Wix bootstrapper uninstall shortcut - wix

I am trying to create shortcuts to uninstalling whatever the bootstrapper has installed.
So simply i want to do the same thing as the uninstall does when going to Add and remove programs.
I found that de bootstrapper is installed in package cache{guid}[bootstrappername].exe
One of the msi packages that it installs also installs a shortcut to this bootstrapper /uninstall call.
However problem is that the GUID of the package is regenerated on every build. So i some how have to set it as
a msi property.
But i cannot figure out how to do this, seem to me that the GUID is not known during building but only after build is done?
is there another way to determine the location of the cached bootstrapper ?

If you are use Managed BA you can try this:
In your Bundle.wxs in chain with MsiPackage add MsiProperty like:
<MsiPackage SourceFile="Setup.msi">
<MsiProperty Name="UNINSTALLER_PATH" Value="[UNINSTALLER_PATH]"/>
</MsiPackage>
Somewhere in code (before call install action), you need set value for this variable like this:
Engine.StringVariables["UNINSTALLER_PATH"] = string.Format(#"{0}\{1}\{2}\{3}.exe", Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.CommonApplicationData), "Package Cache", Engine.StringVariables["WixBundleProviderKey"], ProductName);
Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.CommonApplicationData) – path to %systemdir%:\ProgramData
Package Cache- folder name in ProgramData where installing bundle caching
Engine.StringVariables["WixBundleProviderKey"] – name of folder (guid) created by caching bundle
ProductName – name of your bootstrapper “exe”
And finally in your Product.wxs you can create shortcut usual way, but in “Target” attribute you need pass UNINSTALLER_PATH value and “Arguments” set ="/uninstall":
<Shortcut Id="Shortcut1" Name="Uninstall" Description="Uninstall" Target="[UNINSTALLER_PATH]" Arguments="/uninstall" WorkingDirectory="Programmenufolder" />
sorry for my english :)

You can determine the location using the bundle upgradecode you define in your bundle.wxs.
Use the registry path to windows uninstall location of your bundle
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall{upgradecode of your bundle}
or for 64 Bit OS
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall{upgradecode of your bundle}
The value BundleCachePath contains the fullpath including your bootstrapper.exe filename to the package cache where your bundle is cached.
You can also use the value QuietUninstallString which contains the full quiet uninstall command or UninstallString to launch the uninstall in non quiet mode.

Related

Wix Burn: How to store the custom InstallFolder for later modifications?

I'm trying to solve this for a while now. I've authored a custom UI for my Bootstrapper Application. Setting a default value for InstallFolder is not the problem, but when the user changes this path, how can I store this path for later changes in add/remove programms, e.g. when another Package in the bundle should be installed by modifying the Bundle?
To write in the Registry could be an option, but the Bootstrapper Application doesn't run elevated all the time, so that it can't write to HKLM. But there should be a way to do this, I saw similar things for Visual Studio...
You should be storing the InstallFolder value in the registry in one (or all depending on how it is authored) of your MSIs that are packaged with the bootstrapper application. On startup you can use a util:RegistrySearch to look for and set the InstallFolder in the bootstrapper.
<Fragment>
<util:RegistrySearch
Id="ServerInstalledCheck"
Root="HKLM"
Key="SOFTWARE\$(var.OEMRegistryRootKeyName)\v7"
Value="ServerPath"
Result="value"
Variable="ServerInstalled"/>
<util:DirectorySearch
Path='[ServerInstalled]'
Variable='InstallFolder'
After='ServerInstalledCheck'
Condition='ServerInstalled' />
</Fragment>
I think you can directly set the variable InstallFolder in the registry search itself and omit the DirectorySearch. The DirectorySearch approach was used just to ensure we only set the InstallFolder to a location that actually exists on the machine. There may be other advantages as well but I can't think of them at the moment.
This will retain your default InstallFolder location on a fresh install and 'remember' the selected install location when running to uninstall/modify/upgrade.
You are right that you cannot rely on writing any registry keys inside your bootstrapper application because it is not guaranteed (and really shouldn't be) run elevated.
This is basically following the 'remember property' pattern which is explained here. Whenever you want to remember a value set in a previous install during modify/upgrade/removal, this is generally the go to.

Two ARP entries if installing MSI first and then a bundle containing the MSI

Why do I get two AddRemoveProgram entries if I install the setup.msi first, and then install the bundle.exe containing the setup.msi. Here is the Chain in my bundle.
<Chain>
<PackageGroupRef Id="NetFx40Redist"/>
<MsiPackage SourceFile="$(var.MsiProject.TargetDir)Setup.msi" />
</Chain>
The setup.msi has a hard-coded ProductCode that was extracted from the bundle.exe using dark -x. Shouldn't bundle.exe detect the already installed setup.msi and skip the installation?
The first entry is for the MSI; the second for the bundle. An MsiPackage element has a Visible attribute that controls whether Burn causes the package to have its own ARP entry visible or not. The default is "no" so in some cases, but not yours, it would result in the two entries.
Yes, Burn does not reinstall packages that are already installed.
Burn is a package manager so it'll always install/uninstall and register/unregister itself. When multiple bundles contain the same packages, Burn figures out which to leave when uninstalling a bundle. Of course, some, like NetFx40Redist, are marked as permanent so the bundle will never uninstall them.
Again, if you'd rather not see an ARP entry for the MSI, be sure to the MsiPackage/#Visible element isn't set to "yes".

Copy file using Burn

I am using WiX Burn to make my installer, i am bundling one exe and one msi.
And the exe needs an properties file at the time of install.
Is there a way to copy the file using burn, i tried Payload but it is not working.
Can i know the location throguh any Bundle variable where my file is copied.
Thanks
Ravi S
Make sure you are specifying the properties file as the payload for the exe and not for the bootstrapper. For example, in your bundle, your chain may look something like this:
<Chain>
<MsiPackage SourceFile="MyInstaller.msi" Id="MyInstaller" Cache="yes"/>
<ExePackage SourceFile="MyExe.exe" Id="MyExe" Cache="yes">
<Payload SourceFile="OtherFile.properties" Id="Properties"/>
</ExePackage>
</Chain>
Also, as a sanity check, which version of WiX are you using? If you are using an older build (such as RC0), you could try updating to the latest weekly build.
Update:
In WiX 3.6 it does not appear that you can get the absolute path of a payload file. There are two bugs/feature request open right now regarding the issue that are deferred to WiX 3.7:
Add burn variable to cache path - ID: 3557446
Change working folder to the cache folder - ID: 3538846
One workaround would be to use burn to write your own bootstrapper application and then programmatically determine the working directory and set the appropriate parameters, but that would be a lot of work for this one issue.

How to determine the folder that a previous WIX Install installed a program in

The existing installer for our product does not write any information to the registry, nor does it write any custom environment variables. The user is allowed to change the install directory in the installer's UI. When I'm doing an upgrade, how do I find out what folder the previous version was installed into?
I need to know the folder so I can find the previous configuration file & copy values from it. The new version's configuration file has new tags and a new structure, so I can't just keep the previous file & reuse it.
Tony
MSI doesn't have that information directly. (MSI packages can have multiple "root" directories, so there's no telling which one a developer might want.) If you have the directory in the registry, use RegistrySearch. Otherwise, you can use MsiGetComponentPath in a custom action.
I've done some research into this and here's the solution that I came up with:
When the installer finishes installing, it creates a node in the registry under the path
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Product ID>
for 32 bit installs on 32 bit OS or 64 bit installs on 64 bit OS, or
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Product ID>
for 32 bit installs on 64 bit OS.
This node contains a value called InstallLocation which gives you the path to where the executables are installed.
Unfortunately, the previous version of our installer did not set this property, so I can't use it. BUT our installer creates a Service. I have found the path to the node in the registry for that service. From there, I can retrieve the value of the ImagePath value and extract the path from the service's .EXE file name.
So my solution is to:
Fix the new installer so it does set the InstallLocation value.
When upgrading from the previous version only, it will retrieve the registry node for the service & use the service's ImagePath key.
If upgrading from any later version, we'll retrieve the Uninstall node and use the InstallLocation key.
Tony
msiexec keeps a copy of the msi from the last install so it will handle uninstalling the previous version you will need to just include the InstallExecuteSequence section
<InstallExecuteSequence>
<RemoveExistingProducts After="InstallValidate" />
</InstallExecuteSequence>
This will only work if you are using the same UpgradeCode attribute in your Product Element.
Good Luck!

Can a .msi file install itself (presumably via a Custom Action)?

I wand to construct an MSI which, in its installation process, will deploy itself along with its contained Files/Components, to the TargetDir.
So MyApp.msi contains MyApp.exe and MyAppBootstrapperEmpty.exe (with no resources) in its File Table.
The user launches a MyAppBootstrapperPackaged.exe (containing MyApp.msi as a resource, obtained from the internet somewhere, or email or otherwise). MyAppBootStrapperPackaged.exe extracts MyApp.msi to a temp folder and executes it via msiexec.exe.
After the msiexec.exe process completes, I want MyApp.msi, MyBootstrapperEmpty.exe (AND MyApp.exe in %ProgramFiles%\MyApp folder so MyApp.exe can be assured access to MyApp.msi when it runs (for creating the below-mentioned packaged content).
MyAppBootstrapper*.exe could try and copy MyApp.msi to %ProgramFiles%\MyApp folder, but would need elevation to do so, and would not allow for its removal via Windows Installer uninstall process (from Add/Remove Programs or otherwise), which should be preserved.
Obviously (I think it's obvious - am I wrong?) I can't include the MSI as a file in my Media/CAB (chicken and egg scenario), so I believe it would have to be done via a Custom Action before the install process, adding the original MSI to the MSI DB's Media/CAB and the appropriate entry in the File table on the fly. Can this be done and if so how?
Think of a content distribution model where content files are only ever to be distributed together with the App. Content is produced by the end user via the App at run time, and packaged into a distributable EXE which includes both the App and the content.
MyApp's installer must remain an MSI, but may be executed by a Bootstrapper EXE. The installed MyApp.exe must have access to both MyApp.msi and EXE is to be "assembled" at runtime by the App from a base (empty) MyAppBootstrapper.exe, which is also installed by the MSI, and the content created by the end-user. The EXE's resource MSI must be the same as that used to install the App which is doing the runtime packaging.
WIX is not to be installed with MyApp.
There can be no network dependencies at run-/packaging- time (i.e. can't do the packaging via a Webservice - must be done locally).
I am familiar with (and using) Custom Actions (managed and unmanaged, via DTF and otherwise).
Add an uncompressed medium to your wxs like this:
<Media Id='2'/>
And then create a component with a File element like this:
<File Source='/path/to/myinstaller.msi' Compressed='no' DiskId='2' />
This will make the installer look for a file called "myinstaller.msi" on the installation medium, in the same folder as the msi that is being installed. The source path above should point to a dummy file, it is only there to appease wix.
Edit: The following sample test.wxs demonstrates that it works. It produces a test.msi file which installs itself to c:\program files\test. Note that you need to put a dummy test.msi file in the same folder as text.wxs to appease wix.
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<Wix xmlns='http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi'>
<Product
Name='ProductName'
Id='*'
Language='1033'
Version='0.0.1'
Manufacturer='ManufacturerName' >
<Package
Keywords='Installer'
Description='Installer which installs itself'
Manufacturer='ManufactererName'
InstallerVersion='100'
Languages='1033'
Compressed='yes'
SummaryCodepage='1252'/>
<Media Id='1' Cabinet='test.cab' EmbedCab='yes'/>
<Media Id='2' />
<Directory Id='TARGETDIR' Name="SourceDir">
<Directory Id='ProgramFilesFolder'>
<Directory Id='TestFolder' Name='Test' >
<Component Id="InstallMyself">
<File Source="./test.msi" Compressed="no" DiskId="2" />
</Component>
</Directory>
</Directory>
</Directory>
<Feature
Id='Complete'
Display='expand'
Level='1'
Title='Copy msi file to program files folder'
Description='Test'>
<ComponentRef Id="InstallMyself" />
</Feature>
</Product>
</Wix>
Having one .MSI package launch another .MSI package from "within" itself is called a nested install, and it's bad juju (see Rule 20). Windows Installer has some global data that it uses to manage the current install, and it doesn't handle well multiple installs at the same time. For the same reason, if you start one install and then try to start another while the first is still in progress, you'll usually see a pop-up to the effect of "another install in progress, please wait until it's done".
You can have a program, usually called a bootstrapper (I think that's what you're referring to) which is itself not an install package, but which contains an install package (such as an .MSI or an .EXE) as a resource, possibly compressed. The action of the bootstrapper program is to extract/expand the resource to a file, commonly in a %TEMP% directory, then either launch the extracted .EXE or run MSIEXEC on the extracted .MSI. The bootstrapper can contain multiple resources and extract+install them one by one, if you need to install prerequisites before the main package. Or you can ship multiple packages as separate files, and have the bootstrapper execute/install them directly from the distribution media one by one, or copy them down to the target machine and run the series of install from there, or...
WiX itself does not get installed, no. It's a tool with which .MSI packages can be built. The WiX project has on its wishlist a generic bootstrapper program, but it hasn't been implemented yet. There are other bootstrappers available, e.g. this one.
You won't need a custom action -- in fact, since the bootstrapper isn't itself a Windows Installer installation package, "custom action" has no meaning to it. And, if you're familiar enough with CAs to know about managed/unmanaged/DTF, then you know enough to avoid custom actions whenever you can. (grin)
I think it's much easier for your bootstrapper to extract MSI file to some predefined location rather than to the temp folder. For example, to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\My Company\My Product Install Cache. After installation finishes bootstrapper would leave MSI file sitting there. If at some stage user decides to reinstall your product Windows Installer will be able to locate source MSI file.
Also, add path to this file to RemoveFile table so that it gets deleted on uninstall. You can use RemoveFile element in WiX for that.
So if I understand, then I think I would have the app create a transform (MST) that has the content files and apply that to the base MSI. I'm still not convinced that I understand though. :)
I'd configure the MSI cache path to a known location.
Then at runtime if you need to "edit" the MSI use VBScript or similar.
But still, I ask WHY!?!
I am also working on a way to deploy multiple MSI files. I have a bootstrapper.exe program that bundles the MSI files and runs them one at a time. This solves my problem for most cases.
The case it does not solve is GPO (Global Policy Object) distribution of the install. GPO requires a dot-msi file to run an install.
To do this here's what I did which almost solved the problem (but not quite). I put the dot-msi files in the file table of an installer and put my bootstrapper in the binary table and run it from a custom action inserted after InstallFinalize in the InstallExecuteSequence. Of course the bootstrapper won't be able to run other MSI's because the top level MSI holds the _MSIExecute mutex.
It was pretty easy to get a little further. I made the bootstrapper return control to the top level installer and continute. And then I added a WaitForSingleObject call to wait for the top level install to finish, and the bootstrapper can then continue to finish the install.
My problem is that the GPO installation happens at boot time and the top level install completes before the sub installers are done and GPO reboots the machine.
The toplevel install also returns a success status when the install may actually fail later on.
I'm still looking for a way to block the top level install from completing until after the bootstrapper completes.