2 replies to this topic

[mraffel]

Our installation reboots at least once (at the end of the install).  And sometimes, depending on the PC, more than once (during the middle of the install and at the end).

What causes this and how can I avoid it?

Thanks
Matt

[Joe Fegan]

You're asking a "how long is a piece of string" question so I'll have to answer in general terms. The most usual reason for the Installer to initiate a system reboot is that it needs to replace files that are currently in use, for example a DLL that is currently being used by some system process. The Installer cannot replace these files while they are in use and it cannot continue the installation until they are replaced so it suspends the rest of the installation until after the next reboot of the system. At that time it replaces the offending files and resumes the installation. An author of an installation package can also force a reboot at any point during the installation by including a ForceReboot action in the execution script.

You might also find something in the "System Reboots" topic in the Windows Installer help.

[nraina]

i am facing a similar situation.

When I run setup.exe first time (on a fresh machine) a message box asking me to reboot showed up before 'InstallWelcome' dialog box showed up ie it asked to reboot before installation took place!
Pl suggest ANY way to avoid it.

Ian Blake told that setup.exe checks the version of msi.  If it does not find msi or finds an older msi it launches instmsia.exe (on Win 95-ME) or instmsiw.exe (on WinNT).  This needs a reboot.  After a reboot it can call msiexec to process you installation.
My question is that, Can't i do anything so that it finds the msi/newer version (eg what if i run myproject.msi instead of setup.exe) ...
afterall other standard applications do not ask to reboot before installation takes place.

Pl help.. i am running out of time
Thanks.