OFF2000: Windows Installer Appears Every Time a Program Is Started
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q265194
Windows Installer Appears Every Time I Start an Application
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article08-103
[[Troubleshooting
Q. Every time I launch my application, Windows Installer performs an
installation. How can I determine the cause of the on-demand installation?
A. An easy way to determine the cause of an on-demand installation is to
look in the application event log for MsiInstaller log messages of the form:
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: MsiInstaller
Event ID: 1001
Description:
Detection of product '{000C1109-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}', feature
'Example' failed during request for component
'{00030829-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}'
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: MsiInstaller
Event ID: 1004
Description:
Detection of product '{000C1109-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}', feature
'Example', component '{00030829-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}' failed. The
resource 'C:\Progam Files\example\example.exe' does not exist.
The first message (with event ID 1001) states which component was being
installed. The component listed here is the component named in the
Component_ column of the Shortcut table for the particular shortcut.
The second message (with event ID 1004) indicates which component failed
detection. Improved event logging in Windows Installer 2.0 has updated the
message so that in most cases, the message identifies the actual resource
that resulted in the failed detection. The component with the missing or
damaged keypath is the component that is triggering the reinstallation.
In the example above, the reinstallation is triggered because the resource
'c:\Program Files\example\example.exe' does not exist. You would then need
to find out why the keypath does not exist -in this case, the user deleted
it.]]
Frequently Asked Questions About Windows Installer
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/community/centers/management/msi_faq.mspx
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[[The Windows Installer is a global application used to install many
Microsoft products, including Office 2000 and Office XP, and is even
available to third-party developers to include with their programs.
Unfortunately, it's fraught with bugs, one of which is its tendency to
appear every time you start Office (or some other programs) and begin a
reinstallation or reconfiguration process. All you'll see is the "Please
Wait" screen, followed by a progress bar. The problem is related to the This
feature will be installed when required option (sometimes called "Install on
Demand"), used when installing some applications. In essense, Windows
Installer starts to install a "feature" when it is needed, even though it
may be already installed.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Microsoft will not acknowledge that
there is a serious flaw in thier installer software. Here are the solutions
we've come up with so far:
Solution #1:
* Reinstall the application in question, and don't choose the This feature
will be installed when required for any of the optional components.
However, this may not solve the problem (which is the very bug we're talking
about). We're currently looking for a way to fix the problem properly, but
in the mean time, here's how to turn off the "feature:"
Solution #2
* Open the Group Policy Editor by selecting Run from the Start Menu, and
typing gpedit.msc. (If the file is missing, run mmc.exe instead. Then,
select Add/Remove Snap-in from the Console menu, click Add, and double-click
Group Policy. Click Finish, then Close, then Ok.)
* Expand the following branches:
Local Computer Policy \ Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \
Windows Components \ Windows Installer
* Double-click Disable Windows Installer to your right, click Enabled, and
choose Always from the list. Click Ok when you're done.
* The change will take effect immediately. If you added a snap in, as
described above, you don't need to "save changes to the console."
* Note: If you encounter an error about the Administrator Policy the next
time you try to install an application, you'll have to re-enable the Windows
Installer temporarily.
Solution #3 (for Office 2000 only):
* Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE).
* Expand the branches to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Office\
9.0\ Common.
* Delete the UserData value on your right, and close the Registry Editor.
* The next time you start an Office application, it will ask for your
username, but shouldn't bother you again.]]
Windows Installer Appears Every Time I Start an Application
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article08-103
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Hope this helps. Let us know.
Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
In
