R – Access 2007 Engine: How to include it in the .msi installer

installationms-accessms-access-2007windows-installer

I have a .NET application which uses an accdb file (MS Access 2007 format) as its database. To install this app on another machine I need to install the Access engine on that machine. Microsoft has this file: AccessDatabaseEngine.exe which includes the engine, but when extracted during installation, runs another .msi installer.

As you can guess, since this msi is run during the installation of another msi (my app's installer) the Access engine setup fails with error 1500: "Another installation is in progress. Finish that one before continuing this one…"

I found the Runtime for Access 2007 as well, and it does install the engine, but the Runtime package is again an msi installer which means I'm still having the same problem.

Any ideas to include the engine in my app's installer?

Best Answer

You probably want to have a look at this article: Adding Programs to Access 2007 Deployment Packages

The Access Developer Extensions offer a basic but functional installer that can take care of the general deployment scenarios.