IMPORTANT - Installation problem

[Zsolt Kollarits]

Dear Advanced Installer,

One of our customer has an installation problem which escalated quickly, and the customer is waiting for a while now, that's why we need to propose them something rather quickly. I, myself, could not figure out why their installation is failing.

The problem is that one of our .exe files cannot be properly installed, they see this in the install log (the problematic file isTheCaseMgr.exe)

TheCapture.exe ===>
MSI (s) (FC:7C) [09:11:58:580]: Executing op: FileCopy(SourceName=TheCap~1.exe|TheCapture.exe,SourceCabKey=TheCapture.exe,DestName=TheCapture.exe,Attributes=0,FileSize=1058608,PerTick=65536,,VerifyMedia=1,,,,,CheckCRC=0,Version=31.4.0.0,Language=1033,InstallMode=58982400,,,,,,,)
MSI (s) (FC:7C) [09:11:58:580]: File: C:\Program Files (x86)\Therefore\TheCapture.exe; To be installed; Won't patch; No existing file
MSI (s) (FC:7C) [09:11:58:580]: Source for file 'TheCapture.exe' is compressed

TheCaseMgr.exe ===>
MSI (s) (FC:7C) [09:11:58:629]: Executing op: RegisterSharedComponentProvider(,,File=TheCaseMgr.exe,Component={3182E435-3C72-4E05-A38D-A9EDD941B04D},ComponentVersion=31.4.0.0,ProductCode={627DFEA3-7044-4997-801D-097F314E4A94},ProductVersion=31.4.0,PatchSize=0,PatchAttributes=0,PatchSequence=0,SharedComponent=0,IsFullFile=0)
MSI (s) (FC:7C) [09:11:58:630]: Executing op: FileCopy(SourceName=THECAS~1.EXE|TheCaseMgr.exe,SourceCabKey=TheCaseMgr.exe,DestName=TheCaseMgr.exe,Attributes=0,FileSize=662832,PerTick=65536,,VerifyMedia=1,,,,,CheckCRC=0,Version=31.4.0.0,Language=1033,InstallMode=58982400,,,,,,,)
MSI (s) (FC:7C) [09:11:58:630]: File: C:\Program Files (x86)\Therefore\TheCaseMgr.exe; To be installed; Won't patch; No existing file
MSI (s) (FC:7C) [09:11:58:630]: Source for file 'TheCaseMgr.exe' is compressed
MSI (s) (FC:7C) [09:11:58:632]: Note: 1: 1310 2: 0 3: C:\Program Files (x86)\Therefore\TheCaseMgr.exe
MSI (s) (FC:7C) [09:13:33:389]: Product: Therefore™ 2024 Update 4 Client -- Error 1310. Error writing to file: C:\Program Files (x86)\Therefore\TheCaseMgr.exe. System error 0. Verify that you have access to that directory.

The also wrote us this:
maybe there is some special issue for TheCaseMgr.exe in the MSI (.aip), because if we compare the log with TheCapure.exe (it was copied without any problem some log-lines before the TheCaseMgr.exe), then we see no RegisterSharedComponentProvider log entry, while TheCaseMgr.exe has it. And only the TheCaseMgr.exe has this in the log file, among all the copied/to be copied binaries.
So I think, it might also be a problem of the installation packet itself, that is, the special implementation of TheCaseMgr.exe in it.

We checked everything in terms of permissions: the user DOES HAVE permission on every level. He is an admin user. Of course he also have permisson on the installation folder. We also checked Windows Defender, Antivirus software, turned off everything. Now we are out of ideas.

I will send some more logs with wetransfer.

Could you please check what the problem can be?

Thanks,
Zsolt Kollarits

[Catalin]

Hello Zsolt,

From what I can see in the log file, the problem happens during an upgrade.

I'm wondering if perhaps there is any file that has a lock on TheCaseMgr.exe (since we ruled out the AV, this is a possible remaining culprit)?

Code: Select all

MSI (s) (FC:7C) [09:13:33:389]: Product: Therefore™ 2024 Update 4 Client -- Error 1310. Error writing to file: C:\Program Files (x86)\Therefore\TheCaseMgr.exe. System error 0. Verify that you have access to that directory.

The above message is what makes me think that something is perhaps keeping the file in use/or it is running.

Could you please check with Task Manager and see if you find anything there?

Best regards,
Catalin

[Zsolt Kollarits]

Dear Advanced Installer,

We checked the location, but as we said, that file is not even there prior installation.

We got another error dump from the customer: the setup fails when copying TheCaseMgr.exe to C:\Program Files (x86)\Therefore\.
The relevant log section:
MSI (s) (70:24) [15:37:09:875]: Executing op: FileCopy(SourceName=THECAS~1.EXE|TheCaseMgr.exe,SourceCabKey=TheCaseMgr.exe,DestName=TheCaseMgr.exe,Attributes=0,FileSize=662832,PerTick=65536,,VerifyMedia=1,,,,,CheckCRC=0,Version=31.4.0.0,Language=1033,InstallMode=58982400,,,,,,,)
MSI (s) (70:24) [15:37:09:876]: File: C:\Program Files (x86)\Therefore\TheCaseMgr.exe; To be installed; Won't patch; No existing file
MSI (s) (70:24) [15:37:09:876]: Source for file 'TheCaseMgr.exe' is compressed
InstallFiles: File: TheCaseMgr.exe, Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Therefore\, Size: 662832
MSI (s) (70:24) [15:37:09:878]: Note: 1: 1310 2: 0 3: C:\Program Files (x86)\Therefore\TheCaseMgr.exe
The MSI reports Error 1310 (Error writing to file), but:
• The log clearly shows "No existing file", so it’s not being overwritten.
• The file does not exist before installation, so it should not be locked by a running process.

Could you please tell us:
1. What internal condition in the setup can trigger Error 1310 in this case?
2. Is there any MSI custom action or folder redirection logic that might block writing to this path, even when the file doesn’t exist?
3. Are there additional logging options we can enable to capture the root cause?

Thanks,
Zsolt

[Catalin]

Hello Zsolt,

1. What internal condition in the setup can trigger Error 1310 in this case?

I'm afraid I can not give you an exact reason for why this error appears, because most of the times there can be multiple causes for a single error.

And sometimes, the problem simply does not have anything to do with the message (it happened to me a few times to investigate certain errors and the error message guides you in a completely different direction that what the problem actually was).

In the same folder, other files are overwritten as expected?

The log clearly shows "No existing file", so it’s not being overwritten.

In the log file, I noticed the OLDPRODUCTS property which made me think that this is an upgrade. Is it not? Is this a first time install?

2. Is there any MSI custom action or folder redirection logic that might block writing to this path, even when the file doesn’t exist?

I do not think so. If this was the case, this would have reproduce on all machines. And from my understanding, this only happens on one customer machine.

3. Are there additional logging options we can enable to capture the root cause?

You could try using AI_DEBUGLOG property to get a more detailed log, but not quite sure whether this would help here as this is a standard MSI error, not something from us. For such errors, there isn't much we can do to get more details, besides the verbose parameter (/L*V)

In the AIP file, if you check the "Always overwrite existing file" option for the EXE, does that help?

I understand that the file does not exist before the installation, as you mentioned, but it's still worth a try.

Best regards,
Catalin

[Zsolt Kollarits]

Dear Advanced Installer,

Unfortunately this problem is still with us! Our customer is extremely unhappy about it as they are not able to install our product for weeks now. Let me send another logfile for you.

The facts are:
1. our product can be installed into Program Files (x86)/Therefore folder if we leave out the feature that contains the problematic file
2. if then we go to Control Panel -> Programs and Features -> we select our product -> Modify -> and we try to install our feature, then we also get the error dialog on screen (attached) -> I also attached EventViewer log error earlier.
3. the error is saying the user (let's call it theadmin) is not able to write to Program Files (x86)/Therefore due to lack of permissions -> this is why we need your help as it seems the logged in user (theadmin) is able to copy, paste, overwrite, rename files in both in Program Files (x86) and also in Program Files (x86)/Therefore. So the theadmin has proper rights. We also checked the Security tab of those folders, the owner of those folder is theadmin user also theadmin has all the permissins enabled (all checkboxes).

Please let us know how we could troublshoot such issues. We must give some answer to the customer, but we cannot figure out why the setup is not able to write that file. (manually we can copy that file into the given folder with theadmin user).

Best regards,
Zsolt

[Liviu]

Hello Zsolt,

My colleague Catalin is on vacation for the next two weeks, and since you sent the resources via Wetransfer, those links no longer work.

Could you please resend me all the resources (logs, project and setup package)? We apologize for this situation.

Here is some additional information we need:

1. Can you also send me the client's OS version and build number?
2. I didn't notice if you mentioned whether this is actually an upgrade or not. Can you tell us if this happens during a clean installation or an upgrade installation?
3. Can you tell us if the behavior persists when you select a different drive (e.g., D:\ ) to install the application?

Suggestions to try:

1. Sometimes, security software can interfere with file operations during installation. Temporarily disable any security software on the system and then attempt the installation again. There might be some corporate security measures or other factors on the affected computer causing the installation difficulties.

2. If this happens during an upgrade, you can try removing the old version manually and then try installing the new package again.

I'm not sure if this will help, but according to the article below, you can try to re-register the Windows Installer Module on that machine:

Error 1310, Error Writing to File in Windows 10 / 11 Fix

3. Run the setup package from an elevated command prompt and see if the error is still displayed.

When you send the resources, please send us details on all of the above points.

Best regards,
Liviu

[Zsolt Kollarits]

Dear Liviu,

I've just sent the files once more via WeTransfer.

Best regards,
Zsolt

[Liviu]

Hello Zsolt,

I've replied to your email.

Best regards,
Liviu