Install inconsistencies on Windows 7 OS

[alison.gangler]

Occasionally, when installing on Windows 7, the install will report success but then when launching the product, you might notice that certain functionality is not completely installed or that certain files appear to be missing, such as CUIX or other support files related to the application profile. In these cases, here is a suggested workflow to help ensure that the install will completely install all the support files on the system:

1. Disable/turn down the UAC prior to the install. This can be done by opening the Control Panel > System and Security > Action Center > Change User Account Control settings and turning it to the lowest level.

2. Add the following policy for Windows Installer to the registry:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer]

"AlwaysInstallElevated"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer]

"AlwaysInstallElevated"=dword:00000001
 
There is additional information about this Windows Installer policy at:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367561(v=vs.85).aspx

This allows the Windows Installer policy to be elevated on the system so that it can adequately access all the areas of the system and registry, and not get blocked by the additional layers of security on the Windows 7 OS.

Microsoft recommends that the policy be set back to "0" upon completion of the install maintenance.

3. From the Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off, locate the .NET 3.5 SP 1 in the list and verify that the package is fully enabled with all boxes checked. It is recommended that you reboot the system after fully enabling the .NET 3.5 SP1.

4. When launching the install, right click on the setup.exe or on the deployment shortcut and choose 'Run as Administrator'

As always, it's a good idea to verify the install success in the Install logs which are generated in the TEMP directory on the system.

Cheers,

Alison