How do I programmatically uninstall a cached Wix Burn program - wix

I have created a Wix Burn app that I am installing two MSI's with. Works great.
The MSI files install properly
The Wix Burn app registers with ARP.
The MSI files do not register with ARP
I can do Major Upgrades
I can install and uninstall manually with a local copy of the Wix Burn app
I can programmatically execute the Wix Burn app to uninstall (using /x)
The Problem:
I know two way to uninstall using a Wix Burn app:
Click on the Uninstall button in ARP (requires user involvement)
Launch a copy of the Wix Burn app that installed the product
I see in the Wix Burn log that Windows caches my Wix Burn app install in much the same way that MSIEXEC will cache MSI files. Is there a way to programmatically ask Windows or MSI to use the cached version of the Wix Burn app to do the uninstall?
A Possibility:
Presumably I could use MsiGetProductInfo() to get a path to the cached Wix Burn app. To do that, however, I need my app's Product Code. However, Product Codes are not attributes of elements in Wix so I am not seeing how to get a Product Code for a Burn package.

You might be able to solve this by iterating through the Uninstall registry entries. The process is:
Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall.
Iterate through the sub-keys searching for an entry where the Publisher and DisplayName matches your product.
If you find an entry, read the value of QuietUninstallString and run that as a command. For a WIX burn installer this is typically in the form C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{GUID}\SetupProgram.exe /uninstall /quiet.
If you are using a 64 bit operating system you will also need to search HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall.

Related

Wix bootstrapper uninstalling MSI package in silent mode

I have an msi bundled with prerequisites using Wix bootstrapper (burn.exe).
We migrated this project from Installshield to WiX.
The installation works fine.
However, during repair or uninstall the bootstrapper runs the msi-file in silent mode.
Since the last dialog (e.g. 'SetupCompleteSuccess') within the msi file contains some controls to trigger some more actions.
Is there a possibility to configure the bootstrapper so that the msi file is executed in 'UI'-mode?
In WiX v3, it is not possible. Burn explicitly shows internal UI only during initial install. WiX v4 changes how that works: https://github.com/wixtoolset/issues/issues/5616

Only repair and uninstall can be seen while relaunching bootstrapper application

I have an msi bundled with prerequisites using Wix bootstrapper. After installing the wix bootstrapper application, if i relaunch it again i could do only repair and uninstall. But i need to have modify option also.
In MSI i tried setting the property REINSTALLMODE as "vamus". after doing so, i was able to change / repair/ uninstall w.r.t. msi.
But bootstrapper application doesn't show modify option.
On relaunching the installed wix bootstrapper application, i am expecting to have below options.
change, repair & uninstall.
A modify option makes only sense if you want to remove or add features included in an msi. May be a solution would be to set up your own bookkeeping on installed features and showing this list to the user in a custom bootstrapper application.
Another way to handle this situation may be to show the msi installation dialog which should show a "modify" dialog option.

prevent bundle getting uninstalled until all chained msis are uninstalled [duplicate]

My Requirements:
I have few MSI files which need to be installed. User can select which one he wants to install/uninstall. For this purpose I have used WiX bootstrapper where I have used WPF UI to list down all the MSI and few buttons to Intstall/Upgrade/Uninstall
Till now I am able to install selected MSI using InstallCondition but could not manage the uninstall. If I uninstall any of the MSI, the Bundle is also getting uninstalled. Hence it is not showing in the Add/Remove Program.
So I would like to know if there is any way to allow uninstall of individual MSI but not the Bundle itself?
I'm guessing your bundle is getting uninstalled because you are using Engine.Plan(LaunchAction.Uninstall). If you use a different action like Install or Modify, it shouldn't be removed.
To control the install state of the individual MSI packages, I think you can set that in a callback to PlanPackageBegin.

WIX Bootstrapper - Selected MSI packages uninstallation

I have created a Wix custom bootstrapper application and bundle file using Wix 3.8. Bundle file contains five MSI packages. Created a setup and installed it. All MSI packages are installed and uninstalled correctly.
Then, I have include "InstallCondition" attribute in each MSI package elements in bundle file. Installed the setup based on the selection (installed three MSI packages). Installation working fine.
Now I want to uninstall any of selected MSI packages from installed packages (three packages installed) using custom BA.
Is it possible do the above using Wix CBA? Please share any idea regarding this.
Thanks
You need to call Plan with the Modify action (or Uninstall if you want to uninstall the whole bundle). Then in the OnPlanPackageBegin callback, set the desired state of the package (Absent to uninstall). I think if the InstallCondition of a package evaluates to false during a Modify or Uninstall action, the engine would plan to uninstall it by default.

How can i display my MSI's UI on Uninstalling from a Burn Bootstrapper?

I have a Burn bootstrapper which is installing a series of dependency MSIs and then my product MSI. The main product MSI has DisplayInternalUI="yes" which works great and allows me to display custom UI etc etc.
My problem is on uninstall. I'm making use of the FilesInUse dialog in my MSI to prevent uninstall while the application is running. However this dialog only displays if I uninstall using the MSI. If I try to uninstall using the bootstrapper the UI will not display.
Is there any way to make the bootstrapper call the MSI with full UI mode on uninstall?
Burn doesn't support that. There's typically no support for "full UI on uninstall"; instead, the UI for maintenance mode is shown. That could lead to the user doing something other than uninstall but there'd be no way for Burn to know that what it requested wasn't done.