Chapter 11: Mapping Windows Installer

Overview

Windows Installer is a component of Microsoft Windows XP that simplifies application deployment, management, and removal. It manages installation by applying the setup rules that a package file contains. These rules define which files to install and the configuration of the application. After installing Windows Installer—based applications, you can change, repair, or remove them with a high degree of reliability—much greater than with applications that use legacy setup programs. In Windows XP, Windows Installer is an operating system service.

Windows Installer is a big subject. Component management, customization with transforms, deployment through Active Directory, and resiliency are some of the topics in the vast list of things you should learn about Windows Installer before deploying applications based on the technology. This is a book about the registry, however, so I must focus on how Windows Installer interacts with the registry. With that said, you don't necessarily need to run out and buy a book to learn how to deploy Windows Installer-based applications. Microsoft posted incredibly useful documentation on the company's Web site. The whitepaper that I'd suggest you start with is "Windows Installer: Benefits and Implementation for System Administrators" at www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/administration/management/wininstaller.asp. Also, the Office XP Resource Kit, www.microsoft.com/office/ork, is the ultimate resource for learning how to deploy big Windows Installer-based applications like Microsoft Office XP. From this point forward, I'm assuming that you're familiar with Windows Installer and want to know more about how it interacts with the registry.

In this chapter, I describe Windows Installer registry settings. First I describe how to repair a Windows Installer-based application's user and computer settings. One of the really cool things about Windows Installer is that it heads off helpdesk calls by repairing applications automatically when it detects a problem (missing or corrupt files, for example) and enabling users to repair an application's user and computer settings manually. This chapter also describes the policies IT professionals use to manage Windows Installer and the applications that use it. Some policies are more useful than others, so I'll describe the ones that offer solutions to common deployment problems. Last, I wrap up by describing the tools you can use to remove an application's Windows Installer settings from the registry. These tools are sometimes essential because when an application's Windows Installer settings become corrupt, you can't remove the application using Add Or Remove Programs and you can't reinstall or repair it.