kjullion
Posts: 176
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2013 9:02 pm

Creating MSP patches from Exes

Wed Jan 24, 2018 11:23 pm

Hi,
We have been using AI for a while now but have until now been only delivering our packages as full Setup type EXEs. We have not yet ventured into patching. We would now like to delve into that, and I attempted by extracting out of two of our two EXEs (one from November, 2018 v17.07.00 )and one from January, 2018 v17.08.01) to see if I would be able to create a patch from the difference found within those two released versions of our software.

In trying to create the first MSP I went through the AI Patch create project wizard and eventually tried to do a Build of that .MSP file. But I'm running into a myriad of errors starting (I think) in the patch compatibility tests:
Checking builds status
Build required.
Building package: F:\Share\Setup_Installers\AI\170801 MSP\Patch Files\170801 patch.msp
Running MSI patch compatibility tests
WARNING: Different versions. The version of the target "F:\Share\Released\170801 MSI\<ProductName>.msi" is greater than the version of the upgraded "F:\Share\Released\170700 MSI\<ProductName>.msi".
WARNING: Major patch. Providing a major upgrade as a patch package is not recommended because a major upgrade patch package cannot be sequenced with other updates and because the patch is not an uninstallable patch.
Creating PCP database
Creating MSP

Total build time: 0 sec.
MsiMsp.exe failed to create the patch file.
Error details

Build finished because an error was encountered.
Do I have the "Upgraded" and "Target" MSI files in the reverse order? I don't understand why I am getting the "WARNING: Major patch."
Is there a "How To" available that explains in some detail how to extract the required (?) MSI files from our full Setup EXE files, so that I can ensure I have a proper foundation for creation of the MSP patch? Also, is there a tutorial available on the overall requirements to build an MSP patch correctly?

Thanks,
Kevin

Eusebiu
Posts: 4931
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:04 pm

Re: Creating MSP patches from Exes

Thu Jan 25, 2018 4:51 pm

Hi Kevin,

Yes, it seems that your "Upgraded" and "Target" MSI files are in the reverse order. "Target" is the older version while "Upgraded" must be the newer version.

Please keep in mind that in order to create a patch there are some Patch Rules that must be respected. The "Authoring a Windows Installer patch" tutorial describes all the steps that should be followed in order to create a patch.

Let me know if you need more details.

Best regards,
Eusebiu
Eusebiu Aria - Advanced Installer Team
Follow us: Twitter - Facebook - YouTube

kjullion
Posts: 176
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2013 9:02 pm

Re: Creating MSP patches from Exes

Thu Jan 25, 2018 6:28 pm

Thank you. I've been getting further. One thing I found was that us doing Major Upgrades ('generate new product code') all the time in the past will have to change in order to do Patches in the future ('keep existing product code').

I still don't really understand what is meant by the the term "Major Upgrade" since for us that would be taking the major version of our app from 17.0 to 18.0 as an example, which for us happens about once a year, but often is no different from what we release monthly or quarterly, but we name the major version of the app to coincide with the calendar year.

I am now getting this error when I attempt to create a "story 1.0.0 ---> story 1.0.1" patch using the online tutorial:
MsiMsp.exe - System Error:
"The program can't start because mspatchc.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem".
I have tried doing the AI "Repair" option under Control Panel > Programs > Uninistall a program
but that hasn't fixed this error. We are on v14.2 of Advanced Installer. Should I remove and re-install the entire application? Or is there some other fix available...?

Eusebiu
Posts: 4931
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:04 pm

Re: Creating MSP patches from Exes

Mon Jan 29, 2018 2:08 pm

Hi,

A "major upgrade" is a new version of a product that has a different Product Code than the previous one. You can read more details in the "Major Upgrades" article.

I found that you also reported that "msimsp.exe" error few years later in the "patch building and msimsp.exe" thread. Do you remember if you were able to solve it?

That error normally appears if Windows SDK is not installed on the machine. Can you install the latest version and see if it works?

Best regards,
Eusebiu
Eusebiu Aria - Advanced Installer Team
Follow us: Twitter - Facebook - YouTube

kjullion
Posts: 176
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2013 9:02 pm

Re: Creating MSP patches from Exes

Thu Feb 01, 2018 4:33 pm

I found the fix needed for my scenario. While I did have the 7.1A SDK installed, apparently MSIMSP.exe was having trouble finding it due to a missing/incorrect PATH environment variable. Once I resolved the PATH env. variable to include the path to the 7.1A SDK's \Bin folder then I was able to build my MSP files without error.

Eusebiu
Posts: 4931
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:04 pm

Re: Creating MSP patches from Exes

Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:44 pm

Hi,

I'm glad you solved the problem.

Just let me know if there is anything else that I can assist you with.

Best regards,
Eusebiu
Eusebiu Aria - Advanced Installer Team
Follow us: Twitter - Facebook - YouTube

Return to “Building Installers”