Software Deployment

I've run into a similar problem. The first step I took was to ensure my MST had all the necessary properties populated, so that if the user interface is suppressed all the information was there. After that I looked to see if there were any conditional statements that were causing important actions to not take place, such as "IF UILevel<4". I also looked in each dialog box to see what actions each took upon completion. In Wise Installer Editor, this can be accomplished by using the dialog editor and double clicking on the "Next" button. Under the "Events" tab are the actions.

What it ended up being in my MSI was that after the licensing dialog box it ran a custom action to validate the entered license number. Because the user interface was suppressed this custom action was never being run. So I simply placed the custom action elsewhere in my sequence so that it had an opportunity to run.

You will probably have to spend some time figuring out the logic of the MSI before you can try much of anything.

KevJLawIt is totally correct but it might be helpfull if you tell us the name of the app your referring to.

Slightly off-topic, but how do you make you're package support hiding dialogs? I have some MSI that support hiding dialog (according to Wise InstallTailor), but most of them don't. By the way, I'm using InstallShield.

KevJLaw,

I am running into the same issue but, in this case my msi does not show all the possible dialog boxes in Wise Installer Editor under the dialog editor section and/or double double clicking on the "next" button, there are no "next" buttons on the only three dialog boxes I can see.

ZhubaJie, suggested to install the MSI with the /l*v parameter and the /qb once and once without.
At the end of the log all properties with their value at install time are shown, after that when you compare the two logs you should be able to figure out what needs to be changed/added.

This is where I am stuck, it is a good method but I don't know what I am looking for.....

EdTheFixer@gmail.com

x

Install the application with the UI enabled once and export the entire registry to a file. Then uninstall the application and reinstall it with the /q switch and export the registry again.

Then use a file compare application to find the differences in your registry dumps. When you find the license key in the registry add this to your .MST, but of course first verify it is not machine specific.


You should be able to suppress the dialog error by using /qb- to install your .MSI.

xythex


I am not trying to hide the dialog boxes.
I think there is some confusion here, the vendor msi (Microsoft CRM 3.0) when installs, runs through some conditions in order to install additional components needed for this app to operate.
when I try to create a tranform of this msi, I get the error message "This package does not support hiding dialogs" which in turns closes and generates a very small mst file showing only the initial install sequence, nothing else (by the way I am using Install Taylor from Wise I had also used the Tuner tool from Microvision with the same result)

The mst that I have shows no sign of any dialog boxes because it could not, or was not supposed to allow the capture of "hidding dialogs" that's where my dilemma comes, where in the msi.log that I created can I look to identify where I have to look to modify so I can create a properly configured mst that would allow me to install this msi via SMS 2003 in a unattended per user mode....suggestions?

EdTheFixer@gmail.com

Guys,

Relax... This error message, "This package does not support hiding dialogs" that Install Tailor produced has the answer itself if you will just analyze it... No need to add/remove somewhere in the package.

If your environment allows running applications with User Interface instead of running it in the background(invisible), why don't you use /QR (Reduced UI level) in your command line.

i.e. msiexec.exe /i {name of msi} TRANSFORMS={NAME.MST} /QR

I don't know the exact reason why that message is popping up. The only thing I know is running it in complete and with basic progress bar will produce an unlikely package and usually failed install. I have already encountered it twice (Nitro High Speed from AC Nielsen and i forgot the other one ). My repair command line was failing if I run the msi vendor package in /q, /qb/qn but worked like a charm with /qr.

Try it guys!


ORIGINAL: EdTheFixer

xythex


I am not trying to hide the dialog boxes.
I think there is some confusion here, the vendor msi (Microsoft CRM 3.0) when installs, runs through some conditions in order to install additional components needed for this app to operate.
when I try to create a tranform of this msi, I get the error message "This package does not support hiding dialogs" which in turns closes and generates a very small mst file showing only the initial install sequence, nothing else (by the way I am using Install Taylor from Wise I had also used the Tuner tool from Microvision with the same result)

The mst that I have shows no sign of any dialog boxes because it could not, or was not supposed to allow the capture of "hidding dialogs" that's where my dilemma comes, where in the msi.log that I created can I look to identify where I have to look to modify so I can create a properly configured mst that would allow me to install this msi via SMS 2003 in a unattended per user mode....suggestions?

EdTheFixer@gmail.com

The mst that I have shows no sign of any dialog boxes because it could not, or was not supposed to allow the capture of "hidding dialogs" that's where my dilemma comes, where in the msi.log that I created can I look to identify where I have to look to modify so I can create a properly configured mst that would allow me to install this msi via SMS 2003 in a unattended per user mode....suggestions?

By the way, EdTheFixer's problem can be related to some configuration that are not given a property name, and instead being called by an action or something that's why it cannot be captured through the MST. I have the same problem with SIMATIC STEP 7 version 5.03 of Siemens right now in which I am still trying to figure out how... too bad..

Thank you dj_xest, it's important for beginning packagers to remember you don't need to do anything special to a package to suppress a dialog, just run it with /qr or /qn. This ability is built into Windows Installer.

( I can remember when I didn't know this!)

This is different from allowing an MSI to hide a dialog in UI mode, which (I think) is what they were talking about) I have not done a lot of experimentation with dialogs.

aogilmor

I can't remember when I did not know that either! and yes, this is different than trying to hide the dialog box in UI mode. This is a msi that's launching some conditions to be validated prior sending the install msi, that's where the problem comes.

No problem, I am addressing my issue by creating some answer conditions myself, thanks for your interest anyway.


EdTheFixer

When using WPS InstallTailor, we often get this same message (This package does not support hiding dialogs). Sometimes ignoring the message works, but more often an install using the resulting MST file fails during install or uninstall testing.

We have successfully used the Visual MSIDIFF feature of the WPS Windows Installer Editor to identify property differences that the MST produces. In the case of Formatting Solutions Pro 3.0b (InstallShield MSI), the ISSetupFilesCompleted property was captured by InstallTailor, causing

"InstallUtilLib.dll: Unknownerror in CorBindToRuntimeHost " errors.

Removing that property took care of the problem.

there might be some custom actions in the UI sequence, these might be setting some properties in the execute sequence.

Check the UI seq in the MSI for any custom action and the properties it is setting.