ipollock
Posts: 137
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2016 10:46 am

.NET 6.x.x install prior to IIS causes corruption

Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:20 am

Using Advanced Installer 12.7.2

If .NET Core is installed prior to the Windows IIS feature then it causes corruption. This is a known MS Issue and been wondering if I can check for this then work around it using Advanced Installer. Currently it is a task for the end installer person to make sure that IIS is in place before running the installer which includes the .NET Windows Server hosting Preinstall Prerquisite package. But if they forget or don't follow the instructions - who reads instructions :)

I was wondering:
In the advanced installer Prerequisites section, is it possible to set the Windows Features to run before the Pre-Install Packages?

In a model installer I currently have a Pre-Install of Microsoft .NET 6.0.5 - Windows Server Hosting and the logic that checks to see that it or a later version is not in place before installing it. If they are, it skips silently onto the rest of the installer.

I was thinking that steps like this may be possible or is there a better way to do it?

Step - Check the OS and ensure that all .NET is removed
Step - Run the installer - add Windows Features (IIS) - this may trigger the .NET 4.5 Advanced services feature.
Step - Install .NET Windows Server Hosting as a custom action.

Best regards,
Ian

Liviu
Posts: 1035
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:29 am
Contact:  Website

Re: .NET 6.x.x install prior to IIS causes corruption

Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:53 am

Hello Ian,
In the advanced installer Prerequisites section, is it possible to set the Windows Features to run before the Pre-Install Packages?
Unfortunately this is not possible. Please note that the Windows Features are enable at the end of the installation while the pre-install prerequisites and feature-based are installed before main installer.

However, in this case you can create a completely separate setup package only for turning on/off the Windows features. Then you can add this package as a pre-install prerequisite (it should be added before the other prerequisites in the "Prerequisites" page list) to your main project.

The steps you need to follow are described on our How to configure help setup package within the installer article.

Note: The prerequisites from "Prerequisites" page are executed in the order they are added/scheduled in the list. Based on that, you need to move to the top of the list, the prerequisite which enables the Windows Feature.

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Best regards,
Liviu
________________________________________
Liviu Sandu - Advanced Installer Team
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ipollock
Posts: 137
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2016 10:46 am

Re: .NET 6.x.x install prior to IIS causes corruption

Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:35 pm

Thanks very much for your reply.

Since we are using an older version of Advanced Installer it will try to install IIS version 6 which is no good so there might be a solution using a custom action and sequencing that. I'll keep looking.

Best regards,
Ian

Liviu
Posts: 1035
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:29 am
Contact:  Website

Re: .NET 6.x.x install prior to IIS causes corruption

Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:06 pm

Hello Ian,

I'm not quite sure I understand why the IIS version 6 is no good.

Please note that when using our "Windows Features bundle" support, it will enable the available feature in the Windows OS.

Even in our latest release (19.8.1) the IIS Version 6 is used as the same version is available in Windows Features.
iis6.png
iis6.png (111.48KiB)Viewed 5054 times

Just go to the Windows Features in your Windows machine and the same options will be available. You can press the Run command (Win + R) and type "optionalfeatures":
iis in windows.png
iis in windows.png (37.73KiB)Viewed 5054 times
Otherwise, please give me more details about your scenario as I'm not sure if you need the IIS Windows Feature as you mentioned.

Best regards,
Liviu
________________________________________
Liviu Sandu - Advanced Installer Team
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