How can I stop an .exe on repair, update and delete in wix? - wix

Question

In my wix I use the following declaration:
<ComponentGroup Id="BinComponents" Directory="BIN">
<Component Id="BinComponent" Guid="23D229D0-06EE-49f4-80B4-6D7136500721">
<File Id="MyProjectOutput" Name="MyProject.exe" Source="MyProject\bin\MyProject.exe"/>
<ServiceControl Id="RemoveService"
Stop="both"
Remove="both"
Name="MyProject.exe"
Wait="yes" /> <!-- Stop running MyProject instances -->
</Component>
</ComponentGroup>
My Repro:
At first, I run my installation as usual. After the installation, I start my web application. An .exe appears in the task manager as usual:
I want to end this .exe on a repair, update or uninstall. So I start my .msi again and choose repair:
Now my problem: After pressing 'Repair', I expect the following dialog because of the declared ServiceControl:
But it doesn´t. Instead, the following dialog appears:
When I log the setup, the log shows the following lines:
MSI (s) (A8:DC) [10:16:28:227]: Executing op: ActionStart(Name=StopServices,Description=Stopping services,Template=Service: [1])
Action 10:16:28: StopServices. Stopping services
MSI (s) (A8:DC) [10:16:28:228]: Executing op: ProgressTotal(Total=1,Type=1,ByteEquivalent=1300000)
MSI (s) (A8:DC) [10:16:28:228]: Executing op: ServiceControl(,Name=MyProject.exe,Action=2,Wait=1,)
MSI (s) (A8:DC) [10:16:28:228]: Executing op: ActionStart(Name=DeleteServices,Description=Deleting services,Template=Service: [1])
Action 10:16:28: DeleteServices. Deleting services
MSI (s) (A8:DC) [10:16:28:228]: Executing op: ProgressTotal(Total=1,Type=1,ByteEquivalent=1300000)
MSI (s) (A8:DC) [10:16:28:229]: Executing op: ServiceControl(,Name=MyProject.exe,Action=8,Wait=1,)
MSI (s) (A8:DC) [10:16:28:229]: Executing op: ActionStart(Name=InstallFiles,Description=Copying new files,Template=File:
[1], Directory: [9], Size: [6])
[...]
MSI (s) (7C:28) [09:06:21:950]: RESTART MANAGER: Did detect that a critical application holds file[s] in use, so a reboot will be necessary.
MSI (s) (7C:28) [09:06:21:950]: Note: 1: 1610
MSI (s) (7C:28) [09:06:21:950]: Note: 1: 2205 2: 3: Error
MSI (s) (7C:28) [09:06:21:950]: Note: 1: 2228 2: 3: Error 4: SELECT `Message` FROM `Error` WHERE `Error` = 1610
Next to a Repair I also have tried an Update with the same results.
Perhaps any declaration missing?
Note: When I close the MyApp.exe in the task manager, the message does not appear, so the MyApp.exe is definitely responsible for the problem.

Answer 1

You should post the entire log somewhere. The root cause is that a repair shouldn't routinely require files to be replaced. So if you literally installed your product, ran the exe, and then a repair needs to replace files, then the issue is not that files-in-use dialog - it's that the installed product is broken, so required files or registry entries have been removed. The application event log should have MsiInstaller entries that describe a missing component. So look at that root cause first.
After fixing that it should be very rare for a repair to need to replace files, so it may not be worth worrying about. But you could look at integrating your app with Restart Manager or using the WiX util CloseApplication.

Answer 2

The warning dialog that you are seeing is from "InstallValidate" standard action.
I have run into a similar issue in the past . I fixed it by making use of a single service control element instead of multiple service control elements, for the same service id.
In my case, i had multiple service control elements for the same service id.
This is as per the link at
http://windows-installer-xml-wix-toolset.687559.n2.nabble.com/Upgrade-uninstall-restart-issue-td7586315.html
This did the trick for me. Numerous users have reported the same behavior, though its not officially documented.
Having a single service control element makes Restart Manager take note of the entry in the Service Control table and will prevent Restart Manager from listing the service in the RMFilesInUse dialog box or will prevent Restart Manager
from throwing up warning messages informing the user that a restart might be required.
Here is one more link
Can't start windows service with WiX
My experiments have shown me that there is definitley a link between the number of service control elements and Restart Manager
http://microsoft.public.windows.msi.narkive.com/OOuQQAsw/controlling-restart-manager-behaviour
The other option was to totally disable Restart Manager using the property RESTARTMANAGERCONTROL, In case, you disable the RestartManager, you might be prompted for reboots(you might want to test it once) and the legacy "Files in Use" mechanism kicks off. Disabling Restart Manager is a conscious decision by the concerned msi developer and at times becomes necessary.
I am not sure about how your Service Control table looks like. Just wanted to share my experience with you.
Hopefully it helps.
Regards,
Kiran Hegde