5 replies to this topic

[tobyw]

We were trying to deploy Microsoft .NET Framework V1.1 onto our Windows 2000 SP2 workstations.

As this requires windows Installer v2 not V1 which is currently installed we are installing this first checking that this is completed then installing .NET using a VBScript.

The installation for both Windows Installer 2 and .NET is a silent unattended install using the standard command lines.

All machines seem to install OK however on about 10% of machines, after these components are installed users can no longer use MSI based applications. the error states that the software needs to be reinstalled from it's original location.

We have found that this is related to a regsitry key :[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\Products

When we replace this key from a working machine it works fine.

We have replicated the problem and logged the Windows Installer 2 log file below

=== Verbose logging started: 07/06/2004 14:48:25 Build type: SHIP UNICODE 2.00.2600.00 Calling process: C:\WINNT\Installer\InstMsi0\MsiExec.exe ===
MSI © (9C:B0): Resetting cached policy values
MSI © (9C:B0): Machine policy value 'Debug' is 0
MSI © (9C:B0): ******* RunEngine:
******* Product: Z:\ACTIVATE\60cb56.itm\1.vol\msi\instmsi.msi
******* Action:
******* CommandLine: **********
MSI © (9C:B0): Client-side and UI is none or basic: Running entire install on the server.
MSI © (9C:B0): Grabbed execution mutex.
MSI © (9C:B0): Cloaking enabled.
MSI © (9C:B0): Incrementing counter to disable shutdown. Counter after increment: 0
MSI (s) (D4:68): Resetting cached policy values
MSI (s) (D4:68): Machine policy value 'Debug' is 0
MSI (s) (D4:68): ******* RunEngine:
******* Product: Z:\ACTIVATE\60cb56.itm\1.vol\msi\instmsi.msi
******* Action:
******* CommandLine: **********
MSI (s) (D4:68): Note: 1: 2203 2: Z:\ACTIVATE\60cb56.itm\1.vol\msi\instmsi.msi 3: -2147024837
MSI (s) (D4:68): MainEngineThread is returning 1620
MSI © (9C:B0): Decrementing counter to disable shutdown. If counter >= 0, shutdown will be denied. Counter after decrement: -1
MSI © (9C:B0): MainEngineThread is returning 1620
=== Verbose logging stopped: 07/06/2004 14:48:27 ===


Any suggestions would be great !!

Toby

[Glytzhkof]

I am afraid I don't have any magic for you, but here is some information.

That registry key is probably the most important location in the registry for the windows installer database. I would strongly advice against replacing this key manually! It may work in your case if all workstations have the same software installed, but it is not a good idea.

When an installation fails badly like this, you can use MSIZap.exe (or the GUI version equivalent) to unregister the product completely from the computer and then try to install again.

As to the exact cause of this problem, I don't have any good suggestions. The installation must have been aborted close to the end of the process for those computers not working correctly, and there should be error messages stored in the system event log with an indication what component caused the problem.

[Glytzhkof]

You could also try to invoke one of the MSI applications that don't work and check the event log for any info. I don't know about any known issues like the one you mention, but Stefan probably has the overview of it if there is one.

[Stefan Krueger]

2203 means: Database: Z:\ACTIVATE\60cb56.itm\1.vol\msi\instmsi.msi. Cannot open database file. System error -2147024837.
And system error code -2147024837 means: unexpected network error.
Please try to run the installation from the local hard disk to see if that solves the problem.
Also after updating MSI to version 2.0 you ususally need to reboot the machine. Until then, MSI shortcuts usually don't work.

[tobyw]

Thanks for the update. Even the reboot did not cure this. Is there a list of error codes we can use for reference ??

[Stefan Krueger]

They are documented in the Windows Platform SDK.