InstallSite Blog : Vista

Buch Inside Windows Installer 4.5 (GERMAN)

stefan — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:33:00 GMT

Inside Windows Installer 4.5 ist das neue Buch von Andreas Kerl.

(This book is only available in German language, therefore I'm writing this review in German)

Andreas Kerl ist als Autor zum Thema Windows Installer bekannt. Neben einigen Artikeln in Fachzeitschriften hat er auch die Bücher "Inside Windows Installer" (erschienen 2003) und "Windows Installer 3.1" (erschienen 2005) verfasst. Das neue Buch “Inside Windows Installer 4.5” ist aber keine Fortschreibung des gleichen Inhalts, sondern die drei Bücher können eigenständig nebeneinander stehen.

Das Buch richtet sich an Software-Entwickler und Systemadministratoren, die bereits Grundkenntnisse zu Windows Installer besitzen, denn selbst die Einführungskapitel gehen schnell in die Tiefe und geben Einblicke “unter die Haube” der Windows Installer Technologie.

Daneben enthält das Buch auch eine Einführung in das Open Source Tool WiX (Windows Installer XML), ein Werkzeug zum Erstellen von Installationspaketen, das Microsoft auch intern einsetzt, sowie in die Deployment Tools Foundation (DTF), eine Erweiterungsbibliothek für Windows Installer, die ebenfalls aus dem Hause Microsoft stammt. Die Installations-Beispiele im Buch sind alle in WiX geschrieben. Andere (kommerzielle) Tools zum Erstellen von Installationsprogrammen werden nicht behandelt.

Das Buch erklärt die Funktionsweise von Windows Installer und wie er mit anderen Teilen des Betriebssystems zusammenarbeitet. Um nur ein paar Beispiele zu nennen:

Im Kapitel über die Benutzerkontensteuerung (UAC) wird auch die Intention dieser Neuerung in Windows Vista beleuchtet und was dabei hinter den Kulissen des Berechtigungssystems vor sich geht.

Im Kapitel über den Restart Manager erfährt man auch, wie ein Systemstart abläuft und welche Registry-Einträge in welcher Reihenfolge für Autostart-Aktionen ausgewertet werden.

Ein ausführliches Kapitel behandelt externe Benutzeroberflächen, ein Thema, das allein mit der Dokumentation von Microsoft kaum zu bewältigen ist. Der Quelltext steht – wie für alle Beispiele im Buch – als Download zur Verfügung.

Auf diese Weise vermittelt das Buch ein fundiertes Verständnis von Windows Installer im Zusammenhang mit anderen Teilen des Betriebssystems.

Inside Windows Installer 4.5 bei amazon.de

Video: Windows Installer and Application Compatibility

stefan — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:57:04 GMT

Microsoft's Channel 9 posted a video interview with Robert Flaming, program manager on the Windows Installer team. Robert talks about topics like User Account Control (UAC), chainers, restart manager, nested install custom actions, digitally signing setups and patches.

Watch the video or download as video or audio podcast:

Application Compatibility - MSI Installer Issues

Serious issue with the .NET 3.5 installer on Windows Vista

stefan — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:20:41 GMT

Aaron Stebner reports an issue (some commenters call it a "nightmare") in the .NET Framework 3.5 installer that can cause a premature reboot request on Windows Vista. If the user accepts the reboot request while the framework installer or your own setup isn't completed yet, the system can end up in an unknown state.

The problem was identified in the beta of .NET 3.5, but will not be fixed in the release version. Aaron describes some workarounds to prevent this premature reboot request, and I highly recommend you add this to your prerequisite installer.

How to avoid OS reboot prompt when installing the .NET Framework 3.5 on Windows Vista

MSI Readiness Analyzer for Windows Vista Updated

stefan — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:16:00 GMT

In a previous post I wrote about a free tool from ScriptLogic called "MSI Readiness Analyzer for Windows Vista". ScriptLogic responded to my complaint that common Vista problems slipped through the validation. Version 2 of the tool performs additional tests and is available as a free download.

MSI Readiness Analyzer

Setup Guidelines for UAC Compatibility

stefan — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:46:05 GMT

An article in the Altiris community blog lists best practices that should be followed to make sure your setup works as intended on Windows Vista with User Account Control (UAC).

Guidelines and Best Practices to Achieve UAC for Applications on Vista

German: dotnetpro 9/07 - WiX 3 und Benutzerkontensteuerung (UAC)

stefan — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:56:00 GMT

(This article is only available in German)

Auch das neue Heft 09/2007 der Zeitschrift dornetpro behandelt wieder Themen, die für Setup-Entwickler interessant sind.

Unter dem Titel "Installationsroutinen mit Windows Installer XML 3" stellt Andreas Kerl die Struktur und die wesentlichen Sprachmerkmale von WiX-Dokumenten sowie die Neuerungen in WiX Version 3 vor. Andreas arbeitet als Windows Installer Fachmann bei Microsoft und hat die Bücher Inside Windows Installer und Windows Installer 3.1 verfasst.

Ein Artikel von Achim Oellers befasst sich mit "Benutzerkontensteuerung und Virtualisierung unter Windows Vista" und welche Probleme daraus entstehen können.

In der Rubrik "Tipps und Tricks" widmet sich Andreas Maslo Setup- und Update-Tools.

Darüber hinaus enthält das Heft noch zahlreiche weitere Artikel für professionelle Software-Entwickler:

Inhaltsverzeichnis

dotnetpro gibt es nur für Abonennten, die Zeitschrift ist nicht am Kiosk erhältlich.

Es gibt ein kostenloses Zwei-Monats-Probeabo, das allerdings erst mit dem folgenden Heft beginnt. Als Abonnent kann man jedoch auch alle bisherigen Ausgaben online abrufen.

Korrektur (22.08.2007): Man kann auf der dotnetPro-WebPage Einzelhefte nachbestellen und einzeln abrechnen. (Danke an Andreas Wittig für den Hinweis)

How to trigger UAC elevation from a script

stefan — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:23:00 GMT

If you need to run command with full administrator permissions in Windows Vista, you could use the elevated command prompt (by right-clicking the command prompt icon in the start menu and selection "run as administrator). However if you need to do this from a batch or script file you have to use a trick, as described in these two articles:

VBScripts and UAC elevation by Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP
Scripting Elevation on Vista (uses JScript) by Aaron Margosis, Microsoft Consulting Services

Note that these scripts will trigger the UAC dialog and the user must click "proceed". Thats by design to keep it secure.

In-depth analysis of Vista UAC

stefan — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 06:41:00 GMT

An article has been posted at The Code Project that examines how UAC on Windows Vista operates behind the scenes, including a debug session of an elevation via the UAC prompt. It also shows how to work with UAC using manifests or the CreateProcess API, including source code.

In-depth analysis of Vista UAC and the creation of CreateProcess...Elevated() APIs

MSI Readiness Analyzer for Windows Vista

stefan — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:20:00 GMT

ScriptLogic offers a free tool called "MSI Readiness Analyzer for Windows Vista".

MSI Readiness Analyzer for Windows Vista is a free standalone utility for IT professionals which analyzes MSI application installers and highlights methods to prepare them for Windows Vista. MSI Readiness Analyzer shows where application installers can take advantage of new technology in Vista, and also where problems might occur.

You don't need to register for the download, not even your e-mail address. That's nice.

Niceness stops when you read the EULA:

ScriptLogic, or its representative, may audit your usage of the Software at any of your facilities. ScriptLogic may make copies of any information as part of the audit, and you will cooperate with such audit.

Scary. But I still proceeded because I wanted to give the tool a try.

The analyzer runs validation quite similar to the ICE validation tools available elsewhere. It does some extra checks, but with questionable value in my opinion. Plus they mix the output with advertisement for their paid product, like:

Vista's Restart Manager will be enabled for this installation. Using Desktop Authority MSI Studio you can disable it.
A restart will occur if one is required. Using Desktop Authority MSI Studio you can change this behavior to always require a reboot, or to never reboot.

However in my test the analyzer didn't report a deferred custom action that was set to run with impersonation instead of system context, which is one of the most common problems that cause setups to fail on Windows Vista. So the tool is of no use for me.

http://www.scriptlogic.com/products/msi-readiness-analyzer/

How to support Vista's Restart Manager in your Application and Setup

stefan — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:43:00 GMT

Richard Macdonald of the Windows Installer team at Microsoft has posted another great blog article in which he describes how to make your application restart manager aware and how to add the MsiRMFilesInUse dialog to your setup using a .msi table editor like Orca.

(Re-)Start Me Up ...

As I mentioned in a recent post, I'm currently working on a Windows Vista workshop. As part of that, I've created a simple application that demonstrates the basic interaction of the Windows Installer with Vista's new Restart Manager (RM). I thought I'd post some information on how easy this was to do, which you might find useful for your own applications and packages.

http://blogs.technet.com/richard_macdonald/archive/2007/04/13/756894.aspx

Beware of the UAC Prompt Timeout

stefan — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 17:01:00 GMT

Recently I encountered a strange problem when I tried to install an MSI based setup on Windows Vista. I ran through the dialog sequence and clicked the “Install Now” button. The progress bar dialog was displayed as usual, and I left the computer to get a cup of coffee, expecting that the software would be successfully installed when I return.

But to my surprise on my return I was greeted with the “Setup was interrupted before the software was installed” dialog. In the log I found the following entries:

MSI (s) (00:B8) [15:02:24:944]: MSI_LUA: Elevation required to install product, will prompt for credentials
MSI (s) (00:B8) [15:04:59:002]: MSI_LUA: Credential Request return = 0x800704C7
The operation was canceled by the user.
MSI (s) (00:B8) [15:04:59:052]: MainEngineThread is returning 1602

MSI error 1602 means “User cancelled installation” and error code 0x800704C7 translates to “The operation was canceled by the user”. But of course I did not cancel the installation. Michael Urman of Macrovision helped me to understand what was going on, and I was able to reproduce the problem - without coffee ;-)

Some time after the progress bar dialog was displayed, the UAC consent dialog came up and asked me if I wanted to proceed. After two minutes of waiting, the UAC dialog disappeared automatically and the setup was cancelled.

So the UAC Prompt has a 2 minute timeout after which the operation is cancelled automatically without user interaction. This timeout, which I didn’t find documented anywhere, applies to other UAC prompts as well, like control panel actions that require elevation etc.

Unfortunately the return code 0x800704C7 doesn’t indicate whether the operation was cancelled by the user or by the timeout.

Note that there actually was that UAC shield icon on the “Install Now” button, but it was too subtle to make me wait for the UAC dialog. In my tests I have seen delays of more than one minute after the Install Now button was pressed until the UAC dialog came up.

I contacted the Windows Installer team at Microsoft about this problem. Tyler Robinson, the Lead Program Manager, told me that both the MSI team and the UAC team are aware of the issue, but they don’t have a solution at this time. He identified two main factors that are causing the delay:

System Restore. For compatibility reasons the restore point for the setup is created before the UAC prompt is displayed. Turning off system restore can speed things up.
Digital signature verification. UAC has to verify the digital signature of the msi package because the UAC dialog has a different banner color and text for setups that have a valid digital signature, as described here. Depending on the size of the .msi file this verification can take a while.

So if you have users complaining that the setup failed unexpectedly on Vista, ask them whether they saw the UAC dialog.

Tips for Preparing your Application and Installation for Vista Certification

stefan — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:13:00 GMT

There is an article at the Code Project that explains some of the Vista logo requirements and test cases and offers tools and tips to pass them. Among others it shows how to modify a MSI setup created with Visual Studio Setup & Deployment project to make it Vista logo compliant. The article also has links to essential logo guideline documentation. Even if you don't plan to submit your application for Vista logo certification it's a good idea to know and follow these guidelines.

Certified For Vista: How to ensure an application gets certified.

Types of UAC prompt dialogs and how to remote control them

stefan — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 14:23:00 GMT

An article in the Windows Vista Team Blog shows the various types of UAC prompts and in which case (singed or unsigned executable etc.) which type is displayed. The screenshots are a bit tiny but you get the idea.

By default, other applications cannot send messages to the UAC dialog because it's displayed on the "secure desktop", which is basically a screenshot of your real desktop (see the clock in the system try doesn't update). This is to improve security. However in some cases it is necessary to "remote control" the UAC dialog, like a screen reader for visually impaired users. This can be done by manifesting the application, as described in the article UI Automation Security Overview on MSDN.

7 Reasons Why your Installations May Fail on Windows Vista (And How You Can Fix Them)

stefan — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 13:34:00 GMT

An article that I've written for the December 2006 issue of the Macrovision DevLetter.

7 Reasons Why your Installations May Fail on Windows Vista (And How You Can Fix Them)

Windows Installer is not just a technology but also a set of rules and best practices. While these rules have been specified in the SDK for several years, many of them haven't been enforced. While ignoring these rules didn't break your setups in the past, installations that don't follow best practices may eventually fail on Windows Vista™. This article alerts you to the most common pitfalls in setup authoring and helps you troubleshoot your installations to be compatible with Windows Vista.

http://www.macrovision.com/company/news/newsletter/tips/is_vista.shtml

Updated link to the Flexera Software web site:
http://www.flexerasoftware.com/webdocuments/PDF/is_vista.pdf

MSDN Magazine article about UAC (in multiple languages)

stefan — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:10:00 GMT

An MSDN Magazine article that talks about User Account Control (UAC) on Windows Vista and also covers setup topics is available online.

There are several localized versions of this article. If your language isn't detected automatically you can select a language from the drop down box in the upper right corner.

Teach Your Apps To Play Nicely With Windows Vista User Account Control
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/07/01/UAC/default.aspx

Adventures in Vista Logo certification

stefan — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:29:00 GMT

I found an interesting blog article from a software developer who prepared his application and setup for Windows Vista Logo certification. He describes useful resources and tips, and also some pitfalls.

How to: Getting Certified for Windows Vista logo
http://www.metalinkltd.com/?p=74

Important Windows Installer WebCast: Designing Installations for User Account Control (recording available)

stefan — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 15:15:00 GMT

Windows Vista includes a new feature call User Account Control (UAC) which has the potential to break many existing MSI-based setups.

UAC is a really, really important topic. Although Vista isn't released yet, I'm seeing multiple reports of broken setups. It's time to understand UAC and prepare your setup for Vista NOW!

In this presentation, the Windows Installer team at Microsoft will cover the new installation features that specifically relate to User Account Control, such as marking a package as UAC-compliant, taking advantage of UAC patching, and adding the "shield" icon to your user interface. They also address common UAC debugging issues pertaining to application installation and servicing.

Usually there's a Q&A session at the end of the presentation, so you may want to have your UAC questions and problem descriptions at hand.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006
10:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) which is equivalent to 17:00 UTC, 18:00 BST, 19:00 CET (other time zones)

Registration: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032307311

Update:

A recording of this webcast is now available at the same URL.

A log of the Q&A chat that took place during the webcast has been posted at
http://blogs.msdn.com/windows_installer_team/archive/2006/10/19/new-windows-installer-4-0-webcast-scheduled-and-q-a-from-lua-webcast.aspx

How UAC in Vista will impact your Setup (updated Oct 3)

stefan — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 07:28:00 GMT

Windows Vista introduces a security concept called User Account Control (UAC) which has multiple impacts on Windows Installer (MSI) based setups. Robert Flaming, Product manager on the MSI team at Microsoft, is posting a series of articles on his blog that explain what these changes are, and how they may break existing setups. So this is not about new features in MSI 4 that you may want to add to your setup some time in the future - it is about what you need to do NOW to make sure the setups you build TODAY will work on Vista.

Update (Sep 26): additional articles are available
Update (Oct 3): even more articles and some Q&A

The following article are already available:

Introduction

Architecture Insights

Common Package Mistakes

More Architectural Insights

Conversations with Customers