MSI File/Registry failures on Windows Server 2008/Windows 7 (x64)

Question

I'm trying to deploy an application on Windows Server 2008 (SP2 x64) and Windows 7 (x64), using VS2005 Installer Project. The MSI version (I think) it the 2.0.

Everything works fine, except that some registry keys and some files are not copied on the install machine. The MSI system doesn't notify about nothing (and I don't know whether MSI logs its operations).

Are there incompatibilities between my MSI installer project and these new OSes? It seems to me that the OS protect itself for being modified in some part.

For example, I'm trying to set the registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\WinLogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList\User

but it is not created. In the same installer there are many other keys, which are created like expected (as they always did before on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003).

To provide another example, I'm trying to install the file

%SystemFolder%\oobe\info\backgrounds\backgroundDefault.jpg

(where %SystemFolder% is typically "C:\Windows\System32"), but the file is not copied at all!!!

What's going on?

---

I've found the backgroundDefault.jpg file is located in another directory: %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\oobe\info.

But I've not specified nothing about a System (64 bit) folder. How can I copy the file in the right place?

Answer 1

First, regarding logging, you can request MSI to create a log file of its operations like this:

msiexec.exe -i my_msi_file.msi -l*vx logfile.txt

This will create a log file called logfile.txt.

Second, it sounds like you're creating a 32-bit MSI and running it in 64-bit Windows. There is nothing wrong with this, but be aware that Windows is using file system redirection. Windows has a separate SystemFolder and HKLM/SOFTWARE keys to host 32-bit applications. If you look in the Registry at HKLM/SOFTWARE you'll probably see a sub-key called Wow6432Node -- this is where 32-bit apps write their Registry data.