"Reference in the manifest does not match the identity..." Error

Question

I've been looking around at how other people were solving this error and nothing worked for me. The library I am trying to include in my Application comes from an .exe (PowerTool.exe), everytime I try to install the application onto either my computer or a third parties computer, I receive this error:

PLATFORM VERSION INFO
    Windows             : 6.1.7601.65536 (Win32NT)
    Common Language Runtime     : 4.0.30319.34209
    System.Deployment.dll       : 4.0.30319.34244 built by: FX452RTMGDR
    clr.dll             : 4.0.30319.34209 built by: FX452RTMGDR
    dfdll.dll           : 4.0.30319.34244 built by: FX452RTMGDR
    dfshim.dll          : 4.0.41209.0 (Main.041209-0000)

SOURCES
    Deployment url          : file:///C:/Users/zmcpher/Desktop/Apps/BatteryAutomation/MyAccount%20Battery%20Automation.application
    Application url         : file:///C:/Users/zmcpher/Desktop/Apps/BatteryAutomation/Application%20Files/MyAccount%20Battery%20Automation_1_0_0_5/MyAccount%20Battery%20Automation.exe.manifest

IDENTITIES
    Deployment Identity     : MyAccount Battery Automation.application, Version=1.0.0.5, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=fba777f97efbcb75, processorArchitecture=msil
    Application Identity        : MyAccount Battery Automation.exe, Version=1.0.0.5, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=fba777f97efbcb75, processorArchitecture=msil, type=win32

APPLICATION SUMMARY
    * Installable application.

ERROR SUMMARY
    Below is a summary of the errors, details of these errors are listed later in the log.
    * Activation of C:\Users\zmcpher\Desktop\Apps\BatteryAutomation\MyAccount Battery Automation.application resulted in exception. Following failure messages were detected:
        + Reference in the manifest does not match the identity of the downloaded assembly PowerTool.exe.

COMPONENT STORE TRANSACTION FAILURE SUMMARY
    No transaction error was detected.

WARNINGS
    There were no warnings during this operation.

OPERATION PROGRESS STATUS
    * [4/22/2015 12:43:19 PM] : Activation of C:\Users\zmcpher\Desktop\Apps\BatteryAutomation\MyAccount Battery Automation.application has started.
    * [4/22/2015 12:43:19 PM] : Processing of deployment manifest has successfully completed.
    * [4/22/2015 12:43:19 PM] : Installation of the application has started.
    * [4/22/2015 12:43:19 PM] : Processing of application manifest has successfully completed.
    * [4/22/2015 12:43:21 PM] : Found compatible runtime version 4.0.30319.
    * [4/22/2015 12:43:21 PM] : Request of trust and detection of platform is complete.

ERROR DETAILS
    Following errors were detected during this operation.
    * [4/22/2015 12:43:21 PM] System.Deployment.Application.InvalidDeploymentException (RefDefValidation)
        - Reference in the manifest does not match the identity of the downloaded assembly PowerTool.exe.
        - Source: System.Deployment
        - Stack trace:
            at System.Deployment.Application.DownloadManager.ProcessDownloadedFile(Object sender, DownloadEventArgs e)
            at System.Deployment.Application.FileDownloader.DownloadModifiedEventHandler.Invoke(Object sender, DownloadEventArgs e)
            at System.Deployment.Application.SystemNetDownloader.DownloadSingleFile(DownloadQueueItem next)
            at System.Deployment.Application.SystemNetDownloader.DownloadAllFiles()
            at System.Deployment.Application.FileDownloader.Download(SubscriptionState subState)
            at System.Deployment.Application.DownloadManager.DownloadDependencies(SubscriptionState subState, AssemblyManifest deployManifest, AssemblyManifest appManifest, Uri sourceUriBase, String targetDirectory, String group, IDownloadNotification notification, DownloadOptions options)
            at System.Deployment.Application.ApplicationActivator.DownloadApplication(SubscriptionState subState, ActivationDescription actDesc, Int64 transactionId, TempDirectory& downloadTemp)
            at System.Deployment.Application.ApplicationActivator.InstallApplication(SubscriptionState& subState, ActivationDescription actDesc)
            at System.Deployment.Application.ApplicationActivator.PerformDeploymentActivation(Uri activationUri, Boolean isShortcut, String textualSubId, String deploymentProviderUrlFromExtension, BrowserSettings browserSettings, String& errorPageUrl)
            at System.Deployment.Application.ApplicationActivator.ActivateDeploymentWorker(Object state)

COMPONENT STORE TRANSACTION DETAILS
    No transaction information is available.

I've tried changing the manifest, changing/deleting the refrences, deleting/rebuilding, opening/closing, and changing the project properties - and nothing seemed to work.

What am I missing? The program works fine when in debug mode, why wont it compile into an installation file? I am using VS2013

Thanks for any and all help

Answer 1

I know this is old but I saw someone just upvoted the question so I am assuming they are having the same problem.

The error was coming from an exe file that I was trying to bundle with the application. The exe file itself was a third party exe and I think that was where the problem was (even though I know I have bundled with other exe's in the past). Maybe this one had some kind of write protection - I dont know.

Anyways, how I solved it was to take the exe out of the installation files and just include the file separately in a zip file. Then have some instructions about which folder the exe file needs to go. As long as they follow the instructions, everything works as if you've bundled it.

I hope that helps.