6 replies to this topic

[Kikote]

We are having a problem with our MSI installations. We don´t have much spare space on the system drive. So there is not enough space left for the space-consuming rollback path '%systemdrive%\config.msi'

To avoid the problem we could disable the rollback function, but this is not the best solution. So I wanted to know if there is a possibility to tell the Windows Installer to use a different drive for the 'config.msi' path.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

[Glytzhkof]

Chalk me up on this one too, I have always wondered how to control that folder. As you understand I unfortunately don't have an answer for you, but if you haven't already you may broaden the scope of people to see your post by also posting at http://community.installshield.com .

I really don't understand why Windows Installer don't put the rollback files in the %TEMP% folder and not this special top-level folder. I have experienced that people don't have SYSTEM added with write access to this folder and errors result (usually due to inherited NTFS restrictions off C:\).

[luke_s]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents... If you really are that tight on disk space, wouldnt it be advisable to upgrade the hard drive??

Even if you do get the msi installed, other programs including windows, could have issue with this little disk space free

[Zweitze]

I can think of one reason why rollback files are not stored in the temp folder: some perfectionist system administrators delete all temp files on reboot or logon: so if your install needs reboot, and fails after that, you can't rollback.

Nevertheless, I think it would be a nice feature to have in a next version: a configurable folder for installations, where administrators can configure the folder by policy and/or a public property. Who wants to register a wish?

BTW Luke is right: if you formatted the drive with NTFS, its performance will drop significantly if it has less than 15% free.

[Glytzhkof]

Good point about the reboot. However, these guys make the rules and could easily come up with something better than a folder where you are not even guaranteed that basic access rights exists (granted this problem only seems to occur if the user manually messes with the NTFS rights, but a folder straight under root is going to be messed with).

Some ways to get more space on C:\:
* move the page files to a different drive. I normally still leave a small page file on C:\ even if I move it, because I have experienced windows systems that won't boot because they cannot find the page file (for example if drive letters change).
* Other things you could do would be to move the user's temp folders to a different drive (I have never done this), and
* obviously map My Documents to a different network share, but I am 100% sure this is done already.
* Finally enabling drive compression is always a last resort
* It may be possible to gain some space by changing the cluster size of the NTFS file system on that drive, but you need special tools for this, and it is hard to get an improvement this way unless the drive is full of either small or big files.

Edited by Glytzhkof, 08 July 2004 - 08:57.

[Kikote]

Hello Luke, the problem is not the size of the disk. The problem is the size of the partition. All the computers of the MAK platform have a c:\ partition of only 2GB. This is not really much space if we consider how much applications are installed...

Yesterday I poste4d the question to Microsoft. Today I got an answer from Microsoft Premier Support in Germany...
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO CHANGE THE FOLDER FOR THE ROLLBACK FILES.

[Glytzhkof]

Well, that answers the question. Thanks for following up with their answer. Sorry it wasn't what you wanted to hear.