I have an application that we are switching over to a WiX installer. So far almost everything seems to be going well. The one problem I'm having is that if an older version is downloaded and attempted to install, it does so.
And that's a bit of a problem. If there is a newer version installed I don't want it to install the older version. I thought the problem was with the "Upgrade" component but I must admit I've hit a wall. How can I change it so that the older versions see there is a newer version already installed and not install it?
My test product is now in version 2.4 (the newest version we're trying to push out). It upgrades correctly to 2.4.1 or 2.5 or 3.0. But if I make a 3.0 version, and then run the msi for 2.4 it still adds it.
My upgrade component:
<Upgrade Id="PUT-GUID-HERE">
<UpgradeVersion Maximum="2.4" Property="PREVIOUSVERSIONSINSTALLED" />
<UpgradeVersion Minimum="1.0" Property="NEWERPRODUCTFOUND" OnlyDetect="yes" IncludeMinimum="no" />
</Upgrade>
Follow Up:
After following Steins suggestion I got an error like this
"Duplicate symbol 'WixAction:InstallExecuteSequence/RemoveExistingProducts' found"
After looking around in the Product.wxs file under the <InstallExecuteSequence>I had to delete <RemoveExistingProducts Sequence="6550" /> because that was the duplicate it was referring to. After doing that the installer worked and old versions can no longer be installed on top of new versions.
Packages of Futures Past: You can not change older versions of your package to detect newer ones. You need to build protection into your packages from the start. Packages need to be pre-cognitive. It's an industry problem.
Modern Times: The WiX elements you show above are "old-style". There is a new "convenience feature" described here: How do you detect installed product versions at each startup? It involves the "new" MajorUpgrade element. This new MajorUpgrade element features some auto-magic and I believe it adds the protection you describe by default (downgrade protection). Hence you can switch to using it. I would try that first. Let me inline the basic markup:
<MajorUpgrade Schedule="afterInstallInitialize"
DowngradeErrorMessage="A later version of [ProductName] is already installed. Setup will now exit."
AllowDowngrades="no" AllowSameVersionUpgrades="no" />
In addition to removing the old-style upgrade elements, please also remember to delete any hard coded scheduling of the RemoveExistingProducts standard action. For example, remove this line (sequence number will likely be different, but same name):
<RemoveExistingProducts Sequence="6550" />
Decoupling: If you find that there is a high risk that people will run the older versions and mess with your newest application, you could set a new installation location and a new upgrade code for your latest version and install side-by-side to decouple your old and new products.
Side-By-Side: For this to work your product(s) must be capable of co-existing peacefully and not fight over file associations, per-machine registered COM servers, or other globally shared data that make the products interfere with each other. Whether this is possible or not depends on your application. A globally shared COM server can not be registered from two different locations - if you use normal registry registration (you can use manifest based reg-free COM though - though this is involved at times). There can be many challenges to overcome before your application supports side-by-side installation, or it could be rather trivial if your package is simple with no registry involvement.
Component GUIDs: You need to set new component GUIDs as well - for all components - in addition to the mentioned change of upgrade code in order to really shield the products from each other. If you use WiX auto-GUIDs this will happen auto-magically. The reason you need new component GUIDs is attempted explained here: Change my component GUID in wix? Essentially a GUID reference counts an absolute installation location, not a file per-se. You install to a new location, you need a new component GUID.
Related
I have a WIX installer which uses standard MajourUpgrade logic:
<MajorUpgrade Schedule="afterInstallInitialize" AllowDowngrades="no" DowngradeErrorMessage="!(loc.DowngradeErrorMessage)" AllowSameVersionUpgrades="yes" />
The installer harvests some files and also has some custom actions. I want to know if its possible to automate rollbacks. For example:
If I install version 1.0.0.0 and then install version 1.0.1.0. How can I rollback the install of 1.0.1.0 to 1.0.0.0 without introducing patches. I don't want to have to uninstall and then reinstall an older version.
Thank you in advanced.
First, add a reference to the WiXFailWhenDeferred Custom Action. This allows you to easily cause rollbacks to occur to enable your testing.
Second, read the Major Upgrade documentation. Take a look at the description for afterInstallExecute and read the linked blog article.
IMO it is safer to design an install that almost never fails and just use the default behavior and accept that someone may have to reinstall the original version. If you still want your desired behavior then make sure you are following the component rules. Use the MSIENFORCEUPGRADECOMPONENTRULES property in your testing to help beaware of component rule violations. Be sure to test net new install and upgrade installs and compare the file sets to make sure everything worked the way you expected.
Two different products have different UpgradeCodes and exist in two different setups (ProductA.msi and ProductB.msi). Both have version N.
Now ProductB is merged into ProductA version N+1. That is, ProductB's files will be provided by the installer of ProductA, and to the install location of ProductA.
A user that installs ProductA version N+1 would not like ProductB to be installed any more (it could even cause problems). So when ProductA is installed/upgraded to version N+1, ProductB (any version) should be removed. How can I accomplish this in the setup of ProductA?
It's similar to this question, but that is for removing a different product at uninstall rather than at install/upgrade. Wix - uninstall different product
WiX Sample: Here is a technical sample of doing as Bob Arnson describes: Adding entries to MSI UpgradeTable to remove related products. Make sure you leave this entry in your setup for future releases. It needs to persist there as people can skip a few version when upgrading?
Inline Sample: Please see link above for full sample.
<!-- Older Product Line 1: Upgrade Code -->
<Upgrade Id="{11111111-1111-1111-1111-000000000000}">
<UpgradeVersion Property="PRODUCTLINE1" IncludeMinimum="yes" Minimum="0.0.0" />
</Upgrade>
Debugging Major Upgrades: WIX does not uninstall older version - an ad-hoc list of causes for major upgrade failure.
Component Referencing: Merging setups can cause some component reference errors. I assume you are aware. This could manifest as missing files after installation or "some malfunction" during upgrade scenarios. Faulty registration, stranded files, you name it - just mentioning.
Component GUIDs: Here is some background information on component referencing and component GUIDs: Change my component GUID in wix?
As a rule of thumb: If you install the old files to a new location with new component GUIDs you should be fine. Things to check: shared files, COM servers, anything unsual in terms of machine-scope registration, services, COM Interop, COM+, etc... Many setups are simple, others are not.
Custom Actions: Migrating any custom actions can cause serious problems - especially during upgrade scenarios with complex sequencing and conditioning for when the actions actually run and not.
Add ProductB's upgrade code to a new Upgrade element in ProductA. Then when installing ProductA N+1, the upgrade will remove both ProductA N and ProductB.
A WiX installer product node has an attribute UpgradeCode. It is used to refer to previous versions of the same product. The value is stored in the UpgradeTable. The UpgradeTable is parsed by the FindRelatedProducts action.
The UpgradeCode allows to remove previous products with the same UpgradeCode. But the plan is to integrate several outdated legacy products to a combined single product. The UpgradeCode of this legacy product is known. I hope adding this code to the UpgardeTable will remove this legacy product too. This can be done by filling the UpgradeTable.
How can I add more entries in the UpgradeTable in a WiX setup?
Edit: What Syntax is required?
Is there a better way to remove products that are absolete after an upgrade?
Short Answer: You add several Upgrade Element entries in your WiX
source which will create several rows in the compiled MSI's Upgrade Table which then list products that are to be uninstalled during
installation (or that can abort your installation). You must be very careful about the options you specify for each product family to uninstall.
Major Upgrade Failure: Here is a list to help debug failing major upgrades by identifying the most common problems: Common causes of failed major upgrades.
Side-By-Side Installations: Be aware that an alternative to uninstalling older versions during a major upgrade, is to make your new version isolated enough to be able to co-exist with existing installations. Such isolation can be challenging, and is a whole other ballgame (prevent: fighting over file associations, incompatible COM server installations, incompatible runtimes, conflicting services, unexpected locks of configuration files and registry keys, etc...).
MajorUpgrade Element: Newer versions of WiX feature a "convenience feature" for major upgrade implementation in the form of the MajorUpgrade element. This elements simplifies the implementation of normal major upgrades.
Upgrade Element: In earlier versions of WiX more basic elements had to be used to implement major upgrades. This element is still available, and it is what you need to do more elaborate and fine-grained UpgradeTable configuration.
The differences between using these methods are very nicely illustrated by Wim Coenen here: Majorupgrade or Upgrade ID which is preferred for Major upgrade? I think that explanation is so good that I refuse to repeat it too much here :-). Give it a quick read please.
Major Upgrade Configuration Choices: The below is just a sample. The actual configuration of a major upgrade has to be carefully reasoned in each case:
Do you want to abort if higher versions are found?
From what product line?
What will the error message be?
Do you want to continue if an uninstall of an older version fails?
Do you want to allow lower versions to uninstall higher version? (please don't).
Do you want to allow the same version to uninstall itself and re-install?
You obviously have to plan for this and test in detail. Below is a mock-up. This combines the use of the MajorUpgrade Element and Upgrade elements. You can also rely solely on Upgrade elements to do things "manually" with more fine grained control:
<!-- Major upgrade - Your New Product Line, using the MajorUpgrade convenience element -->
<MajorUpgrade DowngradeErrorMessage="A later version of [ProductName] is already installed" />
<!-- Older Product Line 1: Upgrade Code -->
<Upgrade Id="{11111111-1111-1111-1111-000000000000}">
<UpgradeVersion Property="PRODUCTLINE1" IncludeMinimum="yes" Minimum="0.0.0" />
</Upgrade>
<!-- Older Product Line 2: Upgrade Code -->
<Upgrade Id="{22222222-2222-2222-2222-000000000000}">
<UpgradeVersion Property="PRODUCTLINE2" IncludeMinimum="yes" Minimum="0.0.0" />
</Upgrade>
<!-- Older Product Line 3: Upgrade Code -->
<Upgrade Id="{33333333-3333-3333-3333-000000000000}">
<UpgradeVersion Property="PRODUCTLINE3" IncludeMinimum="yes" Minimum="0.0.0" />
</Upgrade>
I would suggest you change the name of these PRODUCTLINE properties that is inherently understandable as a specific product line. In other words if you uninstall WiX3 you call it WIX3PRODUCTLINE etc... This is so the resulting log file is easier to comprehend.
Sample Upgrade Table:
The Attributes column of the Upgrade Table is important to control the behavior of the major upgrade. Continue on uninstall failure, etc...
And a list of free tools you can use to view a compiled MSI files (for whoever might find this answer): How can I compare the content of two (or more) MSI files?
UPDATE:
Unable to remove previous versions of MSI. Multiple entry's show up in control panel
WIX does not uninstall older version (potential causes of failed major upgrade)
Older Entries:
How can I find the Upgrade Code for an installed MSI file?
How can I find the product GUID of an installed MSI setup?
How To: Implement a Major Upgrade In Your Installer
Majorupgrade or Upgrade ID which is preferred for Major upgrade?
Major upgrades now easier than ever
Also want to send you to WiX expert Neil Sleightholm's site for some dated, but still good real-world samples:
WiX Script for Major Upgrades
LaunchConditions, FindRelatedProducts and Downgrades
Just add Upgrade and UpgradeVersion elements as required. That all just works. You might be using the MajorUpgrade element, and perhaps you're unaware of those other elements.
I would like to know if there is any way I can overwrite the old files using a newer version of the product. There are a few hundred files, so is there a better way to do this? As the upgrade is completely wiping out all files. I would like the upgrade MSI to overwrite the files.
My upgrade logic is as follows:
<Upgrade Id="$(var.UpgradeCode)">
<UpgradeVersion Minimum="$(var.ProductVersion)"
IncludeMinimum="no"
OnlyDetect="yes"
Property="NEWPRODUCTFOUND" />
<UpgradeVersion Minimum="$(var.RTMProductVersion)"
IncludeMinimum="yes"
Maximum="$(var.ProductVersion)"
IncludeMaximum="no"
Property="UPGRADEFOUND" />
</Upgrade>
<CustomAction Id="PreventDowngrading" Error="Newer version already installed" />
<InstallUISequence>
<Custom Action="PreventDowngrading" After="FindRelatedProducts">NEWPRODUCTFOUND</Custom>
</InstallUISequence>
<InstallExecuteSequence>
<Custom Action="PreventDowngrading" After="FindRelatedProducts">NEWPRODUCTFOUND</Custom>
<RemoveExistingProducts After="InstallFinalize" />
<InstallExecute After="RemoveExistingProducts" />
</InstallExecuteSequence>
I will need to write this quickly, please bear with me, but here goes:
Component GUIDs must stay the same between packages for files to update correctly, especially when you deploy via a patch. The key symptom of mismatching component GUIDs is exactly missing files after the deployment is complete (and patches that never work).
Set up a proper major upgrade as explained by PhilDW, and keep the component GUIDs consistent between releases and follow the component creation rules, and your upgrade should work correctly (and your patches too).
Note that you can leave the component GUIDs out of the WiX source file and allow them to be auto-generated rather than hard coded, and you will still get consistent GUIDs. Auto-generation of GUIDs will calculate a stable GUID (please read the linked question, the accepted answer along with all its comments) that remains stable between releases unless you rename or move the file in question - this requires a new component GUID, and here is why (this also explains why auto-generating stable GUIDs is possible). Auto-GUID generation will detect when a new GUID is required.
I am not up to speed on harvesting via heat.exe, but I think it allows the component GUIDs to be auto-generated rather than hard coded. Just change your script or automation process to set component GUIDs to auto-generate (this uses a * instead of a GUID in the component tag). Please read this entire answer with all answers and comments as well: Syntax for guids in WIX?
Important! A patch is just a delivery method for an MSI upgrade that is already working as a full package. Don't waste any time generating patches until you have verified that the full, updated MSI package upgrades the previous version correctly. You will just waste time if you do - the patch will never work if the full update doesn't work. It can't.
Is the first version of your product live? If it is not I would suggest starting over from scratch and use auto-generated GUIDs. If your previous version is live and you have hard coded component GUIDs you either need to match the existing component GUIDs in your first version with the component GUIDs in the updated version, OR you must put RemoveExistingProducts early in the InstallExecuteSequence as suggested by zett42 to allow the old version to fully uninstall before the new version is installed. This will prevent the previous error in component referencing to affect the major upgrade and no files should be missing after the upgrade. Patching will not be possible in this approach at all since component referencing isn't correct. This makes both minor and major upgrade patching fail - both require 100% component referencing to work properly.
This has already become long. If this all sounds Greek to you, please read up on the linked stackoverflow answers and get your head around MSI component creation best practice and component referencing in general. See MSDN as well for this. I will check back and see how you get on, and perhaps clean up this answer a little bit once I know what isn't clear and where you are at.
I am building an installer with Wix 3.10 that will install files, create a service as well as create and populate a database.
I am using the Wix sql:SqlDatabase element to create the database and run some sql scripts to populate it during installation (based heavily on WIX database deployment, installation)
As recommended in the Wix documentation, I am testing a mock upgrade before releasing the initial installer. From what I can tell sticking to major upgrades is strongly recommended and so I am using the MajorUpgrade element as per the examples.
Unfortunately however during the major upgrade I can't seem to prevent Wix from uninstalling the database, nor can I find any guidance on how to handle this. I understand that a major upgrade is effectively an uninstall of the current version followed by a fresh install of the new version, but surely there is a way of retaining parts of the original?
I have a similar problem with the service that I install too, but based on this SO question Wix Major Upgrade: how do I prevent Windows service reinstallation? the solution appears to be to add a condition to the delete service entry of the install sequence:
<InstallExecuteSequence>
<DeleteServices>NOT UPGRADINGPRODUCTCODE</DeleteServices>
</InstallExecuteSequence>
This implies to me that it is possible to retain entries across a major upgrade, but I may be misunderstanding.
Unfortunately there does not appear to be any equivalent installexecute sequence element for a SqlDatabase entity. Is there any guidance on how one should approach this?
UPDATE
Based on PhilDW's answer, changing the sequence or schedule of the major upgrade is done by changing the Schedule attribue:
<MajorUpgrade
DowngradeErrorMessage="A newer version of [ProductName] is already installed."
Schedule="afterInstallExecute"/>
Note however that this will only take you so far - if you plan to add support for trusted authentication as well as SQL authentication in your installer (as per the SO article above) it will not work, my assumption is that Wix determines that one component was never installed (whichever authentication option was not chosen) and therefore will always drop the database.
There are a few ways to address this, depending on the internals of your MSI:
A major upgrade that is sequenced at the "end", after InstallExecute and just before InstallFinalize, means that the upgrade is basically an install of the new product on top of the currently installed product. File overwrite rules apply, one of which is that data files won't be replaced if they have been updated after installation. So data files are saved. Other considerations are that binary file versions must be updated for those you need updating, and component rules must be followed.
If the issue is based on custom actions that run when the older product is being uninstalled, then you can use a custom action condition such as REMOVE="ALL" and not UPGRADINGPRODUCTCODE. UPGRADINGPRODUCTCODE is set in the older product as it is being uninstalled, not in the incoming upgrade.
I believe some WiX util types custom actions are based on the uninstall of the related component, so you wouldn't need that condition in 2. A major upgrade after InstallExecute increments the ref counts of each component (which is why you need to follow component rules) while following file overwrite rules. So your data file would have its ref count counted up to 2, would not be overwritten, then the older product uninstall would count it down to 1, so that the component remains, and an uninstall custom action based on component removal would not run.
If there is something you need to do in the upgrading install that's custom action based, then WIX_UPGRADE_DETECTED will tell you that you are upgrading an installed product.
On the upgrade link you refer to, Chris Painter's answer is the correct one. It's basically the same point that I'm making here, so of course he's correct :)