Can Windows installer install two msi files at the same time?

Question

I have a msi installation package made by WIX, which automatically installs IIS Express 10.0 after the installation.

<Binary Id="myCustomActionsDLL" SourceFile="$(var.CustomAction.TargetDir)CustomAction.CA.dll" />
<CustomAction Id="CheckIISExpressStatus" BinaryKey="myCustomActionsDLL" DllEntry="CheckIISExpressStatus" Execute="immediate" Return="check" Impersonate="yes"/>
<CustomAction Id="InstallIISExpress" BinaryKey="myCustomActionsDLL" DllEntry="InstallIISExpress" Execute="immediate" Return="ignore" Impersonate="yes" />
<InstallExecuteSequence>
  <Custom Action="CheckIISExpressStatus" After="InstallFinalize" Overridable="yes">NOT Installed</Custom>
  <Custom Action="InstallIISExpress" After="CheckIISExpressStatus" Overridable="yes">NOT Installed AND IS_INSTALL_IISEXPRESS="1"</Custom>
</InstallExecuteSequence>

In the InstallIISExpress action, I call bat to perform the installation.

msiexec /i iisexpress_amd64_en-US.msi /qb

But during execution, the Windows Installer prompts the error:

Other programs are being installed, please wait for the installation to complete, and then try again to install the software.

What parameters can I set to allow msi to install two msi at the same time?

Stein Åsmul Stein Åsmul · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-27T02:37:34

You must not run other setups from a custom action within your main MSI. Instead you should run MSI files in sequence using a bootstrapper such as WiX's Burn feature.

It is late. I tried to write a proper explanation of this at one point, maybe see if it makes sense to you: Wix - How to run/install application without UI.

To summarize: running legacy setup.exe files from a custom action in your MSI will not be reliable, and running MSI files - whether directly or embedded in a setup.exe will positively not work because Windows Installer does not allow concurrent MSI installation sequences. A mutex is set when InstallExecuteSequence runs, and no other InstallExecuteSequence can be run while it is in effect. Concurrent MSI installations are forbidden and technically impossible.

Can Windows installer install two msi files at the same time?

1 Answers