I have created an installation using basic MSI in Installshield 2012.
I am using the chained MSI technology (supported in Windows installer 4.5 and onwards).
My installation is structured with a Main-MSI (in a Setup.exe), and several smaller MSI-packages, which are chained onto the main MSI.
On XP it works like a charm. I can install it just fine, and when I want to uninstall it, I just choose to uninstall the Main-MSI, and it will automatically remove all the chained MSI's.
However, on Vista and Windows 7, I am having a user-rights problem when uninstalling.
When I am choosing to uninstall the Main MSI, it just shots down without further notice. Examining the MSI log file, I can see the following when it tries to uninstall the first of my chained MSI's:
Error 1730.You must be an Administrator to remove this application. To remove this application, you can log on as an administrator, or contact your technical support group for assistance.
I guess that since it is the Main-MSI who are calling the uninstall strings on the chained MSI's, it doesn't happen with elevated rights (Even tho I have set my Setup.exe to require admin rights – which is also a requirement).
So my question is now – is there any way to get around this – is there some flag in the hidden corners of InstallShield that I need to set in order for this to work?
The temporary workaround now is to uninstall every chained MSI-package manually, and then finally uninstall the main-MSI, but this is not a solid solution. Disabling UAC is not an option either.
I hope you are able to help out, since I am totally lost on this issue, and my googling haven yielded anything useful.
Best Answer
Actually, the solution is simple, but not very user oriented. The new /qb dialog windows appear during installation and uninstallation.
You must change installation user interface from None (/qn) to Basic (/qb) for chained MSIs, because of main MSI doesn't pass admin rights to own chained MSIs, and it causes an error in hidden mode with UAC enabled.
Also I can recommend refer to White Papers for chained MSI here, it describes a lot of thin moments.