Windows Installer(.msi) policy on Win2k

[Kramy]

Well, recently my HD died, and I set out on the path to make a 1337 gaming Win2k almost totally optimized. I used HFSLIP to slipstream hotfixes and DX9.0c in(since dx90c doesn't install for some reason), and then I nLited stuff as I previously have.

A new problem came up though at some point. Because of the weird HD stuff I had to get through, I can't pinpoint when, but at some point either HFSLIP or a policy I set(gpedit.msc) broke the windows installer. It fails to update if I try to install 3.1(v2) again.

So...my question. I've tried setting all the windows installer keys I can to turning it on, or leaving them default. Nothing works, even with reboots. It just stays disabled, and I can't install Kerio or any other programs with .msi based installers.

Does anyone have a list of ALL the policies I have to change to get my windows installer working again? It says in the log(all logging enabled) "This installation is forbidden by system policy. Contact your system administrator."

Oh, and I'm logged in as an admin.

Help! Thanks!

-Kramy

Edited November 29, 2005 by Kramy

[cluberti]

Almost all of the Windows Installer policies are under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Installer. Note that any policy setting that has been configured from "Not Configured" to a value cannot be reset by changing it back to "Not Configured"; it must be set to something else.

[Kramy]

Yes, I've played around with all of those.

Enabled: "Disable Windows Installer: Never"

Then rebooted, and it still doesn't work.

[cluberti]

Run regmon (http://www.sysinternals.com) when attempting to install an .msi file to see which registry key is blocking your access to install .msi files - you could also enable MSI logging in Windows XP to get a detailed log of the installation as well.

[Kramy]

I don't understand the output totally. Perhaps someone else understands it better?

I posted in the nLite section aswell.

Hey...what's the 'DisableMSI' key set to on your system?(assuming you can install on your system)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer

Regmon702_MSI.zip

[cluberti]

On this machine, I do not have that value at all. And the registry data looks clean, the version check and the imagefileoptions check all passed OK. You've got some issues with reparsing (which could be caused by disk I/O at the time), but nothing out of the ordinary. It's definitely a policy issue as far as I can tell from this.

[Kramy]

Woo, finally fixed it!

It appears that as long as the registry key was there, it was not updating the key for policy changes. I find that odd...you change a policy, you expect the registry key to be updated. Anyway....process:

1) Deleted all "Windows Installer" registry keys at the policy locations

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft

2) Set all "Windows Installer" policies to Not configured

3) Rebooted, then checked to make sure all policies were applied(or rather not applied).

I'm guessing something broke with HFSLIP, since it appears "Enabled -> ON", "Enabled -> Managed", "Enabled -> OFF", and "Disabled" all count as Windows Installer Disabled.

Thanks for the help!

[cluberti]

Good to hear you found a solution. I'd say it's funny that the policies weren't applying, but remember that almost all policy objects are just registry keys, so you can always do (or undo) it manually .

[tommyp]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but my hfslip'd 2k does not have msi issues. Are you sure it's an HFSLIP issue? Or is it an NLITE issue? The reason I ask is that HFSLIP does not tinker with the policies via inf files. Also, I'd like to make hfslip more universal and error-free. Thanks!