2 replies to this topic

[hambone]

does anyone know why the use of the /qb switch would cause an install to behave differently from the use of the /qr switch

when the install occurs neither produces any dialogs that require user input...


background:

we are installing the ms office pro xp product to both english and french workstations.  we have been experiencing difficulty having both languages behave in a similiar manner.  

specifically, at this stage, we load workstations with ms office pro xp.  we then follow up this install with the installation of the proofing tools. ( we stopped using chained installs and split the operation to allow for debugging ).

for the english workstations everything seems tickity-boo.  however for the french workstations we start running into errors with the proofing tools.  after a bit of investigation the problem was tracked to the use of the /QB vs. /QR switch.

after reviewing the logs summary, analysis identifies that the "Client Priviledge Details:" is different depending on which option is used.  if the /qb option is used this is set to (none).  if the /qr option is used this is set to "..... with elevated priviledges: Product is assigned." !?

after analyzing the resultant differences on the workstation i have determined that:  

Regarding Files Copied:
using /qb results in 1 unique file on the workstation while /qr results in 2 unique files ( both share 101 files that are the same, based on the MD5 hash ).  the unique files with the /qb is the cached msi so no trouble there.  the unique files on the /qr system are the cached msi ( again no problem ) but there is a new file ( MSB1EALR.DLL in the ..\..\Microsoft Shared\Translat directory )!

Regarding Registry Entries Made/Changed:
the results for the registry changes are much more dramatic.  there are 1,164 entries that are common to both installs.  there are 108 entries that are different ( they share the same key names but the values are different ).  in the /qr install there are an additional 141 changes made to the registry!!

should there be that big of a difference in the results of a /qb vs. /qr install  as stated the /qr seems to work ( more testing required, but so far yes )

has anyone experienced this ?

[Stefan Krueger]

Not a real explanation for your problem but: I believe the difference betwen the two modes is the processing (or ignoring) of the user interface sequence. If there are any important custom actions in the UI sequence this could make a difference.

[hambone]

thanks stefan, i'm thinking along a similiar line...

it is my understanding that there are several sequence tables in any given msi ( AdminExecuteSequence which runs after the AdminUISequence, if executed; AdvExecuteSequence InstallExecuteSequence which runs after the InstallUISequence, if executed ).  

i suspect that the use of the ui control flags, /qb, /qf, /qn or /qr, directs the msiexec to either skip the ...UISequence tables or ?perhaps? jump into the ...ExecuteSequence tables rather than run them from the start?  another possibility is that one of the ui windows provides either a property of switch that is missing ?

i am going to try and run a debug on the install, logs don't seem to help right now, but has anyone done this yet?

my thinking is that the Admin... tables are executed if an Administrative install is performed, /A option.  the behaviour of the ui switches on the MSIExec is foreign to me however...

any help on this would be appreciated, thanks....