Software Deployment

Hi guys,

I know it's an old post but did you finaly figured something out for that software ? We need to install it (version 2013) on 100 pcs and still got the same registry not found error ...

not much of idea particularly for this product..check if you dont need any pre-requisite/ you have enough of space on C:\ for your installation..

Sometimes the created ISS file is also not complete and doesnt have full parameters..I suggest you go thtough the deployment guide of this product..

Rgds,MSI*

does anyone know how to do a silent install of Simply Accounting 2010 Premium?Why bother? If it extracts an MSI, use that. You may have to install the InstallShield driver/engine as a pre-requisite, if the lazy packager decided to use IS functions in the package, but most people install these as part of their builds nowadays.

I sure like to try to remove the "setup.exe" condition but I'm not sure on how to proceed. Because in the installation folder all I have are 2 folders (409, c0c) which contain bmp image and 6 files (1033.mst, 3084.mst, Data1.cab, ISSetup.dll, SA2010.msi and setup.exe). And I have access, where I work, to AdminStudio 9.5 Standard Edition which comes with InstallShield 2010. And, since I'm relatively new to using the InstallShield application I sure like to have more info on the matter, books that you know are good, useful web sites, etc.? I just need a little help to get me started.

By the way why can't I attach a file to this message?

Thanks again for the help!

1033.mst, 3084.mst, Data1.cab, ISSetup.dll, SA2010.msi

there you go, that looks like your entire installer right there. In order those look like language files for English(1033) and Canadian French (3084), the CAB file containing the files, and the MSI
If by setup.exe condition you mean the MSI won't run unless you start setup.exe, try adding ISSETUPDRIVEN=1 in the property table in the MSI or on the command line.

as a test, copy all those files to a folder, then use the following command from that folder in a shell:

msiexec.exe /i SA2010.msi TRANSFORMS=1033.mst ISSETUPDRIVEN=1 /qb /Leai C:\Temp\SA2010Install.log

this will give you an install with basic progress dialog and a log file in C:\Temp

PJ

You can use the Tuner application in AS to create a response transform for the MSI. Using it is a relatively simple Next/Next/Next exercise.

Before you plunge into AS (or indeed any MSI authoring tool), I'd recommend some background reading on Windows Installer. The tome I point people at is Phil Wilson's The Definitive Guide to Windows Installer. It's a free download from quite a few sites so I'd start there.

Hi again! Sorry about the delay but I had to finish reading the book "The Definitive Guide to Windows Installer" and do some tests and research on the matter. So here’s what I tried so far.
1- I tried to install Simply Accounting 2010 by using this command. msiexec.exe /i SA2010.msi TRANSFORMS=3084.mst ISSETUPDRIVEN=1 /qn But when I try to start the application I then get errors like « KEY file not found ».
2- I launch in a command line “C:\Temp\Simply Accounting 2010\simply\setup.exe -s -f1"C:\Temp\Simply Accounting 2010\simply\setup.iss". But all I get in the setup.log file is an error code -3 which means that stuff are missing in the setup.iss file!
3- I did try “msiexec.exe /i SA2010.msi TRANSFORMS=3084.mst ISSETUPDRIVEN=1 /qb /Leai C:\Temp\SA2010Install.log” and it give me a very long file which doesn’t help me much.

4- I tried to repackage the application using the snapshot and the monitoring method without any success. Since Simply Accounting 2010 need to install a “Connection Manager” and start the service each time Windows boot up then the repackaging option doesn’t work. Or, I don’t know how to correct this in my package.

So I’m still trying to figure out the how to push this application remotely to other pc. Any help is still greatly appreciated! By the way the "The Definitive Guide to Windows Installer" is a great source of information on the subject!

Forget re-packaging apps which are already in MSI format. Therein lies the B I G G E S T can of worms.

Did you create a response transform for the MSI? It looks like you're just using a language transform (3084.MST). Also, I presume you Googled for the "key file not found" error? I did.

Also, ProcMon will help you diagnose the problem, as far as what the key file's name and path should be by showing PATH NOT FOUND and/or NAME NOT FOUND errors.

I tried to create a response transform to the MSI using tuner and running procmon to find what properties my install is missing. But I'm still having problems. So is it possible to somehow debug the setup.exe to find out what properties he is passing to the MSI? And I sure like to find more examples, videos, etc., if it exists! on how to deal with setup.exe type installation.

Thanks again for the help to all!

The easiest way to find out is to look for any suspicious custom actions. but usually the setup.exe doesn't do much more than just launching the MSI.
How did you launch your response transform?

“msiexec.exe /i SA2010.msi TRANSFORMS=response.mst ISSETUPDRIVEN=1 /qb /Leai C:\Temp\SA2010Install.log”

or

“msiexec.exe /i SA2010.msi TRANSFORMS=3084.mst;response.mst ISSETUPDRIVEN=1 /qb /Leai C:\Temp\SA2010Install.log”


Also, if the MSI is still missing something and giving errors the log file should tell you. Have a look for "Return value 3". The cause of the error is usually a few lines above it.

Some stubs have a switch '/v' with which you pass parameters to MSIExec so you could try passing the logging switch:

/v:/l*v %temp%\SA.LOG

That will hopefully produce a log file SA.LOG in %TEMP%. If it does, the complete command line will be recorded in the top 20 or so lines of that log.

I did what you said and got a lot of logs! Now I'm trying to figure out how to interpret them. It seems that the setup.exe is processing a lot of variables in misc "custom actions". And when I try to just install the application like Rheuvel propose then I'm missing a lot of properties since I bypassed the setup.exe process. So I'm still stuck. It seems that Sage is using Install Script MSI for the installation. And the 2 log files are too big to post them here... So anything else to propose? [:(]

Edit: Forgot to mention that whatever I tried, each time my setup.iss is missing data. And I don't know how to manually find the other dialog ID. I also could not find any "Return value 3" in the msi log. And in the "setup.exe" log the command line is too long to even be accepte in a command line! If I interpret it correctly anyway!
Thanks again for the help!

the command line is too long to even be accepte in a command line! The idea was to find out which were the various properties being passed and then populate them with the values used in a transform.

And in the "setup.exe" log the command line is too long to even be accepte in a command line!

if you mean what I think you mean by this (too long for the Run Dialog) try opening a cmd window and pasting the command line inthere. I've never met a command line that was too long for that.

PJ

IIRC, characters beyond the 254th in a DOS command line are simply ignored :(

IIRC, characters beyond the 254th in a DOS command line are simply ignored :(

something to have a little test with [:D]

I pasted the following in an dos cmd window:

echo 12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901
23456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901
23456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901
23456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901
23456789012345678901234567890 THIS IS TOO FAR?? and saw all the text. Or is this not a valid test?
Also some googling seems to point to a 2048 char(2K data) limit on NT and Win2000, and four times that (8192 chars) in XP..

PJ

Hi! Sorry for the delay but I tried a few things. By the way, I called the company Sage directly and was then given the telephone number for the programmer of Simply Accounting. I thought that I would finally get my answers but I only got so far as the voice mail. And they NEVER called back. Next, I was given the email address for the development team. So I sent them my questions and only got for answer to look elsewhere because they don't have time to check if the silent install works and they don't care! So, I then tried to edit the "_isuser.dll" file to get the different dialog ID that I need with the application "Resource Hacker", which works well by the way!, but again the installer get stuck at one of the starting dialogs. And after checking on a few web sites on how to fix this, this is what I found:

Oh, one more thing. The /r and /s switches only work if the release engineer is competent. Many packages have "custom dialogs" which are not supported by setup.iss, which means the dialogs will always appear no matter what you do. For such packages, I suggest asking the vendor to fix their installer. If that does not work, I suggest doing what you can to deprive them of business.
And after checking the MSI logs there are properties that only the "setup.exe" seems to know where they are. For example, I just can't find the serial number anywhere in the logs! So, does anyone have any idea that I could try? Thanks again for the help!Note: This is my setup.iss file just in case.[Application]
Name=Simple Comptable de Sage 2010
Version=2010
Company=Sage Software
Lang=0c0c
[{5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-DlgOrder]
Dlg0={5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-AskYesNo-0
Count=8
Dlg1={5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_WELCOME-0
Dlg2={5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_SERIALNUMBER-0
Dlg3={5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-12029-0
Dlg4={5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_ASKDESTPATH-0
Dlg5={5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_SETUPTYPE-0
Dlg6={5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_INSTALLSUMMARY-0
Dlg7={5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_FINISH_FULLNONDATASHARE-0
[{5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-AskYesNo-0]
Result=0
[{5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_WELCOME-0]
Sel-0=1
Sel-1=0
Result=1
[{5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_SERIALNUMBER-0]
Sel-0=1
Sel-1=0
303=XXXXXXX
304=XXXXXXX
Result=1
[{5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-12029-0]
Result=1
[{5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_ASKDESTPATH-0]
Sel-0=0
Result=1
[{5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_SETUPTYPE-0]
Sel-0=1
Sel-1=0
Result=1
[{5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_INSTALLSUMMARY-0]
Result=1
[{5BB74B26-8320-4846-951F-84CFFAD671C6}-SA_FINISH_FULLNONDATASHARE-0]
Sel-0=0
Sel-1=0
Sel-2=0
Result=1


Packaging Rule 1: Vendors are - almost to a man - useless. Expect no help at all unless you can somehow get past the script-reading first-liners.
Packaging Rule 2: At larger vendors, it is most unlikely that the developers have any contact at all with the package, other than specifying which files they want in which features, and so on.

The ISS route is clearly - to me, anyway - a dead end. In the time from your first post 'til now, you could have worked out what the 'Key file not found' error was all about and fixed it.

Occasionally you just have to ghetto-rig the install, especially if it's from a smaller vendor. Some things that may or may not work.
1. Install the package manually on a test computer, capture the %programfiles% directory and any registry key in HKLM\Software and HKCU\Software, then manually copy those to another PC and see if it works. Occasionally you have to throw in a call or two to regsvr32 although this luckily gets less common as people start to develop their stuff in .NET
2. Edit the setup.msi and create an .mst that deletes dialogs, or sets the value of properties, even mixed case ones that are not supposed to be changed by a user. Do this until "msiexec /i setup.msi /qb" works.
3. Use procmon to see what happens when you enter the license key in the software. It probably gets put into the registry somewhere. Occasionally the developers do something "clever" like hash it with the computer name but sometimes this process has flaws that can be exploited.
4. Install the software into a virtualized environment like Thinapp or AppV. You can even do this in a demo version, not to hand out to users of course but you may learn a bit or two about how it works. And AppV is even relatively cheap to license if you're already an MS shop.

Just finished packaging Simply Accounting, it seems to work fine. Thought I'll add some tips to this discussion (even though it is somewhat old) for anyone who might have to deal with it in the future. This is just an overview of what I did.

When setup.exe runs it does more than just running the msi, it also runs following:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\regsvr32.exe /s "C:\Program Files\Simply Accounting Premium 2010\Sage_SA_FileVer.dll
C:\WINDOWS\system32\regsvr32.exe /s "C:\Program Files\Simply Accounting Premium 2010\OfficeQ\OfficeQ.dll
C:\Program Files\Simply Accounting Premium 2010\OfficeQ\officeq6.exe" /REGSERVER
C:\WINDOWS\system32\regsvr32.exe /s "C:\Program Files\Simply Accounting Premium 2010\CFireWallCOM.dll"
CACLS "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Simply Accounting\2010\Samdata" /T /E /C /G Users:C
CACLS "C:\Program Files\Simply Accounting Premium 2010\help" /T /E /C /G Users:C
C:\Program Files\winsim\ConnectionManager\Gacutil.exe" /if "C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerService.dll" /nologo /silent
C:\Program Files\winsim\ConnectionManager\Gacutil.exe" /if "C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerServiceClient.dll" /nologo /silent
C:\Program Files\winsim\ConnectionManager\Regasm.exe" "C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerService.dll" /tlb:"C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerService.tlb" /nologo /silent
C:\Program Files\winsim\ConnectionManager\Regasm.exe" "C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerServiceClient.dll" /tlb:"C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerServiceClient.tlb" /nologo /silent
C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.net\Framework\v2.0.50727\caspol.exe -pp off -m -ag 1 -pub -hex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ullTrust -name "Sage_SA 2009" -description "Sage_SA 2009"
C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.net\Framework\v2.0.50727\caspol.exe -pp off -m -ag 1 -strong -hex 0024000004800000940000000602000000240000525341310004000001000100D973BDA91F71752C78294126974A41A08643168271F65FC0FB3CD45F658DA01FBCA75AC74067D18E7AFBF1467D7A519CE0248B13719717281BB4DDD4ECD71A580DFE0912DFC3690B1D24C7E1975BF7EED90E4AB14E10501EEDF763BFF8AC204F955C9C15C2CF4EBF6563D8320B6EA8D1EA3807623141F4B81AE30A6C886B3EE1 -noname -noversion FullTrust -name "Sage_SA_MySql" -description "Sage_SA MySql database"
msiexec.exe /i "C:\Program Files\Winsim\mysql-connector-odbc-commercial-3.51.19-win32.msi" /qn

All this can be done in the MST. I personally, ran the installation of MySQL msi file separately and I did not bother with .net framework security (caspol.exe commands).

Also to get Simply Accounting registration info (to avoid the "KEY file not found" error) do following:
1. Install and activated Simply Accounting on some computer
2 Export HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sage Software
3. Copy C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Sage Software\Simply Accounting\2010\1
4. Added these to the MST file.

Note that in the vendor MSI the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\ is actually under FOLDER_COMMON_DOCUMENTS. I had to manually go and change FOLDER_COMMON_DOCUMENTS in the MST to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents. To do that:
1. In the Directory table find FOLDER_COMMON_DOCUMENTS
2. Change Directory_Parent from TARGETDIR to ALLUSERS
3. Change DefaultDir to FOLDER~1|Documents:

Finally setup.exe also creates 2 services. Msi can install these services through ServiceInstall table. The services are:
1. Service name: Simply Accounting Database Connection Manager
Display name: Simply Accounting Database Connection Manager
Start Service: Automatic
Path: C:\Program Files\winsim\Connection Manager\SimplyConnectionManager.exe

2. Service name: Simply Accounting Transaction Manager 2010 – CDN
Display name: Simply Accounting Transaction Manager 2010 – CDN
Start Service: Manual
Path: C:\Program Files\winsim\TransactionManager201 - CDN\Sage_SA.TransactionManager.exe

Hope that helps.

Would you like to post your findings in the 'Package KB'? That's the place for this kind of detail. If there's no entry for the app, create one! :-)

Hi! Sorry for not answering back but I was told to forget the 2010 version where I work. Now I have the "Simply Accounting Premium 2011" version in hand. So after reading the last posts from VBScab and wit22 I did my homework. Here's what I have so far.

The setup.exe run these commands:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\regsvr32.exe /s "C:\Program Files\Sage Simple Comptable Supérieur 2011\Sage_SA_FileVer.dll"
C:\WINDOWS\system32\regsvr32.exe /s "C:\Program Files\Sage Simple Comptable Supérieur 2011\OfficeQ\OfficeQ.dll"
"C:\Program Files\Sage Simple Comptable Supérieur 2011\OfficeQ\officeq6.exe" /REGSERVER
C:\WINDOWS\system32\regsvr32.exe /s "C:\Program Files\Sage Simple Comptable Supérieur 2011\CFireWallCOM.dll"
C:\WINDOWS\system32\regsvr32.exe /s "C:\Program Files\Sage Simple Comptable Supérieur 2011\Sage_SA_outlook.dll"
CACLS "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Simply Accounting\2011\Samdata" /T /E /C /G Utilisateurs:C
CACLS "C:\Program Files\Sage Simple Comptable Supérieur 2011\help" /T /E /C /G Utilisateurs:C
"C:\Program Files\winsim\ConnectionManager\Gacutil.exe" /if "C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerService.dll" /nologo /silent
"C:\Program Files\winsim\ConnectionManager\Gacutil.exe" /if "C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerServiceClient.dll" /nologo /silent
"C:\Program Files\winsim\ConnectionManager\Regasm.exe" "C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerService.dll" /tlb:"C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerService.tlb" /nologo /silent
"C:\Program Files\winsim\ConnectionManager\Regasm.exe" "C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerServiceClient.dll" /tlb:"C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerServiceClient.tlb" /nologo /silent
"C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.SystemTrayIcon.exe"
"C:\Program Files\Sage Simple Comptable Supérieur 2011\Sage_SA_Policy.exe" 0
msiexec.exe /i "C:\Program Files\Winsim\mysql-connector-odbc-commercial-3.51.19-win32.msi" /qn <--- I install this MSI myself before trying to install Simply Accounting 2011.

I included all of theses commands in my MST file by adding custom actions to run after the InstallFiles section.I solved the problem "KEY file not found" by including in my MST file the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sage Software" registry branch from a working computer. And I also included the 4 files from "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Sage Software\Simply Accounting\2011\1 " from the working computer. I then created 2 Windows services in my MST file: "Simply Accounting Database Connection Manager" and "Simply Accounting Transaction Manager 2011 – CDN". I still have to test and verify this part.

Now I'm having problems with the Directory table part. I can't find "FOLDER_COMMON_DOCUMENTS". So I tried the other one: "FOLDER_COMMON_APPDATAS".

Example:
Directory Directory_Parent DefaultDir
FOLDER_COMMON_APPDATAS ALLUSERSPROFILE FOLDER~1|Documents:

So far I only get errors about my Directory table. So would it be possible to get your MST file wit22? It could help me a lot if I could see how you did it. Just erase anything that have to do with the license part or any private information.

Thanks again for the help!

ALLUSERSPROFILE FOLDER~1|Documents:

It's not going to work with ":" at the end if that's what you've actually done

[patronise]That's what we like to see: a bit of persistence and self-help. Well done.[/patronise]

It would be useful if, once you have it all set up and working, if you could post the details into the 'Package KB'. Posts don't appear immediately: they need to be approved so be patient.

Finally, I was able to modify FOLDER_COMMON_APPDATAS in the Directory table. So this part is working great. But now my custom actions just won't work. Each time I get an 11722 MsiInstaller error. My first custom action is "C:\WINDOWS\system32\regsvr32.exe /s C:\Program Files\Sage Simply Accounting 2011\Sage_SA_FileVer.dll
". I tried to run it after ISSetupFilesCleanup, InstallFiles and InstallFinalize. Each time I just get an error. I tried with procmon and the MSI logs to find where exactly I should run them but still no candy. Could someone throw me a bone here?

C:\Program Files\Sage Simply Accounting 2011\Sage_SA_FileVer.dll --> contains spaces, so maybe place that in quotes?


[edit]

On a second note, why use a custom action for that? You could also capture the registry settings and add them to your MST, or even use the selfreg table (although that appears to be taboo?)

And if the file is in the MSI, you can refer to it with [#FileNameIdentifier] inside the MSI.

Hi Rheuvel
I can now perform the different regserv32 commands. I was able to do that by using these settings.

Working directory: CONNECTIONMANAGER
Filename & Command line: Gacutil.exe /if "[CONNECTIONMANAGER]Simply.ConnectionManagerService.dll" /nologo /silent
In-Script Execution: Deferred Execution
Install Exec Sequence: After ScheduleReboot


But now I'm stuck with the 2 "Gacutil.exe" commands. I tried everything I could think of but it still won't work.

Commands:
"C:\Program Files\winsim\ConnectionManager\Gacutil.exe" /if "C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerService.dll" /nologo /silent
"C:\Program Files\winsim\ConnectionManager\Gacutil.exe" /if "C:\Program Files\Winsim\ConnectionManager\Simply.ConnectionManagerServiceClient.dll" /nologo /silent
Working Directory: CONNECTIONMANAGER
Filename & Command line: Gacutil.exe /if "[CONNECTIONMANAGER]Simply.ConnectionManagerService.dll" /nologo /silent
In-Script Execution: Deferred Execution
Install Exec Sequence: After ScheduleReboot
And everywhere I look it says to not use "gacutil.exe". So what am I missing? Must I do something specific to make it work?

Thanks again for the help!

did you figure out the Simply 2011 deployment? I have the same issue now and would really appreciate any further info you might have..

thanks

ORIGINAL: jmcclellan


did you figure out the Simply 2011 deployment? I have the same issue now and would really appreciate any further info you might have..

thanks


Hmmm, nearly three months has passed since the OP posted here, so don't be too surprised if there is no reply.

If you are an AdminStudio / InstallShield user, as I believe the OP is/was, then if you are struggling with the GAC remember that this can all be done through the InstallShield user interface. Take a look at the following link to get you started - specifically the section marked Using Installshield IDE

There may be an equivalent in Wise Package Studio, but it is so long since I used WPS it is perhaps for others to comment on that.

Regards,

Spartacus

Yes I thought it would be a long shot but worth a try. Simply Accounting deployments and updates have been our single biggest pain since we got the product. each upgrade I hope they will improve and de-custom-ize their installer but no love.

unfortunately I have no deployment packaging product/tools to work with - just basic MSI/MST tools (Orca/SuperOrca) for eventual group policy deployment use.

Sorry for the delay. And yes I'm still working on this application. But let just say that Simply Accounting is not the only software that I have to deploy right now. And, on my part, I have access to InstallShield, Orca, etc. But I still haven't finish learning the inner working of the Windows Installer. Right now I'm reading the book "The Definitive Guide to Windows Installer" and anything and everything on the subject on Google. But I think it would be easier, for me anyway, to take a course! So does anyone know about an online course about learning to work with MSI or even a consultant in the Montreal area in Quebec that can teach it? It would be really useful!

Thanks for the reply!

so how have you got Simply 2010/2011 into the hands of your end users in the past 5 months? I am lucky to get 5 hours! On all previous versions and quarterly updates I have had to just manually install the damn thing and it sucks.

Hi,

The easiest way I found to create a silent installation of Simply Accounting 2011 is to capture the original installation in a MSI file. I use EMCO to do that. After that file is created and deployed, it is simple to deploy the original update file. The only thing with the update file is I did'nt find a way to create a silent installation yet. Any idea?

Regards,

Pack_Man