best way to do a concurrent installation

[Dica]

i've got an app that needs to install a named instance of SQL Express. VS
2005 allows me to specify required components for my setup project, but
named instances of SQL Express isn't supported. so, my main setup MSI needs
to execute the SQL Express MSI (a concurrent installation). technically,
this is possible, but this is frowned upon by MS for various reasons. so,
how do i go about pulling this off? i'd be okay if my first setup MSI exits,
but then i need something to call the SQL Express MSI. as far as i can see,
there's nothing like an "onExit" event i can use from my setup MSI to call
and execute the SQL MSI.

what's the best way to pull this off? does installShield offer better
solutions for situations like this?

tks for any advice.

 

[Mark Rae [MVP]]

there's nothing like an "onExit" event i can use from my setup MSI to call
and execute the SQL MSI.

Go into Custom Actions, Commit and add a pointer to the SQL Server Express
MSI - custom actions in this section run at the end of the main installation
routine...

 

[Dica]

Go into Custom Actions, Commit and add a pointer to the SQL Server Express
MSI - custom actions in this section run at the end of the main
installation routine...

i tried that, but it doesn't work. my main setup MSI is calls the SQL MSI
from the commit action, but the SQL MSI gives me an error message about
"Another installation is already in progress". any other ideas?

 

[Mark Rae [MVP]]

i tried that, but it doesn't work. my main setup MSI is calls the SQL MSI
from the commit action, but the SQL MSI gives me an error message about
"Another installation is already in progress". any other ideas?

Hmm - apologies, but I think you may be out of luck, as discussed here:
http://community.installshield.com/archive/index.php?t-155357.html

 

[Dica]

Hmm - apologies, but I think you may be out of luck, as discussed here:
http://community.installshield.com/archive/index.php?t-155357.html

yes, i was afraid of that. i think i've got 2 options here:

1. write a parent installer that calls first the setup MSI, waits for
completion, and then calls the SQL MSI. the main issue with this is that
ideally i'd want to write the parent installer in C++, which i don't know.
if i write it in C# and the user doesn't have the required framework
installed, there's no elegant way to offer the user the option of
downloading .Net. the C# parent installer will simply fail whereas a C++
version would call the setup MSI which could gracefully check for the
required framwork and offer to download.

2. add the SQL MSI as a job for execution to a windows job queue. does such
a thing exist? i know i've seen some setup projects force a reboot of the
system and then complete phase 2 of an installation. is there a way to do
this but without the reboot requirement?

tks for the help.

 

[Mark Rae [MVP]]

tks for the help.

Apologies again, but I don't really think I know enough about this to be of
much help - hopefully, somebody else will - Juan, Peter, Jon, Eliyahu et
al...?

Alternatively, you might try posting at microsoft.public.vsnet.setup...

 

[DeveloperX]

yes, i was afraid of that. i think i've got 2 options here:

1. write a parent installer that calls first the setup MSI, waits for
completion, and then calls the SQL MSI. the main issue with this is that
ideally i'd want to write the parent installer in C++, which i don't know.
if i write it in C# and the user doesn't have the required framework
installed, there's no elegant way to offer the user the option of
downloading .Net. the C# parent installer will simply fail whereas a C++
version would call the setup MSI which could gracefully check for the
required framwork and offer to download.

2. add the SQL MSI as a job for execution to a windows job queue. does such
a thing exist? i know i've seen some setup projects force a reboot of the
system and then complete phase 2 of an installation. is there a way to do
this but without the reboot requirement?

tks for the help.





- Show quoted text -

I'm not sure if this will be of use, but if you don't know C++, you
could always use VB6 to write a parent installer. That would get
around the framework dependency and it would only take a couple of
lines of code to shell each of the msi's.

 

[Dica]

I'm not sure if this will be of use, but if you don't know C++, you
could always use VB6 to write a parent installer.

yeah, i do know VB6 pretty well. i should have thought of that.

tks for the suggestion.

That would get

 

[Lalit Dubey]

Hi,
I am also facing the same type of problem in my installation.
I have created a window service installer which has some other exe too
and this way i have created the shortcut( in program files and desktop)
for this exe.
Now i require to uninstall the previous version and install the new
version of this installer,but this time the installation path should be
different.
the problem is as below

1- i tried to install but the installation suceeed but now when i click
the sortcut to launch the application , its how again installation
progress that make me crazy and in last say the specified service
already exist
( this indicate the previous service not removed properly)

2- i am trying to add an exe(which will remove the previous version
exclusively ) in custom action editor install action. My aim is first
uninstall previous and then new installation
but as soon as this ready to remove previous version i found the error
as "another version of installtion is progress " .. i have to cance the
uninstall this faild my job

if some one has face this kind of situation and got some trick plz
suggest

Lalit N dubey