CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#.netwindows-installer
Dale K
Dale K

Reputation: 27451

Manually Configuring Windows Installer Settings

I have inherited a C# software application which has an auto-update component. This component works pretty well, it stops the application, updates any files which have changed, then restarts the application. The software is initially installed using an MSI file.

However what this auto-updater doesn't do is update the windows installer database with the new application version number, nor does it register any new files which didn't exist in the original installation.

Looking at the installer API (https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa369426(v=vs.85).aspx) there doesn't appear to be any way to modify the configuration in this way.

And from what I have read (http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windows_installer_team/archive/2006/05/12/595950.aspx) modifying the registry entries directly isn't recommended.

Somehow many applications manage to accomplish this e.g. Google Chrome.

Is there a way to accomplish this without directly modifying the registry?

If not, can someone tell me (or point me to) the exact registry entries that would need to be changed. Including how to find the guid of the product entry in the installer registry section.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 94

Answers (1)

Bob Arnson
Bob Arnson

Reputation: 21896

Windows Installer updates can be installed with upgrade .msi packages or patches. There's no other supported way of updating MSI's internal registration.

Google doesn't use MSI to install Chrome, so they had to invent their own patching system.

Upvotes: 1

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