Windows Installer

This documentation is intended for software developers who want to use Windows Installer to build installer packages for applications. If you’re looking for a redistributable for Windows Installer 4.5 and earlier, see this article. Note that there is no redistributable for Windows Installer 5.0. This version is included with the OS in Windows 7, Windows ServerВ 2008В R2, and later client and server releases (including Windows 10).

Microsoft Windows Installer is an installation and configuration service provided with Windows. The installer service enables customers to provide better corporate deployment and provides a standard format for component management. The installer also enables the advertisement of applications and features according to the operating system. For more information, see Platform Support of Advertisement.

This documentation describes Windows InstallerВ 5.0 and earlier versions. Not all the capabilities available in later Windows Installer versions are available in earlier versions. This documentation does not describe versions earlier than Windows InstallerВ 2.0. Installation packages and patches that are created for Windows InstallerВ 2.0 can still be installed by using Windows InstallerВ 3.0 and later.

Windows InstallerВ 3.0 and later, can install multiple patches with a single transaction that integrates installation progress, rollback, and reboots. The installer can apply patches in a specified order regardless of the order that the patches are provided to the system. Patching using Windows InstallerВ 3.0 only updates files affected by the patch and can be significantly faster than earlier installer versions. Patches installed with Windows Installer 3.0 or later can be uninstalled in any order to leave the state of the product the same as if the patch was never installed. Accounts with administrator privileges can use the API of Windows InstallerВ 3.0 and later to query and inventory product, feature, component, and patch information. The installer can be used to read, edit, and replace source lists for network, URL, and media sources. Administrators can enumerate across user and install contexts, and manage source lists from an external process.

Windows Installer 4.5 and later can install multiple installation packages using transaction processing. If all the packages in the transaction cannot be installed successfully, or if the user cancels the installation, the Windows Installer can roll back changes and restore the computer to its original state. The installer ensures that all the packages belonging to a multiple-package transaction are installed or none of the packages are installed.

Beginning with Windows Installer 5.0, a package can be authored to secure new accounts, Windows Services, files, folders, and registry keys. The package can specify a security descriptor that denies permissions, specifies inheritance of permissions from a parent resource, or specifies the permissions of a new account. For information, see Securing Resources. The Windows Installer 5.0 service can enumerate all components installed on the computer and obtain the key path for the component. For more information, see Enumerating Components. By Using Services Configuration, Windows Installer 5.0 packages can customize the services on a computer. Setup developers can use Windows Installer 5.0 and Single Package Authoring to develop single installation packages capable of installing an application in either the per-machine or per-user installation context.

Where applicable

Windows Installer enables the efficient installation and configuration of your products and applications running on Windows. The installer provides new capabilities to advertise features without installing them, to install products on demand, and to add user customizations.

Windows Installer 5.0 running on Windows ServerВ 2012 or WindowsВ 8 supports the installation of approved apps on WindowsВ RT. A Windows Installer package, patch, or transform that has not been signed by Microsoft cannot be installed on WindowsВ RT. The Template Summary property indicates the platform that is compatible with an installation database and in this case should include the value for WindowsВ RT.

Windows Installer is intended for the development of desktop style applications.

Developer audience

This documentation is intended for software developers who want to make applications that use Windows Installer. It provides general background information about installation packages and the installer service. It contains complete descriptions of the application programming interface and elements of the installer database. This documentation also contains supplemental information for developers who want to use a table editor or a package creation tool to make or maintain an installation.

Run-time requirements

Windows InstallerВ 5.0 is included with, Windows 7, Windows ServerВ 2008В R2, and later releases. There is no redistributable for Windows Installer 5.0.

Versions earlier than Windows Installer 5.0 were released with Windows ServerВ 2008, WindowsВ Vista, Windows ServerВ 2003, WindowsВ XP, and WindowsВ 2000. Windows Installer Redistributables are available for Windows Installer 4.5 and some earlier versions.

Windows InstallerВ 4.5 requires Windows ServerВ 2008, WindowsВ Vista, WindowsВ XP with Service PackВ 2 (SP2) and later, and Windows ServerВ 2003 with Service PackВ 1 (SP1) and later.

Windows InstallerВ 4.0 requires WindowsВ Vista or Windows ServerВ 2008. There is no redistributable for installing Windows InstallerВ 4.0 on other operating systems. An updated version of Windows InstallerВ 4.0, which does not add any new features, is available in WindowsВ Vista with Service PackВ 1 (SP1) and Windows ServerВ 2008.

Windows InstallerВ 3.1 requires Windows ServerВ 2003, WindowsВ XP, or WindowsВ 2000 with Service PackВ 3 (SP3).

Windows InstallerВ 3.0 requires Windows ServerВ 2003, WindowsВ XP, or WindowsВ 2000 with SP3. Windows InstallerВ 3.0 is included in WindowsВ XP with Service PackВ 2 (SP2). It is available as a redistributable for WindowsВ 2000 Server with Service PackВ 3 (SP3) and WindowsВ 2000 Server with Service PackВ 4 (SP4), WindowsВ XP RTM and WindowsВ XP with Service PackВ 1 (SP1), and Windows ServerВ 2003 RTM.

Windows InstallerВ 2.0 is contained in Windows ServerВ 2003 and WindowsВ XP.

Windows InstallerВ 2.0 is available as a package for installing or upgrading to Windows InstallerВ 2.0 on WindowsВ 2000. This package should not be used to install or upgrade Windows InstallerВ 2.0 on Windows ServerВ 2003 and WindowsВ XP.

Windows Installer for Windows 10

I upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7.

Then I accidentally uninstalled Windows Installer when I was trying to uninstall Windows Messenger.

I’ve tried repeatedly to find out how to reinstall Installer to no avail.

Do I need to reinstall? If yes, how? I need explicit instructions.

Also, when I try to uninstall Messenger, I get a notice that it cannot be uninstalled.

Are these two subjects related, or is this coincidence?

How do I uninstall Messenger?

Replies (7) 

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community, we appreciate your interest in Windows 10.

I understand your concern about Reinstalling Windows Installer and uninstalling Windows Messenger, we will help you to resolve this issue.

Kindly provide us with the additional information to assist you better:

1. How did you try to uninstall the Windows Install?
2. What is the exact error message that you receive while uninstalling Windows Messenger?
3. Have you logged in as an administrator to uninstall the program?

I would like to inform that Windows Installer is an package that comes with Windows Operating System, which cannot be uninstalled.

Follow the below steps and check if it helps:

Step 1: I suggest you to check for the status of the services in Services Windows.

Follow the steps:

1. Press Windows + R keys to open Run command.
2. Type Services.msc in the search box on the run command and press Enter.
3. Search for Windows Installer in the Services windows and look at the Status.
4. If the status of the service is stopped then start the service by right clicking on the service and select Start.

If you don’t find the service them I suggest you to run the Windows Update to install the pending updates.

Step 2: Check for pending updates.

1. Type Windows updates in the Search box from the desktop and select Check for updates.
2. Under Windows Updates, click on Check for updates.
3. The device will start looking for the updates and try to install all the pending updates.

Please follow the instructions below to uninstall Windows Live Messenger when installed through Windows Live Essentials.

1. Type Programs and Features in the Search box from the desktop and hit Enter.
2. Locate Windows Live Essentials and double click.
3. Select Uninstall and hit Continue.
4. Place a checkmark by Messenger and click Continue.
5. Once it is uninstalled, select close and exit out of Programs and features

Hope it helps. Kindly update the status of the issue, we will be happy to help you.

How to create windows installer [closed]

Want to improve this question? Update the question so it’s on-topic for Stack Overflow.

Closed 2 years ago .

Basically we are releasing our changes/fixes in the form of manual installer (Windows powershell script). It will install specified .dll and SQL script files at particular locations by reading config file values (We will configure .dll & Sql script locations in this file). The same powershell script has uninstallation code to rollback particular chage set.

Is there any option or mechanism to create Windows installer for above requirement?

6 Answers 6

Short Version: Lots of answers already — I’ll primarily just add some links to existing answers. Here is a previous short answer of mine on the topic.

Higher «glanceability»: The above answer features a simpler format with a list view of the most important current deployment tools. In a rush? Test these, chose one. Below are more details and some further «discussion».

Deployment Tools

There are many tools available to create create installers / setup.exe files of various kinds. Here are some links to brief descriptions of most of them:

I would recommend to go for MSI. What specific tool to use is less obvious. See last section below for some links with descriptions of strengths and weaknesses of different tools.

Why Choose MSI?

MSI (Windows Installer) is the standard for corporate deployment since it offers a number of corporate benefits of major significance compared to previous installation technologies. The benefits center around reliable remote management and standardization — crucial corporate deployment concerns.

In brief the most important, specific benefits are probably:

1. Reliable silent running (standardized & completely suppressible GUI)
2. Implicitly available uninstall (a nightmare when dealing with legacy setups)
3. Transparency (installer’s semi-transparent and inspectable nature — except compiled CAs)
4. Elevated installation rights (no messy temporary admin rights)
5. Standardized command line (no hunting for «secret» switches)
6. Administrative installation (file extract — essential for corporate repackaging)
7. Verbose logging (helpful and verbose indeed 🙂 )
8. Standardized package customization (transforms — database fragments)
9. Rollback support (can undo changes for failed installs)
10. Inventory (management and reporting: full registration of what is installed and where)
11. Active Directory / GP integration

Altogether this yields MSI’s overall benefit: reliable, remote management of deployment for busy system administrators in large, corporate environments. Crucial benefits, despite the technology’s complexity and quirkiness.

Many find the technology challenging to deal with — there are some common pitfalls (and I wrote a very odd, ad-hoc description of some MSI anti-patterns towards the bottom here — out of context for the question, but there it is — sometimes things get written in the spur of the moment to the surprise of whoever is writing too — great it is not, just pragmatic details. Same goes for the first link).

The linked serverfault answer (above and here) features a much more elaborate description of these corporate MSI benefits along with some challenges to be aware of.

The same serverfault question has a second answer describing common design errors in MSI files. A really messy «brain dump».

MSIX / AppX

I should point out that the new platform for packaging from Microsoft now is MSIX based on the AppX application framework. However MSI has high penetration in the corporate deployement world, so it remains to be seen how long MSI will be relevant. All established deployment tools are working to support MSIX and AppX and other deployment technologies (also virtualization).

And in the real, corporate world AppV (application virtualization / application streaming) has turned into a common deployment solution (Tim Mangan’s blog).

Choosing an MSI Tool

Industry leaders for MSI creation are generally Advanced Installer, Installshield, PACE Suite, and the open source solution WiX (with its commercial branch Firegiant) — which you seem somewhat familiar with.

I’ll just give you some links to previously written answers with some opinions and facts in an indiscreet mix about these different tools — it is intended as a «best effort» to help people decide what tool they need, without claiming to be «right». This is always a dangerous endeavor — years of experience mean acquired knowledge, but also bodes for acquired bad habits and quirks. What results are honest opinions from a flawed professional who can only offer a willingness to help:

• What installation product to use? InstallShield, WiX, Wise, Advanced Installer, etc — a subjective attempt at an objective evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the currently established deployment products.
• Quick start for WiX — a messy little answer with suggestions on how to hit the ground running with WiX that has been upvoted more than usual. It must have been helpful. I like the «hello world» style sample I link to on codeproject which other have mentioned as well.
• Windows Installer and the creation of WiX (quick and unofficial overview of how WiX came about and how it works. Also a part on «the unavoidable complexity of deployment»).
• How can I compare the content of two (or more) MSI files? (some brief information on the MSI format, how to inspect MSI files and retrieve and inspect the content in them using free tools).
• How do I avoid common design flaws in my WiX / MSI deployment solution? (some well-meant but messy advice on how to avoid problems in your MSI-based deployment solution).