallShield version current, a maintenance plan has always been the the most cost effective way - even without this discount offer.

The 18% discount only applies to purchases of the full version of InstallShield Professional or Premier bundled with a Silver or Gold maintenance plan. It's not valid for upgrades, nor for the Express edition. Also the offer isn't valid for Bronze maintenance, but the discounted Silver bundle is cheaper than the regular Bronze bundle.

• You can purchase InstallShield in the InstallSite Shop at http://www.installsite.biz/ix.htm.

P.S. the InstallShield Special Offer for Wise Installation users is also available until June 30.

Upgrade Offer for InstallShield 12 and InstallShield German in June

Through June, Flexera Software has several special offers, which I'm going to describe in this and following blog entries. The first offer is about end-of-life versions of InstallShield.

From time to time, Flexera Software "retires" old versions of their products, which also means that owners of these versions are no longer eligible for upgrade pricing but need to pay the full license fee when moving to the current version.

Currently, InstallShield versions 2009 and 2008 are eligible for upgrade pricing to the latest version InstallShield is 2010. For InstallShield 12 (the version before InstallShield 2008) upgrade pricing ended on 31st October 2009.

However from June 1 to June 30, 2010, owners of InstallShield 12 have the chance to buy InstallShield 2010 Professional or Premier at the upgrade price. (Note: this offer is not valid for upgrades to the Express edition, but it does include upgrades from Express to a higher tier). The upgrade offer can optionally be combined with a maintenance plan, to make sure you'll also receive the next version of InstallShield, which is expected to be released in summer.

• You can purchase InstallShield in the InstallSite Shop.

A similar offer exists for owners of the German Edition of InstallShield, which I'll describe here in German:

Upgrade-Aktion für Besitzer von InstallShield German

Im Oktober 2009 hat Flexera Software die deutschen Versionen von InstallShield eingestellt. Damit ist auch die Upgrade-Berechtigung erloschen, d.h. Besitzer einer deutschen InstallShield-Version müssen normalerweise den vollen Preis einer Neu-Lizenz bezahlen, um das aktuelle InstallShield 2010 zu erhalten. Vom 1.-30. Juni 2010 gestattet Flexera Software jedoch Upgrades von den deutschen Versionen von InstallShield 12, InstallShield 2008 und InstallShield 2009 auf ein aktuelles InstallShield 2010 Professional oder Premier. Auch hier ist die Kombination mit einem Wartungsvertrag möglich, um auch die nächste InstallShield-Version zu erhalten, die im Sommer erwartet wird.

• Sie können Installshield im InstallSite Shop bestellen.

InstallShield Special Offer for Wise Installation users

As reported before, Symantec (who owns Wise since 2007) has discontinued their developer focused setup authoring tools Wise Installation Studio and Wise Installation Express. This leaves Wise Installation users with essentially two possible directions for the future: either migrate to Wise Package Studio, Symantec's tool for system administrators and repackagers, or switch to a setup authoring tool from another vendor. A list of such tools can be found at InstallSite.org.

For users who want to switch to InstallShield there is currently a special offer:

• 20% discount off of InstallShield Premier Edition and InstallShield Professional Edition
• 10% discount off of InstallShield Express Edition
• The Premier and Professional offer also also includes the InstallShield Repackager Tool to help with the conversion of Wise Script projects

This special offer expires June 30, 2010.

InstallShield and this special offer are available from the InstallSite Shop. Please contact us for details and conditions.

Expansion Pack for InstallShield 2010 adds .NET 4.0 Prerequisites and more

Flexera Software released an "InstallShield 2010 Expansion Pack for Visual Studio 2010" that's applicable to all edition of InstallShield 2010: Premier, Professional, Express and Limited Edition (LE), and also to the Stand-Alone Build Engine that's included in the Premier edition.

The Expansion Pack adds prerequisites to pre-install:

• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Full (Stand-alone package and Web Download)
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Client Profile (Stand-alone package and Web Download)
• Microsoft SQL CE 3.5 SP2
• Microsoft ReportViewer 2010
• Microsoft VSTO 2010 Runtime
• FSharp Redistributable Package 2.0
• Microsoft Office 2007 PIA

It also includes predefined System Searches to detect whether Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Full or Client Profile are installed.

The patch is a free download for owners of InstallShield 2010. According to the knowledge base article it applies to the English and Japanese editions of InstallShield 2010 Premier, Professional, Express and LE, and also to the Stand-Alone Build engine (SAB) that comes with InstallShield Premier.

• Download InstallShield 2010 Expansion Pack for Visual Studio 2010
• Release Notes: Premier & Professional / Express

InstallShield can be purchased from the InstallSite Shop.

Advanced Installer gets 64-bit Repackager

Caphyon Ltd. released version 7.6 of their Windows Installer authoring tool, Advanced Installer. The new version now includes a native 64-bit repackager, and a wiazrd to create installers for Microsoft Office add-ins. Other improvements include enhanced customization of dialogs, global progress support in Enhanced UI and embedding JAR in Java Launcher.

Owners of Advanced Installer can get updates free of charge within 6 months after purchase, or as long as they have an active maintenance plan.

Advanced Installer is licensed on a per developer basis and can be installed on multiple machines. It is available in four editions, starting with the Freeware community edition and offering a 30-day trial period for the other editions.

For more information and to purchase Advanced Installer please visit the InstallSite Shop.

Java's Update procedure makes my computer insecure

Yesterday one of my computers notified me that a new version of the Java runtime is available. Indeed, Java version 6 update 20 has been released to fix a security vulnerability. Unfortunately the release notes don't specify the release date. Judging from the file dates, it looks like it was built on 12 April 2010.

When I checked the other computers in my home, I found that they all were running the vulnerable version 6 update 19, and none of them had notified me about the new version. The reason is that the update check interval is set to monthly by default. In my opinion this is much too long, since it keeps your computer vulnerable for up to 30 days after a security update has been released. The "bad guys" are typically faster in developing exploits.

But what's even worse: if you manually set the update interval to daily, it gets reset to monthly when you install an update. So the update installer doesn't respect my preference and instead switches back to the (IMO insecure) default value of 1 month, without even giving notice.

Hotfix for msi.dll hang on Windows Vista and Server 2008

Microsoft has released a hotfix for Windows Installer 4.5 to fix a problem where msi.dll might stop responding when trying to install some software. The hotfix only applies to MSI 4.5 on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (all service pack levels), some of which come with MSI 4.5 and some with MSI 4.0 but may have been updated to MSI 4.5. Windows XP and Server 2003 are not affected, nor are Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 which come with MSI 5.0.

The hotfix is supported but might receive additional testing. Therefore it is recommended only for systems actually experiencing the problem. The hotfix is licensed for internal use only, you are not allowed to redistribute it to third parties.

• Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 981929

I have added the version information of the hotfix to the Windows Installer version matrix on InstallSite.

• MSI Version Matirx - English / German

Visual Studio 2010 and InstallShield LE available

On April 12 Microsoft released Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4. MSDN subscribers can download the English version immediately, the free Express edition and a trial version of Visual Studio Professional are also available for download. Localized versions should follow during the next weeks.

• Visual Studio 2010 web site with trial download
• Visual Studio Express download
• Press release from Microsoft

At the same date, Flexera Software released InstallShield LE, a limited edition of InstallShield Express which is available free of charge to owners of Visual Studio 2010. For more information about InstallShield LE see the following blog posts:

• InstallShield LE for Visual Studio 2010 (Beta) now available
• InstallShield Limited Edition for Visual Studio 2010 Walkthrough
• Press release from Flexera Software

Projects created with InstallShield LE can be migrated to the full InstallShield Express, Professional or Premier editions if you need more functionality.

InstallShield can be purchased from the InstallSite Shop.

Symantec discontinues Wise Installation Studio and Wise Installation Express

According to a confirmed post in the Symantec forums, the following message has been sent to users of the Wise setup authoring tools:

End of Availability for Wise Installation Studio and Wise Installation Express.

Dear Valued Customer,

This letter is to notify you that Symantec is announcing the end-of-availability of Wise Installation Studio and Wise Installation Express.

Effective April 19, 2010, Symantec will no longer be accepting orders for new licenses of Wise Installation Studio or Wise Installation Express. In addition, Symantec will no longer be accepting renewals for maintenance agreements related to Wise Installation Studio effective April 19, 2010.

Sincerely,
Symantec Corporation

This means that Wise Installation Studio and Wise Installation Express version 7.0 SP2 mark the end of these product lines for software developers..

However Wise Package Studio, the sibling product line for IT administrators and repackagers, will continue and projects can be moved over.

Years ago Wise used to be InstallShield's main competitor. After Altiris acquired Wise in 2003 focus moved to the Package Studio product line, but the developer products were still maintained and updated along the way. In 2007 Altiris was acquired by Symantec and after that no major upgrades have been released for Wise Installation Studio and Wise Installation Express, there were only service packs. However, development of Wise Package Studio (the competitor to AdminStudio) continues.

• Forum post

How to manage installation of ActiveX components via Group Policy (Link to article about the Windows ActiveX Installer Service)

If you want to allow installation of specific ActiveX controls in your organization without users being prompted for administrator credentials (UAC), you can use the Windows ActiveX Installer Service that is available in Windows Vista and Windows 7. In his blog, Alex Verboon has posted step-by-step instructions.

• Windows ActiveX Installer Service

Getting additional Standard Folders in Windows Installer

Windows installer includes a number of pre-defined properties for standard folders such as ProgramFilesFolder. Other standard folders are available as environment variables, such as %ALLUSERSPROFILE%, which can be used similar to properties in the form [%ALLUSERSPROFILE].

However these properties and environment variables don't cover all standard folders, and Windows Installer didn't keep up with system folders that were added in newer Windows versions.

In the ONtrex blog, Fabio Di Lorenzo has posted a script that retrieves the values of such special folders using their CSIDL_* value, and stores the result in a property.

• Zusätzliche Special Folders

The blog post is written in German, so here's a summary in English:

Essentially you need to create the following VBScript custom action and schedule it before CostFinalize.

Const CSIDL_COMMON_DOCUMENTS = &h2e
Set objShell = CreateObject(“Shell.Application”)
Session.Property(“ONTX_COMMON_DOCUMENTS”) = objShell.Namespace(CSIDL_COMMON_DOCUMENTS).Self.Path
Set objShell = nothing

where ONTX_COMMON_DOCUMENTS is your custom property in which you want to store the resulting path. A list of the CSIDL constants and their meaning can be found in the original blog post - this part is in English.

AdminStudio Service Pack adds 64-Bit Repackager

Flexera Software released Service Pack 1 for AdminStudio 9.5. It adds much anticipated 64-bit support to the repackager and more:

• Repackaging 64-Bit Applications - Repackager now has the capability to repackage both 32-bit and 64-bit applications, as well as hybrid applications (both 32-bit and 64-bit). The Repackaging Wizard remains a 32-bit application, but can be run on both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) Windows operating systems.
• Creating 64-Bit Microsoft App-V Packages - AdminStudio 9.5 SP1 supports converting a 64-bit Windows Installer package into a 64-bit Microsoft App-V package, which can be deployed on Windows 64-bit systems with the Microsoft App-V 4.6 64-bit client.
• PackageExpert Windows 7 Compatibility Tests - PackageExpert includes 12 new Windows 7 compatibility tests. Windows 7 compatibility tests find and resolve issues packages would have when deployed on the Windows 7 operating system. It checks custom action impersonation settings, mixed per-user and per-machine data, etc.

The service pack will update AdminStudio 9.5 Standard, Professional or Enterprise as well as the Standalone Repackager.

• Release Notes (PDF)
• Download SP1 from knowledge base article Q207925

AdminStudio is available in the InstallSite Shop

Switch offer for Wise users

For a limited time, owners of Wise Package Studio can get a 20% discount when buying AdminStudio with maintenance. For more information please visit the InstallSite Shop.

InstallAnywhere 2010 adds Maintenance mode and Rollback

Today Flexera Software released a new version of their multi-platform setup authoring tool InstallAnywhere.

While Windows Installer setups had a maintenance mode and rollback capability from the beginning, similar functionality is now also available for cross-platform setups in InstallAnywhere 2010.

Here's a summary of the new features:

• Maintenance Mode - end users can add or and remove features after the initial install, and repair corrupt or broken features.
• Build Configuration & Tags - you can create multiple product configurations from the same project.
• Rollback - if the installation fails or is cancelled it has completed the user's computer is restored to a clean state.
• Uninstall customization - you can customize the uninstall behavior of your installer.

In addition, InstallAnywhere 2010 adds support for the latest operating system versions, including Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, SUSE Linux 11.2, Ubuntu 9.10 and Mac OS X 10.6.

InstallAnywhere is available from the InstallSite Shop

Dell to acquire KACE

On February 11, 2010, it was announced that computer manufacturer Dell intends to acquire systems management company KACE. From the announcement:

"Dell Inc. and KACE announced on February 11, 2010 that Dell intends to acquire KACE and its award winning KBOX Family of Systems Management Appliances. All KACE employees will join Dell and KACE will operate as a new business unit. "

Who is KACE and why do I blog this?

If you're a system administrator working with Windows Installer you'll probably know AppDeploy.com. While AppDeploy was founded and still is managed and moderated by Bob Kelly, it was acquired by KACE in 2007 and is a service operated by KACE Networks, Inc. In my understanding this means that AppDeploy will now become part of Dell.

And, part of the KBOX product family is Virtual Kontainers, an application virtualization solution that KACE acquired from Computers In Motion in 2008.

• KACE-Dell announcement

Advanced Installer 7.5 brings enhanced installer themes

On January 27th, 2010 Caphyon Ltd. announced the latest edition of its Windows Installer authoring tool, Advanced Installer. The new 7.5 release brings three new Installer Themes built on top of Advanced Installer's Enhanced Native UI. Adding to the over 40 existing Classic themes, they take advantage of Windows 7/Vista controls while implementing a smoother, simpler install experience. Also new, the Direct Table Editor extends Custom Tables support, allowing users to visually edit your MSIs at database table and row level.

Summary of improvements in this version:

• Enhanced Themes for installer User Interface
• Direct table editor
• Windows 7 Libraries support
• Maintenance Plan period for Advanced Licensing module
• Installation UI testing without building the full installer
• Username/password predefined dialog
• Microsoft Access Runtime predefined prerequisites
• Customizable, reorganized left pane navigation menu
• and several other enhancements and bug fixes

If you purchased Advanced Installer within the past 6 months (or if you have an active maintenance plan) you will receive the new version free of charge.

Advanced Installer is licensed on a per developer basis and can be installed on multiple machines. It is available in four editions, starting with the Freeware community edition and offering a 30-day trial period for the other editions.

For more information and to purchase Advanced Installer please visit the InstallSite Shop.

More Information about InstallShield LE for Visual Studio

In addition to my blog post in December 2009, here are links to some additional resources about the limited edition of InstallShield that will be included with Visual Studio 2010:

InstallShield Limited Edition is available for download in Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2

Official announcement from Microsoft on the ClickOnce and Setup & Deployment Projects forum (in the announcements section at the top of the forum).
Read more

Building setup and deployment packages in VS 2010

S. Somasegar, Senior Vice President, Developer Division at Microsoft, in his blog announced the partnership between Microsoft and Flexera Software to create InstallShield LE for Visual Studio.
Read more

InstallShield Limited Edition for Visual Studio 2010 Walkthrough

Mike Douglas, IT consultant interested in Team Foundation Server and build automation, has posted a walkthrough of InstallShield LE with many screenshots. He also mentions that this version of InstallShield LE also works with Visual studio 2008.
Read more

Related information:

• Visual Studio 2010 web site with Beta download
  (GERMAN: Deutsche Visual Studio Webseite mit Beta Download)
• InstallShield at Flexera Software
• InstallShield in the InstallSite Shop