Launch MSI in REINSTALL mode

Question

I need to launch an MSI depending on the version installed on the target machine. To elaborate:

MSI shouldnt install if its version is less than the currently installed version.
Otherwise it should do REINSTALL using REINSTALLMODE=omus.

I know that this can be done by wrapping the MSI within a bootstrapper application or using cmd to launch MSI. But could this intelligence be implemented within the MSI itself, so that it appropriately launches itself when I double-click it?

Will LaunchCondition or CustomAction help to achieve this?

I am using Visual Studio Setup Project to build my MSI. Will using WIX help to achieve this?

Thanks, -Kunal

What's the problem you think you're solving? You're in Visual Studio setups, just do a RemovePreviousVersions upgrade to replace any older version out there, and this will be a fresh install for new clients too. — PhilDW

Christopher Painter Christopher Painter · Accepted Answer · 2015-01-20T16:19:13

The first can be done inside the MSI but the second cannot. The MajorUpgrade Element has the AllowDowngrades and DowngradeErrorMessage attributes that implements a detect and block pattern.

The second isn't possible because it's immutable once the MSI starts. You need to invoke from bootstrapper such as burn to achieve this.

Launch MSI in REINSTALL mode

1 Answers