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The PE Format specification for image (.exe) and object files describes how to locate the start of the PE header.

However, I am trying to find the PE header of an MSI, and neither the approach for image nor the approach for object files seems to work. I am not even sure if an MSI has a PE header, but looking into the file with a hex editor indicates that it has one.

I've looked into the Windows Installer Reference but it does not seem to include detailed information about the structure of MSI files, so I guess it boils down to these questions:

• Do MSI files include a PE header similar to the one described above?
• How to locate the PE header?
• Is there a specification for MSI files similar to the one linked above?

I want to create a URL-based Windows installer. I need Msistuff.exe to configure the Setup.exe resources. I have installed the Windows SDK components. However, I am unable to find Msistuff.exe. Please advise how to get that/find its path.

I spent a few days on solving the problem with many versions of the boostrapper in Add/Remove Programs.

I have tried in many ways with different combinations of the DisableRemove, DisableModify, UpgradeCode, ParentName and Version for Bundle properties. I am tring attach to the event PlanRelatedBundle and DetectRelatedBundle but I am not able to set anything there.

Found this from 2012 but unfortunately there is no such definitive solution to this problem for bootstrapper. http://windows-installer-xml-wix-toolset.687559.n2.nabble.com/Bootstrapper-Upgrade-Detection-td7580471i20.html

In logs I can see it find related bundle

First version 1.0.108.0:

[4364:38F8][2021-05-05T07:58:53]i370: Session begin, registration key: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall{a0118d1b-5688-4e44-a1a9-61c7b7b4d9f0}, options: 0x7, disable resume: No [4364:38F8][2021-05-05T07:58:54]i000: Caching bundle from: 'C:\Users\M4360~1\AppData\Local\Temp{82501D9E-759F-4960-9F6B-D34CB27DBC5B}.be\ETest.exe' to: 'C:\ProgramData\Package Cache{a0118d1b-5688-4e44-a1a9-61c7b7b4d9f0}\ETest.exe' [4364:38F8][2021-05-05T07:58:54]i320: Registering bundle dependency provider: {a0118d1b-5688-4e44-a1a9-61c7b7b4d9f0}, version: 1.0.108.0 [4364:38F8][2021-05-05T07:58:54]i371: Updating session, registration key: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall{a0118d1b-5688-4e44-a1a9-61c7b7b4d9f0}, resume: Active, restart initiated: No, disable resume: No

Second version 1.0.109.0:

[0FC0:2F94][2021-05-05T08:16:19]i000: *********** EVENT: PlanRelatedBundle, arg name: PlanRelatedBundleEventArgs - BundleId, value: {a0118d1b-5688-4e44-a1a9-61c7b7b4d9f0}. State, value: Absent. Result, value: None. , sender:: BootstrapperStartup

[0FC0:2F94][2021-05-05T08:16:19]i207: Planned related bundle: {a0118d1b-5688-4e44-a1a9-61c7b7b4d9f0}, type: Upgrade, default requested: Absent, ba requested: Absent, execute: Uninstall, rollback: Install, dependency: None

[2278:35D8][2021-05-05T08:16:22]i370: Session begin, registration key: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall{e0e0d315-c8fc-4f19-acb0-01791a533e15}, options: 0x7, disable resume: No [2278:35D8][2021-05-05T08:16:23]i000: Caching bundle from: 'C:\Users\M4360~1\AppData\Local\Temp{B525729B-76AE-4428-9F13-9DA529F2E455}.be\ETest.exe' to: 'C:\ProgramData\Package Cache{e0e0d315-c8fc-4f19-acb0-01791a533e15}\ETest.exe' [2278:35D8][2021-05-05T08:16:23]i320: Registering bundle dependency provider: {e0e0d315-c8fc-4f19-acb0-01791a533e15}, version: 1.0.109.0 [2278:35D8][2021-05-05T08:16:23]i371: Updating session, registration key: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall{e0e0d315-c8fc-4f19-acb0-01791a533e15}, resume: Active, restart initiated: No, disable resume: No

Third version 1.0.110.0:

[1C30:06C8][2021-05-05T08:26:14]i000: *********** EVENT: PlanRelatedBundle, arg name: PlanRelatedBundleEventArgs - BundleId, value: {a0118d1b-5688-4e44-a1a9-61c7b7b4d9f0}. State, value: Absent. Result, value: None. , sender:: BootstrapperStartup
[1C30:06C8][2021-05-05T08:26:14]i000: *********** EVENT: PlanRelatedBundle, arg name: PlanRelatedBundleEventArgs - BundleId, value: {e0e0d315-c8fc-4f19-acb0-01791a533e15}. State, value: Absent. Result, value: None. , sender:: BootstrapperStartup

[1C30:06C8][2021-05-05T08:26:14]i207: Planned related bundle: {a0118d1b-5688-4e44-a1a9-61c7b7b4d9f0}, type: Upgrade, default requested: Absent, ba requested: Absent, execute: Uninstall, rollback: Install, dependency: None [1C30:06C8][2021-05-05T08:26:14]i207: Planned related bundle: {e0e0d315-c8fc-4f19-acb0-01791a533e15}, type: Upgrade, default requested: Absent, ba requested: Absent, execute: Uninstall, rollback: Install, dependency: None

GUID is correct, but I can't see anything in the logs more about previous versions and I can't see them being uninstalled.

I tried to add ParentName to the Bundle, but it causes no new version to show up in Add/Remove Programs and dont remove old.

Finally my installer installs 5 things, 4 of which are programs that need to be installed for my .msi and I don't know if these other versions are eventually uninstalled and only the registry remains? Why are they in Add / Remove Programs? Because when installing the next version of the boostrapper, it does not take up as much disk space as its entire size from 1.3gb takes about 200 / 300mb and my .msi has 170mb + logs.

Maybe deleting the registry in PlanRelatedBundle is enough?

Edit

I tried remove registery in event OnPlanRelatedBundle and I conclude that the bootstrapper does not have permission to delete registries during upgrade throws an error with RegistryKey key = key32.OpenSubKey (registryKey, true) ;. If I attache to the process when uninstall bootstrapper , the permissions are higher and successfully remove the registers of old versions of the boostrapper. But the installer increases the "Launched elevated engine process." Exe, running as administrator also does not make the old version uninstall.

I'm trying to test GPO deployment and came across this issue whereby the multi-language MSI failed to deploy. I have a multi-language Wix project and produced 2 MSIs (English and multi-language). I have two remote VMs with one acting as a server (Windows Server 2012 R2) which will push the GPO policies to the other one acting as a client VM (Windows 10).

Here are some clues:

• The MSI package is setup under User Configuration > Policies > Software Settings
• Via GPO, I was able to install English but not the multi-language one.
• I was able to install both via manual installation.
• I was only able to install the multi-language one via re-install (Install the multi-language manually then reinstall it via GPO without uninstalling first)
• In the MSI log (Setup manually via registry with value voicewarmupx) the first 21 lines are similar for the installation of both MSIs via GPO. (view Appendix below)
• In the MSI log of the multi-language one, at line 22, there is a line that shows MainEngineThread is returning 1605 (view Appendix). The error code indicates that the program is trying to take action on something that is currently not installed but I'm not sure what to make of it.
• This WIX project contains custom actions so I have set a piece of code to log the session at the earliest possible time (create a Custom Action before FindRelatedProducts under InstallUISequence node) but it didn't appear in the logs so this could mean that the error happens much earlier.

What went wrong?

Appendix

These are the GPO setting that I have setup for both MSIs in the server under User Configuration > Policies > Software Settings.

This is the log of the successful one (English)

This is the log of the unsuccessful one (Multi-language)

I am working on a new project using Electron and ReactJS. The project works fine in development mode, but I am trying to create an installer for Windows but no matter what I try and what I find on Google nothing works. I just get a blank white screen.

Below is my pacakge.json

I am using cmake and cpack and wix to build and deploy my project. The installer has some properties that user can enter via GUI or MSI-command-line options. I set default property values in my CMakeLists.txt using:

First of all, sorry for the vague (if not incorrect) title of this question, but noob as I am, I can't think of other way to phrasing this correctly..

More clearly, I'd like to deploy an Excel addin, developed with VS. For this, I followed Microsoft's guide for deploying using Windows Installer. It worked fine, except for one thing: my addin is supposed to call PuTTY at some point, and the deployment as such apparently doesn't ship PuTTY (the only thing I did so far is to put PuTTY in the Solution Explorer of my project, but I guess that's not enough ;) ).

When I debug on my computer, well I have PuTTY installed, and the path to it is hardcoded, so that everything run fine. But when I deploy it (following the guide), PuTTY is missing.

How can I:

1. Ship PuTTY with my addin?
2. Foresee the location of PuTTY once deployed, and therefore being able to call it correctly?

...using the installer, not click Once.

Thanks a lot!!

I created a Windows Forms application and added a Setup Wizard. I want the installer to create a SHORTCUT of my exe on the desktop but not a COPY of it because the exe uses resources from the folder its in. I added a shortcut using this article: http://gaurangpatel.net/creating-application-shortcut-in-programs-for-windows-installer-project. but it created a copy of the exe instead of a shortcut. Can anyone help with this?

I have deployed an Outlook Add-in using Visual Studio Installer project(followed this link) with C#.

The setup is getting installed correctly(.msi) and I am able to see it inside Options -> Add-in, also the ribbon is visible with the controls.(It's a winform)

Unfortunately, when I hit the button(inside Ribbon), nothing happens.

Code in Ribbon.cs: