Software Deployment

The problems you are having are the reason it is not recommended to repackage a vendor MSI. When you say you had no choice, can you elaborate? Perhaps we can help you find a better solution. I doubt anyone will want to troubleshhot this with a ten foot pole.

Use it's silent install and if you want to customize it you can easilly just pass properties to the command line.

Thanks Coriolus! The application is for Citrix and when I try to add it it is not accepted by Citrix. I have tried to find out why it wont go into Citrix but to no avail hence the capture! I have sorted the problem by setting the INSTALLDIR in my .IRP file. This gets rid of most of the issues and the rest can be cleaned up quite easily. Does anyone have any idea why an application wont go into Citrix(when I try to Add Package)? I have had this vefore when I transform a vendor MSI with Installshield and it wont go in. The I make the changes using ORCa and it will go in. Now I am not suggesting that there is a bug in Installshield......

An easy way to see why it won't install properly is to run 'PROCMON' in the background and initiate the install, this will capture everything that happens during the process and most likely give you the answer you need.

Get PROCMON here:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/processmonitor.mspx

Good luck..

ORIGINAL: oreillyr

Thanks Coriolus! The application is for Citrix and when I try to add it it is not accepted by Citrix. I have tried to find out why it wont go into Citrix but to no avail hence the capture! I have sorted the problem by setting the INSTALLDIR in my .IRP file. This gets rid of most of the issues and the rest can be cleaned up quite easily. Does anyone have any idea why an application wont go into Citrix(when I try to Add Package)? I have had this vefore when I transform a vendor MSI with Installshield and it wont go in. The I make the changes using ORCa and it will go in. Now I am not suggesting that there is a bug in Installshield......


You add the package through the management console I assume? What is the message that you receive?
Before you captured this msi, because of not having a choice. Did you create a mst? Did you try to install the app. with your mst on a desktop first? Then add both the msi and mst into Citrix?

Thanks Coriolus however the problem is not installing the application. The problem occurs when I try to "Add" the package in Citrix.

gizsha
Yes I am using the Management Console.

It is a very informative msg

"Citrix failed to add package xxxx.
Unspecified error \\Path to MSI..........msi"

When I just try to add the vendor MSI it add's fine and adds without issue. Now I try to transform the application using Installshield and then when I attempt to add it it gives me the issue. I presume it is something that Installshield is adding so. When I look at the Direct editor in Installshield there are only two tables affected: _Validation table and Installshield table.

If I remove the offending entries in the _Validation table and remove the entries from the Installshield table(or the table itself if it was not present) this has no effect and the application will still not add to Citrix! I have come across it before and just made the changes through ORCA and imported the tables etc and all was fine but it just wont work with this application! I am using Admin Studio 6 which I know is riddled with bugs, is this another one?

Hi oreillyr,
please tell use, why you had to capture the vendor MSI!
It looks to me, that maybe it would be easier to solve this problem, than produce a lot of new ones with your own MSI.
Regards, Nick

HI Nheim

I had to capture the application because I could not get it to add to Citrix. This is my problem in the first place. When I try to add I get the afore mentioned error. I understand that capturing a vendor application is taboo but when I could not get it to add into Citrix and could not find out why capturing was the only way!

Hi oreillyr,
no that's not the only way to do it, believe me.
The more promising way would be to debug the problem you got with the vendor package.
As you experienced yourself, with capturing you got errors too.
So what's better: solving problems on a package, you know, that some experienced people put in a good share of time and knowledge?
Or introducing a hole lot of new problems to solve?

When I just try to add the vendor MSI it add's fine and adds without issue. Now I try to transform the application using Installshield and then when I attempt to add it it gives me the issue. I presume it is something that Installshield is adding so. When I look at the Direct editor in Installshield there are only two tables affected: _Validation table and Installshield table.

Use ORCA to edit the MSI and edit the settings you need directly into the MSI and test it.

Regards, Nick

Hi Nick,

Under normal circumstances I would agree with you however due to time constraints and not being able to work out why it would not go into Citrix capturing was the best(quickest!) option for me. The application installed without issue on a desktop(with or without the transform) and there was no apparent reason why it would not go into Citrix and the Citrix team could not shed any light on the issue either. The Citrix issue will have to wait for another time for me! If I do get back to it I will post the solution. Thanks for all your help Nick.

Regards,
Rob

Ya I would be concerned about this 'Citrix issue' if I were you. This will be a real handicap for you in the future. I would definitly spend some time trying to figure that out. Personally it would be my priority if I was in your situation because repackaging a vendor's MSI makes me feel nauseous.. ;)

- Somebody must of had a similar problem you are having in the Citrix community..
- There has to be some intuitive information generated by this problem, either through PROCMON or some other means of logging..
- Did you say Citrix support had no idea wth you are talking about? and couldn't help?

Straaaaaaangeeee... :(