Setup.exe can't find the .msi file

1
votes

I have a link to a "setup.exe" file that's on a website, and I would like for someone to be able to install an application off of the website by clicking on the link. However, when I try testing this, a window comes up with an error message saying: An error occurred while attempting to install [Application Name]. A small log file for the setup.exe is created during this process, and the last line in the file reads: Unable to locate application file [filename].msi. I must have done something wrong...

Some additional information:

  1. The msi file is for a Windows WPF application that I want to allow the user to install on his/her computer.
  2. When writing the Windows application, I noticed that there was a field in the properties for the Setup Project labeled Installation Url. So I entered the url for the directory on the website which contains the .msi file.

At any rate, I'm sure I'm just missing a setting or something. Any ideas are welcome!

Thanks!

Andrew

5
windows-installersetup-deployment

5 Answers

0
votes

I don't know for sure, but you could try removing the setup.exe, and putting the .msi up on the website for users to download and run. .msi's are runnable on their own.

0
votes

I would put the MSI file on the web page as a link to a file and then the user can be prompted to download or install it right away.

0
votes

Okay, this solution works:

  1. In the website, use Response.Redirect ("~/[Virtual File Path for setup.exe]");
  2. When compiling the setup project in Visual Studio, make sure that the Installation Url (right-click on the setup project in the solution explorer and go to properties) is pointing to the Url for the website folder containing the .msi file. Also, I think this field is either case-sensitive, or it doesn't like a trailing forward slashes. Until I changed these two things, it wasn't able to find my .msi file.

At any rate, maybe someone else won't be quite as frustrated by this as me:)

Andrew

0
votes

Why not simply include everything in a zip or rar? That seems far less complicated and comes out to do the exact same thing. Also as for the comments about what Setup.exe does, it checks for the required version of .NET and (if properly configured) will install it if it is missing. Just having the MSI will not.

0
votes
  1. Press windows key + r
  2. Type cmd.exe, press enter
  3. cd \to\the\folder\containing\the\problem\file
  4. dir /x
  5. Note the short filename of the problem file. It will look for example like BLAH~1.
  6. del BLAH~1