Why does the .msp installation requirs original .msi

[Sangam]

Hi ,
How to create .msp(Digitally Certified) which doesn't require original .msi(Digitally Certified) at the installation time.?????

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Pls Help Me

Thanks
Sangam

[Bogdan]

Hi,

Please note that that applying a patch means that you actually run the original MSI in a special maintenance mode, so it is mandatory that you have the old MSI cached or supplied when asked for.

It does not matter if the patch is digitally signed or not, the target MSI must still be found on the machine.

Regards,
Bogdan

[Sangam]

Thanks for reply

i found on your forum

Why does the patch require the originial setup.msi

i try this but not working can you explain me

[Sangam]

Hi
How to achieve,
1.After the source.msi installation by default it get copied in to Temp folder how to change this path????
2.During the patch.msp installation it requires source.msi , how to find source.msi using search option and make it
available for patch.msp installation.

Thanks
Sangam

[Daniel]

Hello Sangam,

1.After the source.msi installation by default it get copied in to Temp folder how to change this path????

Please keep in mind that when a MSI file is installed Windows Installer caches it in the hidden "Windows Installer Cache" folder. Also, the cached MSI is stripped of any files it may contains for saving a significant amount of space required by larger packages. This is part of the reason for prompting for source when the original media files aren't available.

2.During the patch.msp installation it requires source.msi , how to find source.msi using search option and make it
available for patch.msp installation.

In order to achieve this you can build the original installation package as an EXE package and use the "Do not delete extracted MSI and CAB files" option from "Media" -> "Configuration" -> "Bootstrapper Options" group. This way the extracted package will remain on the target machine after install. Please take a look on our "Unistall as Part of Patch - Source Unavailable" thread.

All the best,
Daniel

[vidur]

Is there any way to do it without EXE, as th3e deployment tool we use can only support msi

thanks

[Daniel]

Hello,

I'm afraid the only way to avoid this behavior when using an MSI setup type would be to store the original MSI file on the user machine after installation. Also, the MSI should be left on the user machine in the same location from where it was launched for installation, but I don't think this could be a feasible approach. So, you should either use build an EXE setup type or build your increased version of the product as a major upgrade.

If you have any questions let us know.

All the best,
Daniel

[vidur]

Thanks daniel,
Is there a way i can make the msi copy itself to a location and change the source location of my package to point to the MSI?

[Daniel]

Hello,

I don't know if this can be done. What you can try is to add a custom action which will do the following:
1. copy the MSI into another location at the very end of installation
2. launch a repair operation for the installed product by triggering the new copied MSI

However, I haven't tested this approach so I'm not sure it will work, but you can try.

All the best,
Daniel

[andrii]

Hello!

I also faced this problem. Maybe after so many years someone found how to solve it?

[Liviu]

Hello!

I also faced this problem. Maybe after so many years someone found how to solve it?

Hello and welcome to our forums,

The original MSI package located at the InstallSource location specified in the registry is used to modify/uninstall the MSI. A patch installation is actually a repair installation of the old product version (after it is being cached with the installation resources included by the patch file).

During the repair (patch) installation if there is missing any resource that have been installed by the target MSI file (old product version), then Windows Installer will ask for the target MSI file to be able to restore the missing resource. And by default Windows Installer try to browse to the folder on disk where the target MSI file (old product version) was extracted/and launched for installation during original install time; if no MSI file is found it will prompt you and ask for original MSI. To avoid this behavior the solution is to make sure that the original MSI file is always left on disk after installation on the location it was launched from.

Note that, when applied, the patch will request the original MSI package (because, by default, the bootstrapper deletes the extracted files). In order to avoid this problem, select the option "Do not delete extracted MSI and CAB files" in the "Builds" page --> "Configuration" tab.

Otherwise the only other solution I am aware of is to build a major upgrade (standalone setup) instead of a patch.

Hope this helped.

Best regards,
Liviu

[andrii]

Hello!

I also faced this problem. Maybe after so many years someone found how to solve it?

Hello and welcome to our forums,

The original MSI package located at the InstallSource location specified in the registry is used to modify/uninstall the MSI. A patch installation is actually a repair installation of the old product version (after it is being cached with the installation resources included by the patch file).

During the repair (patch) installation if there is missing any resource that have been installed by the target MSI file (old product version), then Windows Installer will ask for the target MSI file to be able to restore the missing resource. And by default Windows Installer try to browse to the folder on disk where the target MSI file (old product version) was extracted/and launched for installation during original install time; if no MSI file is found it will prompt you and ask for original MSI. To avoid this behavior the solution is to make sure that the original MSI file is always left on disk after installation on the location it was launched from.

Note that, when applied, the patch will request the original MSI package (because, by default, the bootstrapper deletes the extracted files). In order to avoid this problem, select the option "Do not delete extracted MSI and CAB files" in the "Builds" page --> "Configuration" tab.

Otherwise the only other solution I am aware of is to build a major upgrade (standalone setup) instead of a patch.

Hope this helped.

Best regards,
Liviu

Hello!
Thank you for your answer!

I would like to set the option "Do not delete extracted MSI and CAB files". But it is only available for exe, but I would like for msi.

[Liviu]

Hello,

Then, I'm afraid that to avoid this behavior the solution is to make sure that the original MSI file is always left on disk after installation on the location it was launched from. Or you can build a major upgrade (standalone setup) instead of a patch.

You can find more details on the following article: Why does MSI require the original .msi file

Best regards,
Liviu