AppData issues
Hi all,
I'm working on an MSI that was packaged many years ago. It has a problem that exists where the package copies a bunch of files to the user's AppData. However this seems to only occur for the first person that executes the advertised shortcut. All subsequent users on the computer seem to rely on those files. If i delete a file the package relies on from the original user's appdata, the package self-heals when another user executes the advertised shortcut. Could someone please shed some light on this?
My goal is to repair the package so these files are living in each user's AppData directory.
Thanks in advance.
I'm working on an MSI that was packaged many years ago. It has a problem that exists where the package copies a bunch of files to the user's AppData. However this seems to only occur for the first person that executes the advertised shortcut. All subsequent users on the computer seem to rely on those files. If i delete a file the package relies on from the original user's appdata, the package self-heals when another user executes the advertised shortcut. Could someone please shed some light on this?
My goal is to repair the package so these files are living in each user's AppData directory.
Thanks in advance.
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Answers (14)
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Posted by:
murali.bhat
12 years ago
Use Active setup. The msi will repair for every user and will put the appdata files.
Posted by:
naveen.packager
12 years ago
Check copmonent structures and key path. Solving validation errors may solve this issue.
Posted by:
bos302
12 years ago
Thanks for your reply. I wasn't sure what active setup was so I just searched for it. The article I found explains it's useful when the MSI has no advertised entry points, in this case it does. that being the shortcut to execute the program.
Posted by:
bos302
12 years ago
naveen: could you please that process please? I know only the basics of MSI editing via tools such as Wise, orca and Instedit.
Posted by:
naveen.packager
12 years ago
In both the tools (orca and wise) there will be a validation check. Do it to your package and try to solve them.
If this is packaged in your enviroment (if not vendor suplied and not installed) then repacking it using original setup may also be the good choice.
If this is packaged in your enviroment (if not vendor suplied and not installed) then repacking it using original setup may also be the good choice.
Posted by:
itolutions
12 years ago
This is common issue. Change keypaths for user specific components to HKCU entries instead of files!
Posted by:
bos302
12 years ago
Hi itolutions, how do you do that exactly? I apologise for my lack of understanding. Is this something that can be done in orca?
some other thoughts i've had are does the HKCU key used for the keypath need to be something specific or anything I like, and by using a regkey as the key path, if a file in that component is deleted by the user, it won't repair because the regkey still exists right?
some other thoughts i've had are does the HKCU key used for the keypath need to be something specific or anything I like, and by using a regkey as the key path, if a file in that component is deleted by the user, it won't repair because the regkey still exists right?
Posted by:
naveen.packager
12 years ago
The below document may help you giving basic idea.
http://www.dawnstar.com.au/wpshelp/dl/WPS%20for%20Newbies%20Tutorial_mar04.pdf
http://www.dawnstar.com.au/wpshelp/dl/WPS%20for%20Newbies%20Tutorial_mar04.pdf
Posted by:
anonymous_9363
12 years ago
I apologise for my lack of understandingCan I make a suggestion? The Dawnstar pages are great but, without an understanding of the fundamenatls of Windows Installer, you will struggle with packaging. Search AppDeploy for the text "the definitive guide". As well as details of Phil Wilson's excellent book which will give you those fundamentals, some of the posts will turn up other useful links for newcomers to the field.
Posted by:
joedown
12 years ago
itolutions is correct in changing keypaths for user specific components from files to a reg entry. Here is a thread that explains how to do this in Orca or Instedit which is my favorite method. http://itninja.com/question/how-do-you-roll-out-new-machines?7774&mpage=1&key=quicktime The thread is for Quicktime but has the same idea to self heal for each user that logs in and populate files in the users profile.
Posted by:
prettygirls
12 years ago
http://www.dawnstar.com.au/wpshelp/dl/WPS%20for%20Newbies%20Tutorial_mar04.pdf
I have the same issue but thanks for the link it helps me.
Posted by:
bos302
12 years ago
Hi everyone,
Well i've made progress with this. The components in question were added to a separate feature and i'm using HCKU keys as the key paths for these components.
Issue I'm seeing now is that we use local profiles here. So what i'm seeing is when I install the package on a computer, the correct regkeys are added to the user's HKCU hive and the associated files are added to their AppData.
However if the user moves to a new computer, the files in AppData are no repaired, because the regkeys still exist in their HKCU hive.
How should I handle this?
Thanks.
Well i've made progress with this. The components in question were added to a separate feature and i'm using HCKU keys as the key paths for these components.
Issue I'm seeing now is that we use local profiles here. So what i'm seeing is when I install the package on a computer, the correct regkeys are added to the user's HKCU hive and the associated files are added to their AppData.
However if the user moves to a new computer, the files in AppData are no repaired, because the regkeys still exist in their HKCU hive.
How should I handle this?
Thanks.
Posted by:
jmcfadyen
12 years ago
sounds like you are using roaming profiles not local profiles.
have a read of this
http://sourcedaddy.com/windows-7/implementing-corporate-roaming.html
have a read of this
http://sourcedaddy.com/windows-7/implementing-corporate-roaming.html
Posted by:
bos302
12 years ago
jmcfadyen,
Yes we do actually use roaming profiles, although the Application Data directory is explicitly excluded from the roaming profile via GPO.
This is why the HKCU keys roam. Is there anyway around this?
Yes we do actually use roaming profiles, although the Application Data directory is explicitly excluded from the roaming profile via GPO.
This is why the HKCU keys roam. Is there anyway around this?
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