Software Deployment

Hi Bob,
make sure 'Administrative Image' is checked in the Summary Information dialog.
make sure 'Compressed by default' is unchecked in the Summary Information dialog.
Regards, Nick

Why dont you try doing admin install of the Adobe Pro 8.x and then patch the admin Installation with the patches?
I have done same with Adobe Standard 8.x and works fine for me

I could, I suppose--I just like one neat package. Since they don't appear to have released CUMULATIVE patches, just wondered if there is a way to chain them, or something.

Thanks.

Well , there is another way though not very conventional, Slipstream the admin install and then convert your msi to the wsi and change the release settings and compile to form a single msi.[:)]

I'm also working on this issue. The only way I found was to rebuild my transform for the 8.1.2 version of acroread.msi. Uninstall the old and reinstall the new. No one at Adobe understands that there are patch tables.

They have also never heard of a VM. Their Optimization (defrag) feature fails on a virual PC.

There are some great notes in the Package section of this site to help you eliminate the unwanted add ins.

I am also struggling with the same problem as gmouse.

Looking at the last example in the article at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367988.aspx it would appear you could execute the below command to perform a new install and include all three patches.

msiexec /i AcroPro.msi PATCH=AcrobatUpd810_efgj_incr.msp;AcrobatUpd811_all_incr.msp;AcrobatUpd812_all_incr.msp TRANSFORMS=AcroPro.mst /qb

The only problem is that it doesn't work. I get the error "This patch package could not be opened..." as if the patch file does not exist, even though it does exist.

Why doesn't stuff just work like it should? [X(]

ORIGINAL: MicrosoftBob

I am also struggling with the same problem as gmouse.

Looking at the last example in the article at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367988.aspx it would appear you could execute the below command to perform a new install and include all three patches.

msiexec /i AcroPro.msi PATCH=AcrobatUpd810_efgj_incr.msp;AcrobatUpd811_all_incr.msp;AcrobatUpd812_all_incr.msp TRANSFORMS=AcroPro.mst /qb

The only problem is that it doesn't work. I get the error "This patch package could not be opened..." as if the patch file does not exist, even though it does exist.

Why doesn't stuff just work like it should? [X(] This just goes to show that you really do learn something every day. I have never seen used, nor even been aware of, the PATCH property. I've always used the /P switch to apply patches. If you follow the link for the PATCH property on that MS page is takes you here http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa370576(VS.85).aspx where the crucial sentence, for the example you show, anyway, is "
[blockquote]Windows Installer 2.0: Multiple patches are not supported. Windows Installer 3.0 is required to apply multiple patches.[/blockquote]
Do you have WI 2.0 or 3.0? If only 2.0, you can't specify multiple patches.

Just FYI, I am using Wininstaller 3.0 and PATCH still didn't work; no matter whether you give it the full path or assume the same folder as the MSI.

What we did was put it all in a wrapper ( you can use wisescript or other tool of your choice) and run the setup.exe and then the patches sequentially.

I am using Windows Installer 3.0 and so I should be able to specify multiple patches, but alas, it does not work.

Furthermore, I tried to create an administrative install point, and this was successful with the 8.0 install, the 8.1 patch, and the 8.1.1 patch. However when I tried to apply the 8.1.2 patch, I encounter an error #1334 "The file 'MAGAZINE_Ad_2006_JPN.jobopti' cannot be installed because the file cannot be found in cabinet file 'Data1.cab'." After clicking OK, it rolls back to 8.1.1. I have tried several times, both with real PCs and a VM with the same result.

Has anyone been successful at applying the 8.1.2 patch to an administrative install for Adobe Acrobat Professional 8.1.1?

[:@]

Hi folks,
i see some confusion on this thread.
Slipstreaming works like this:
You generate an admin install point:
msiexec /a AcroPro.msi TARGETDIR=\\YourServer\YourAdminIP\AcroPro812

After that, we integrate the patches:
msiexec /a AcroPro.msi /p AcrobatUpd810_efgj_incr.msp TARGETDIR=\\YourServer\YourAdminIP\AcroPro812
msiexec /a AcroPro.msi /p AcrobatUpd811_all_incr.msp TARGETDIR=\\YourServer\YourAdminIP\AcroPro812
msiexec /a AcroPro.msi /p AcrobatUpd812_all_incr.msp TARGETDIR=\\YourServer\YourAdminIP\AcroPro812

Now you can install V 8.1.2 in one stage.
However, it's still doing it the Adobe way:
The patch files are copied to the "Update" folder and applied to the according parent files by a custom action after the FileCopy sequence.

If you need for some reason need to make it into Cabfiles again, you can do it like i described it here:
http://www.appdeploy.com/messageboards/fb.asp?m=30234

Hope, this gives some of you start.
Regards, Nick

nheim:

I've been able to generate the admin install point and apply all the patches except 8.1.2. When I apply it, it gets about 90% finished and gives the error in my previous post.

Have anyone been successful in applying the 8.1.2 patch to an install point and how? I used nheim's commands and some variants of my own, but still get the same error.

FWIW, I think the Adobe customization wizard is really the best way to go. I am not sure that doing an admin install is worth the trouble, especially as the vendor doesn't seem all that interested in supporting it. [:D]

Therefore, the approach I'd recommend is to use the Customization tool to adjust your installation, run the setup.exe with the PATCH that comes with it, and run the other 2 patches sequentially using whatever shell program suits your environment (wise script?)....

good luck!

I just successfully created two network install points for Adobe Acrobat 8.0.0 and applied all three patches to both. The first was a standalone version of Adobe Acrobat with a volume license and the other was part of Adobe Web Premium which includes just about every app Adobe distributes. The patches were applied successfully to both. My irritation is that Adobe seems to only release .msp patches for Acrobat and not their other major programs such as Publisher, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver. I also used the Customization tool and it appears to work great.

Hi Owen,
don't see what the CW should be good for to build a slipstreamed package.
CW is good to create a MST with or without integrated patches.
Regards, Nick

joedown:

You got it to work so I assume that I must be doing something wrong. What commands did you use? And is this Acrobat Professional? I don't know what else could be different between your install and mine.

-Bob

Hi Bob,
same advice, as ever: Log the patching of the admin install and search for errors in the logfiles.
And read this: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/gpo_ad_8.pdf
Regards, Nick

Nick:

Below is the last several lines of the log file, just before it receives the error. It does not appear to tell us much more than the actual error message. I also opened up DATA1.CAB and verified that the file is, in fact, not there. So, do I have a bad copy of DATA1.CAB? The file size is 472,011,998 bytes and is timestamped 10/23/2006 6:02 AM. I also downloaded the 8.1.2 patch file again, but same error.

MSI (s) (34:84) [14:11:07:872]: Executing op: SetTargetFolder(Folder=C:\8.1.2\CommonAppData\Adobe\Adobe PDF\Extras\)
MSI (s) (34:84) [14:11:07:872]: Executing op: SetSourceFolder(Folder=1\Common~1\Adobe\Adobe~2\Extras\|CommonAppData\Adobe\Adobe PDF\Extras\)
MSI (s) (34:84) [14:11:07:872]: Executing op: FileCopy(SourceName=MAGAZI~1.JOB|MAGAZINE Ad 2006 JPN.joboptions,SourceCabKey=MAGAZINE_Ad_2006_JPN.jobopti,DestName=MAGAZINE Ad 2006 JPN.joboptions,Attributes=16385,FileSize=20094,PerTick=32768,,VerifyMedia=1,,,,,CheckCRC=0,,,InstallMode=58982400,,,,,,,)
MSI (s) (34:84) [14:11:07:872]: File: C:\8.1.2\CommonAppData\Adobe\Adobe PDF\Extras\MAGAZINE Ad 2006 JPN.joboptions; To be installed; Won't patch; No existing file
MSI (s) (34:84) [14:11:07:872]: Source for file 'MAGAZINE_Ad_2006_JPN.jobopti' is compressed
MSI (s) (34:84) [14:11:07:887]: Note: 1: 2318 2: C:\8.1.2\CommonAppData\Adobe\Adobe PDF\Extras\MAGAZINE Ad 2006 JPN.joboptions MSI (s) (34:84) [14:11:07:887]: Note: 1: 1334 2: MAGAZINE_Ad_2006_JPN.jobopti 3: Data1.cab

I copied the files from the cd to a folder on the C drive, but you can put it anywheres you want, then copied the update files in the same directory, I created a batch file to run the install and updates after that. It's fully automated. If you noticed I renamed the update files. I tested it twice and the second time I did it on a fresh install of windows. Hope this helps.

this is what I put in my batch file:

c:\Acrobat\acropro.msi transforms=c:\acrobat\acropro.mst /qb
c:\Acrobat\acroup810.msp /passive /norestart
c:\Acrobat\acroup811.msp /passive /norestart
c:\Acrobat\acroup812.msp /passive /norestart

8.1.0 update http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3661
8.1.1 update http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3796
8.1.2 update http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3849

Hi Mike,
that was not the problem. The question was, how to slipstream the patches into one installation.

Regards, Nick

Hi Bob,
can't figure out the error from this short log excerpt.
Please put the hole log online. Maybe here: http://www.senduit.com
Regards, Nick

I uploaded the log to the link below and set it to expire in 1 week (the maximum). There are 2 log files. One is the complete log, and one is just the log prior to the error message. I appreciate you looking at this. Adobe Tech support refused to help me without a support agreement and it looks like a Gold level agreement ($$$$$) is required for something like this.

http://senduit.com/c4bcaa

ORIGINAL: MicrosoftBob
I uploaded the log to the link below and set it to expire in 1 week (the maximum). There are 2 log files. One is the complete log, and one is just the log prior to the error message. I appreciate you looking at this. Adobe Tech support refused to help me without a support agreement and it looks like a Gold level agreement ($$$$$) is required for something like this.
http://senduit.com/c4bcaa


Bob, did you apply the 8.1.0 and 8.1.1 patches before 8.1.2
I believe they are prerequisites.
You can send a check for some of that $$$ I saved you.
Or just some ratings points
:-)

Hi Bob,
the missing file isn't part of the 8.0 installer.
So, like Owen already asked, the question is: Did you apply all the patches, like i suggested above?
That seems improbable to me.
Regards, Nick

Hi Owen and Nick,

Yes, the missing file isn't part of the 8.0 installer. I opened up the DATA1.CAB and could not find it.

Yes, I applied all the patches, using the command Nick specified above, plus I tried some variants of my own. In fact, if you try to apply the 8.1.2 patch to a non 8.1.1 installation, you immediately get a version error and the patch aborts.

Yes, this seems improbable, but what I see as more improbable is that I am the only one who is having this problem.

Where is Zaphod when you need him? [:D]

If the file isn't part of the 8.0 installer, then it should logically be created during the application of the 8.1 or 8.1.1 patch. I received no errors during the installation of those patches, but I think I will log the install of those patches just to be sure and post another message here.

Cheers,
Bob

Hi Bob,
the file is definitely part of the "AcrobatUpd810_efgj_incr.msp" patch. Extracted the CAB with msix.exe.
So you got a problem there. Let's see the logfile.
Regards, Nick

G'Day Folks,

With all our Adobe products we have successfully added the upgrade patches by simply installing our customised install of whatever adobe product (customised being the operative word here) and simply doing a snapshot of the patch installs.
There might be 30-70 files which are changed so we then integrate those files into our base transform and remove the older versioned files. All our packages use uncompressed additional files. We also make sure that the license files after the patches are added are also updated in the transform. We have done 2 Adobe suites successfully this way. Just make sure you keep the updated system using a vm snapshot or backup, until you are sure your updated package is functioning.
It sounds like a lot of work but once you get started it flows pretty easily. The updated versioning is usually stored in the exe which is identified when adobe product is launched.

One more thing, we have noticed that if you bypass the setup.exe of any Adobe product you'll find that some of the components have a condition associated with them called Adobe.some random number. This has prevented some components from installing and the product will fail to function. This is usually found in the adobe transform file of any adobe product (even the sub msi calls from the innstall). This component condition can be deleted in this instance ie. only if the setup.exe is not used. Launching install directly using the ADOBE_SETUP=1 and UPGRADINGPRODUCTCODE=1 in the transform.

My 2c[:D]

Regards
Wayne

Ok, I found out that the 8.1 patch puts the file there, and after running the 8.1.1 patch, the file is gone. I logged both of these installs and found some errors in the 8.1.1 log file, even though I didn't get any errors during the patch installation (why?) or in Event Viewer. The log files are at the link below for 1 week.

http://senduit.com/b5560f

I'm going to take a closer look at this but wanted to go ahead and post this message.

Thanks for all the help.
-Bob

With all our Adobe products we have successfully added the upgrade patches by simply installing our customised install of whatever adobe product (customised being the operative word here) and simply doing a snapshot of the patch installs.
There might be 30-70 files which are changed so we then integrate those files into our base transform and remove the older versioned files. All our packages use uncompressed additional files. We also make sure that the license files after the patches are added are also updated in the transform. We have done 2 Adobe suites successfully this way. Just make sure you keep the updated system using a vm snapshot or backup, until you are sure your updated package is functioning.
It sounds like a lot of work but once you get started it flows pretty easily. The updated versioning is usually stored in the exe which is identified when adobe product is launched.


That does sound like a lot of work, much more than doing it in a supported way....more importantly, it doesn't sound real stable. Is there an overriding reason you decided not to use the Customization wizard and just do a str8 MSI installation?
-og

[:@]

Ok, this is REALLY getting irritating.

I started over and did an admin install of 8.0 and applied 8.1 patch. Then, made a backup of the folder and applied 8.1.1. I then copied all the files that were deleted by the 8.1.1 patch back from the backup. Then applied 8.1.2 and it finally worked since it could now find the missing file(s). Hooray, I thought.[:D]

Well, now I try to install it to a client, using the now modified acropro.msi and the admin install point and it is still looking for DATA1.CAB to pull files out of.[:@]

What option or switch or parameter do I use to have the installer use the administrative install point instead of DATA1.CAB? I copied the acropro.msi to the admin install point but I still get the error.
[8|]

Ok, I opened the acropro.msi using Orca (didn't see the option in Wise) and the options were not correct, so I toggled them and saved. It now pulls files from the administrative install point instead of DATA1.CAB. I ran a test install and came up with a error 1308 when attempting to copy a file from CommonAppData\Adobe\Adobe PDF\Settings in the administrative install point. The file was actually in program files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\Settings, so I copied the files in this folder to the previous folder and clicked Retry and it completed the install.

It is beyond my comprehension how there can be so many errors and obstacles when trying to do something that is supposed to be standard operating procedure. Anyway, it appears to work now. [:D][:D][:D] Much thanks. I am now going to attempt to use a transform (yes, I am brave).

Just curious, when creating administrative install points, is it standard procedure to have to toggle the Summary Information dialog options? This is my first one (we didn't do them at my old job) and I haven't seen this mentioned in any of the other documents I have researched concerning administrative install points. And are they usually this much trouble??????

Funny i did all the admin setup and the patch and whatever with not error, after i install adobe and check the version it keeps telling me 8.1.0 weird

Hi Bob,

ORIGINAL: MicrosoftBob
Just curious, when creating administrative install points, is it standard procedure to have to toggle the Summary Information dialog options? This is my first one (we didn't do them at my old job) and I haven't seen this mentioned in any of the other documents I have researched concerning administrative install points. And are they usually this much trouble??????


No, this should not happen at all, if the 'Admin...' tables are properly authored! Did never have this problems with Acrobat 6/7/8 at all!
BTW: Are you using the Enterprise version of Acrobat (Std/Pro)?
Had quite a few packages so far with incomplete or missing 'Admin...' tables. You can see some entries in the package KB, regarding such errors.
Have never come across a missing 'Administrative Image' bit after an admin install.
But i have seen the error when i recreated CAB files for packages (doing an admin install, exchanging some files, and recreate the CAB file(s) with WiMakCab.vbs from the SDK).
Regards, Nick

G'Day Owen,
Is there an overriding reason you decided not to use the Customization wizard and just do a str8 MSI installation?
Yep, mainly to deal with the redirected appdata directory to the server and managing our user updates in a GPO lockdown environment.
It's stable as we can get, we've learnt a lot from pulling apart the product and our updates now are all uncompressed files which can be added when a bug or feature is requested.
Managing the flexlm licensing system has been the trickiest thing in the suites. Especially when used in combination of suites.

We work with what we've got[:D]

Regards
Wayne

Funny i did all the admin setup and the patch and whatever with not error, after i install adobe and check the version it keeps telling me 8.1.0 weird


Sounds like it didn't apply the patch 8.1.1 and 8.1.2....what commands did you use?

No, this should not happen at all, if the 'Admin...' tables are properly authored! Did never have this problems with Acrobat 6/7/8 at all!
BTW: Are you using the Enterprise version of Acrobat (Std/Pro)?
Had quite a few packages so far with incomplete or missing 'Admin...' tables. You can see some entries in the package KB, regarding such errors.


This is Acrobat Professional, I assume it is the Enterprise version since it says nothing about activating the product. I don't understand why I had so much trouble, and it worked for everyone else!

ORIGINAL: MicrosoftBob

Ok, I opened the acropro.msi using Orca (didn't see the option in Wise) and the options were not correct, so I toggled them and saved. It now pulls files from the administrative install point instead of DATA1.CAB.

hello Bob,

could you or anyone explain what option you changed in the *.msi file so that it point to the administrative install?

thank you for your help

sorry, my question my not be acurate enought:
what option in the .MSI file should i toggle so that it pulls files from the administrative install point instead of DATA1.CAB?

thank you all

If you have performed an administrative install, the MSI which is copied TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE INSTALL POINT should already be set up to use that install point. If you use the original MSI, it will still be set to use the CAB.

Having said that, it isn't unknown for these things to go wrong so in the ADMINISTRATIVE INSTALL POINT version of the MSI, check the 'Word Count' property in the Summary Information stream. Most authoring tools will show this information in their UI but the Windows Installer SDK installs a script WiSumInf.VBS which will display it. It should be set to '4' for an admin image. In Orca you can view/set the property by selecting 'View/Summary Information' and checking the 'Administrative Image' check-box.

thank you for your answer VBScab
The created MSI doesn't work, it says the instalation package cannot be opened. it try to change the media from Data1.cab to the path of the install, the MSI doesn't work anymore..
funny enought, the Acropro.msi from the original instalation folder also got modified...
when use this one it pull from the Data1.cab file... and eventualy, says a file is missing.
if i insert it into the Admin install folder, it ask for the Data1.cab file..
i then check the "administrative Image" option using orca and the MSI doesn't work anymore.
i am now trying to recreate the install with the original Acropro.msi flagged as read only (like it is form the cd..) let's see what this does..
basicaly, i have the exact problem as microsoftBob. This is a bit puzling that it doesn't work as supposed... and of course, no support from adobe whatsoever... they send me an chaining install document but for version 7...

Are you performing an actual administrative install, though? Let's assume your read-only ACROPRO.MSI is in %TEMP% and that you want your AIP to be on drive X:, in a folder called 'AcrobatPro'. Go:

. MSIExec /A %temp%\ACROPRO.MSI

and choose 'X:\AcrobatPro' as the target. Click 'Next' and wait. And wait. At the end, you should have a set of expanded folders and files in X:\AcrobatPro, together with an admin-image ACROPRO.MSI.

yes, i am doing this..

this is the cmd i use:
msiexec /a "d:\acrobat8pro\AcroPro.msi" TARGETDIR="d:\test\acroPro812"

it then create a set of folder in "d:\test\acroPro812"
i then aplly the patch one by one:
msiexec /a "d:\acrobat8pro\AcroPro.msi" /p "d:\acrobat8pro\AcrobatUpd812_all_incr.msp" TARGETDIR="d:\test\acroPro812"

it does copy files in in d:\test\acroPro812" however, it doesn't update the acropro.msi in that folder anymore, it only update the one from d:\acrobat8pro\AcroPro.msi wich is the original one.
of course, the admin install is not flag on on this one and when i flag it on using orca, it doesn't work anymore, saying the package is not valid...

i am puzzled....

Hi Stephane,
that's not the correct command line you use here.
First of all: The Acrobat patches are incremental. Therefore, you need to apply 'AcrobatUpd811_all_incr.msp' first.
Second: You need to apply the patches to the new AIP, not the original MSI!

Please do it like this:
First step was ok:
msiexec /a "d:\acrobat8pro\AcroPro.msi" TARGETDIR="d:\test\acroPro812"
Apply the patches:
msiexec /a "d:\test\acroPro812\AcroPro.msi" /p "d:\acrobat8pro\AcrobatUpd811_all_incr.msp" TARGETDIR="d:\test\acroPro812"
msiexec /a "d:\test\acroPro812\AcroPro.msi" /p "d:\acrobat8pro\AcrobatUpd812_all_incr.msp" TARGETDIR="d:\test\acroPro812"

Then, you get what you are looking for.

Regards, Nick

excellent! thank you very much for this, i will try this today and let you know what is happening.

regards,

Hi Manny,
can you maybe image, that the way you are doing this, isn't sufficient for everyone else?
CW is of absolutely no use to slipstream the patches into the main package!
If someone is using GPO install, this is the best way to apply patches to the package.
I use CW to tailor the package and i do an admin install to slipstream the patches into one package.
Regards, Nick

Hi everyone,

First of all, thank you all for your help.

The solution from Nheim worked a treat. i cannot beleive being so dumb.. :)

Thank's again

Hi Stephane,
good to see, it worked out for you.
Regards, Nick

Of course, now that Adobe has released version 9.x...they finally have a solution to do a single install of Adobe 8.x, with ALL patches/upgrades applied. Must've seen this forum...sigh...<G>

http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb403246&sliceId=1

ORIGINAL: gmouse
Must've seen this forum...sigh...<G>Ha! They don't even monitor, much less participate in, their OWN forum!

Hi Bill,
this is not true anymore, as the newest security update 8.1.2 SU1 comes in a separate MSI and can't be integrated with this scenario.
The only way to do a single install remains a admin install with applied patches, like i suggested in posts 10/43 in this thread.
However, to apply the security patch, you need to exchange the affected file "Annots.api" by hand with the new one.
And then, one has to delete the line "Annots.api..." from the "FileUpdatesEx" table.

And very important: Read the message at the very bottom of this KB-article and apply the supplied transform!
They created an error into the "InstallExecuteSequence" table, which breaks the installation of the PDF-printer!
Don't they test their stuff, before it is released? Just unbelievable....
Hope this safes someone some hours (and grey hair...) :-).
Regards, Nick

Weellll...to make a long story short, I tried their new setup.exe file, and, put all three of the MSP files into the setup.ini, using the same way they did it in their KB article.

It did NOT do a full install up to 8.1.2, just 8.1.0, so, the two newest MSP's didn't get applied.

Doesn't seem to be a log file, so, not sure what went on.

I understand about the Security Update, will mess around with that one, later...

Thanks.

@nhiem.
I followed your example of patching V8.0 acrobat pro to v8.1.2 and it worked
on the install point. However, adobe (as you mentioned) has a file called
6468.mst which I'm trying to apply to the admin point like you did above.

msiexec /a "c:\test\acroProAIP\AcroPro.msi" TRANSFORMS="c:\acrobat8pro\Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional\6468.mst" TARGETDIR="c:\test\acroProAIP"

However, I get a 2203 Internal error for AIP AcroPro.msi. This patch
patches the port number for the printer. It does have conditions in it
for not 811 and not 812. Since the mistake was made in later patches
it can't be applied at the sametime the admin point is created with v8.0.

If I try to use the TRANSFORMS at the same time I patched the admin
point with v8.1.2, there is no modification to the AcroPro.msi file at the
admin point directory; however, if I use ORCA I can patch the msi and
save it as a new msi file to be renamed as the one I'm trying to patch
at the admin point. So at what step of the patching process does this
particular patch apply and how to get rid of the 2203 msi internal error?

Perhaps it should be applied after v8.1.0 is applied but before 811 and 812
although Adobe KB article on the usage of 6468.mst isn't clear when or what
version it should be applied to.

Also Adobe provides an update to correct the VISTA license problem.
Is one able to apply this fix to the AIP for acrobat?

Hi Mike,
read this: http://itninja.com/question/help-with-msi-1344
This error looks like a permission issue to me.
However, msiexec isn't the right thing to apply this transform to the MSI.
The preferred way to apply the MST would be to use "Msitran.exe" from SDK.
But you can use ORCA and make the change in the InstallExecuteSequence table by hand and save it.

The error is in the 8.1.2 patch.

Regards, Nick

Nheim,
I've read the web page plus the one it refers to too. But, I still
get the error on the screen and the logfile specifies what the internal error is.

Action 11:57:55: InstallAdminPackage. Copying files to the network
DEBUG: Error 2203: Database: c:\test3\AcroPro3.msi. Cannot open database file. System error -2147287008
Internal Error 2203. c:\test3\AcroPro3.msi, -2147287008
MSI (s) (54:F4) [11:57:57:984]: Product: Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional -- Internal Error 2203. c:\test3\AcroPro3.msi, -2147287008
Action ended 11:57:58: InstallFinalize. Return value 3.
Action 11:57:58: Rollback. Rolling back action:
Rollback: Copying files to the network
Action ended 11:57:58: ADMIN. Return value 3.about "2203 internal error ....can't open AcroPro.msi"


Here's the command I'm running after creating a new admin point and the first thing I run afterwards is this.

msiexec /a "c:\test3\AcroPro.msi" /t "6468.mst" TARGETDIR="c:\test3" /log "linst3.log"

My username is part of the Administrators group so I have full priveleges. The articles that you pointed
to suggested SYSTEM would have issues but it has full control. Moreover, c:\windows\installer and
document and Settings directory for the local temp directory for the username all have Full Control since
both of these directories will get a temp msi file and a filename with the extension tmp. All of these
have full control for Administrators and SYSTEM.

I even went and gave Full Control to every account under properties for the AIP directories and subdirectories,
and files which also included CREATE OWNER and User. I added my local user account to the list with
full control and had everything propagated down. I still get this error.

Note: everytime I remove the Read-only on the AIP directories, the msiexec which transforms the msi file
puts a read-only symbol back on them although the AcroPro.msi doesn't have read-only at all.

The only time it doesn't give the 2203 error is if I apply the transform at the same time I created the
original AIP. But, because 6468.mst should be applied to v8.1.2 or after SU1 is applied, there will
be no complaints during the AIP creation and transform being applied. However, when using ORCA , it shows the
AcroPro.msi file not being updated with the 6468.mst patch. Hence I assume I must recab the
AIP after applying all the patches, then recreate the AIP using the transform at the same time
to avoid the 2203 error and to be able to get the transform to be applied to the msi so that when
I use ORCA I would see it. (haven't done all this since this is alot of work).

In spite of the difficulty trying to get msiexec to apply the transforms 6468.mst and the one from the
SU1 package, I was able to do it with any of these other methods.

a) After creating and applying the msp patches, use ORCA to apply the transform on the AIP msi
file and resave the AIP msi file.

b ). After creating and applying the msp patches, use "msitrans.exe" from the developer SDK using
the transform filenames on the AIP msi file.

c). After creating and applying the msp patches, use the VBS script called WiUseXfm.vbs using the
transform filenames on the AIP msi file.

After doing any of the steps in (a-c) and following @nheim post on recabbing and copying over
the annots.api file to AIP location where the old one is at, I was able to get the finished AcroPro.msi
and Data1.cab file with all the latest fixes. However, when doing this it complained it wanted the /S
switch to be used too.

cscript WiMakCab.vbs AcroPro.msi Data1 /L /C /S

Note: the /S was added to the commandline since WiMakCab.vbs complained to use it.
Also ORCA was used per @nheim to modify the summary info to select "compress by default"
and to deselect the "Administrative Image".

Question: msdn for msiexec v4.5 (the newest one I'm using) lists option /U which updates the database
and references the cabinet file. Should this be used?


/C Run compression. If /C is not specified, WiMakCab.vbs only generates the DDF file.
/L Use LZX compression instead of MSZIP
/F Limit cabinet size to 1.44 MB floppy size rather than CD-ROM
/U Update the database to reference the generated cabinet
/E Embed the cabinet file in the installer package as a stream
/S Use sequence numbers in the File table ordered by directories




Now comes the install test. I'll move all the new Data1.cab and AcroPro.msi file over to where
the originally copied diretory is that contains all the info that is needed when installing
from the CD.

Question: What do I do with the DDF and INF files created by the WiMakCab.vbs? Are they
needed or useful for installing from the updated CD?

The setup.ini file that came with my retail version of Acrobat Pro v8.0 reference windows 2k, XP
but doesn't show VISTA although in the later version of the applied patches to v8, Adobes
states that it now supports VISTA. Moreover, Adobe also supplied a zip file that fixes
licensing problems on VISTA. Is this possible to integrate too into the msi or cab files?
How to Add VISTA to the setup.ini file?


Question: How to use the WiMakCab.vbs switch /E so that one can embed the
Data1.cab into the msi file?

Eventually, I'd like to repackage dot NET 1.1 with its service packs since
the Data1.cab comes out of the self extracting executable, but dot
Net 2.0 embedded its Data1.cab into the msi files. Thus I would like to know how to do it.

Hi Mike,
lots of questions you got here.
This line simply can't work:
msiexec /a "c:\test3\AcroPro.msi" /t "6468.mst" TARGETDIR="c:\test3" /log "linst3.log"
You can't use the /a and /t parameters together!
Read: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367988.aspx
Your steps A-C are all ok.

The "2203" error could be caused by the wrong command above.
Check the "Summary Information" dialog. The "Administrative Image" must be checked, "Compressed by default" has to be unchecked.
Question: msdn for msiexec v4.5 (the newest one I'm using) lists option /U which updates the database and references the cabinet file. Should this be used?
There is nothing new with "MsiMakCab.vbs, all this swiches have been there since at least version 3.0.
The /U switch is a MUST.

Question: What do I do with the DDF and INF files created by the WiMakCab.vbs? Are they needed or useful for installing from the updated CD?
This files are used to generate the CAB. You can ommit them, once the CAB is built.

Question: How to use the WiMakCab.vbs switch /E so that one can embed the Data1.cab into the msi file?
Something like this will do the trick:
cscript WiMakCab.vbs AcroPro.msi Data1 /L /C /S /U /E

Another method would be to generate the CAB and then use "Wistream.vbs" or "Msidb.exe" to embed the cabinet.
After that, one has to set the hashmark (#) in front of the CAB in the media table.

Generally, you can open up every MSI package to an AIP and recompress it with this method.
However, there are quite a few packages outthere which lack the "AdminExecuteSequence" table, which inhibits creating an AIP.
This can be resolved with this method:
http://www.appdeploy.com/messageboards/fb.asp?m=25423

Regards, Nick

ORIGINAL: nheim

Hi Mike,
lots of questions you got here.
This line simply can't work:
msiexec /a "c:\test3\AcroPro.msi" /t "6468.mst" TARGETDIR="c:\test3" /log "linst3.log"
You can't use the /a and /t parameters together!
Read: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367988.aspx
Your steps A-C are all ok.

Hmmm, I must of missed the following sentence below on the Msoft webpage above. I have seen on various
internet webpages others use /t or TRANSFORMS= with the /a and thus I assumed it could be
used with /a. , particularily since the /a , /p , /t seemed to be used at the same time or /i is used in place
of /a. I don't want to use /j or /m but only the /a so based on your post, I'll have to use the other
methods.


The options /t, /c and /g should only be used with /j


So, question: Is it possible to convert a .msp file to .mst or vice versa? If I can convert the mst
to msp, then I could apply it to the AIP.

Check the "Summary Information" dialog. The "Administrative Image" must be checked, "Compressed by default" has to be unchecked.

But I thought after the AIP is patched and one wants to recab the file, that after doing a recab, the msi file
"Summary Information" dialog had to do the opposite of what you are saying above with the check boxes.
Then the two files can be copied from the AIP to my directory containing the Acrobat software now that I've rebuilt
the install disk. If I wanted to install from the AIP, then I would check the boxes as you stated above.

Any thoughts on adding the VISTA entries in setup.ini of the rebuilt install CD? Does the setup.exe have to be
up to date to understand what to do with the VISTA? see below for the setup.ini file I have. I assume all I have
to do is add ";VISTA" , change the RequireMSI to 4.5 or 3.1 and add the VISTA version information similiar
to what was done for Win 2k and XP and it will work.

Since my Acrobat Pro v8.0 version is English only, I wonder why Adobes site showed in the Kb article the
list of language codes? I presume these other Acrobat versions sold in these countries
have their country language code with the default of English. Thus, they have two languages to choose from
vs. the US having only one.

Another question (:): So this leads me to ask, is it possible to download a trial version of Acrobat Pro 8
for each of the various countries and create a patch file between my English version and the other countries
language using the msidb.vbs so that when I apply all of the msp patches I created, that I'll make one Adobe
Acrobat Pro v8.0 that is able to be used in any of the languages that Adobe supports and that during install,
I'd select the language to be used. It's too bad that Adobe just didn't make Acrobat or any product that they
make have MUI (multi-user language interface) that is selectable from a menu option under language instead
of all these different versions. See how MSoft does it with their OS' and office products although they do
have some which are permanent in that countries localized language.

question: what does the ADDLOCAL=ALL do? I don't see this in msiexec properties area.


[Startup]
RequireOS=Windows 2000;Windows XP
RequireMSI=3.0
RequireIE=6.0.2600.0
CmdLine=/sl"1033" /sPB
[Product]
msi=AcroPro.msi
Languages=1033;1031;1036
1033=English (United States)
1031=German (Germany)
1036=French (France)
CmdLine=TRANSFORMS=6468.mst ADDLOCAL=ALL
PATCH=AcrobatUpd810_efgj_incr.msp;AcrobatUpd810_euro_incr.mspAcrobatUpd811_all_incr.msp;AcrobatUpd812_all_incr.msp
[Windows 2000]
PlatformID=2
MajorVersion=5
ServicePackMajor=4
[Windows XP]
PlatformID=2
MajorVersion=5
MinorVersion=1
ServicePackMajor=2
[MSI Updater]
Path=WindowsInstaller-KB893803-v2-x86.exe

Hi Mike,
still lots of questions, he he ... :-)

So, question: Is it possible to convert a .msp file to .mst or vice versa? If I can convert the mst to msp, then I could apply it to the AIP.
Yes this is possible. A MSP file contains at least one MST file if there are changes to the database. To extract a MSP, use Heat Stewart's msix.exe: http://blogs.msdn.com/heaths/archive/2006/04/07/571138.aspx
To put a MST into an MSP, you have to create a patch. See: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367816(VS.85).aspx

But I thought after the AIP is patched and one wants to recab the file, that after doing a recab, the msi file
"Summary Information" dialog had to do the opposite of what you are saying above with the check boxes.
I was refering to your problems, accessing AcroPro.msi from the AIP. Always check this settings, if you encounter strange errors, when you change the way the files are accessed.

We never use the setup.exe since its of no use for professional deployment. We start it with msiexec, if we have to inject changes to an MSI, we use an MST.

About the languages: We actually use a multi language version with ENU, GER, FRA in it.

The thing extracting languages from the trials could work. But be aware, that you most likely break the license with things like that!
The correct way is to order a ML version of the product.
I did once a ML version of AdobeReader with 2 or tree additional languages. Worked perfectly.

question: what does the ADDLOCAL=ALL do? I don't see this in msiexec properties area.
This installs all features of the product.

Regards, Nick

What are

Can this work for updating from 8.0 to 8.2.3? We got helpdesk that will install 8.0, and not patch the machines...and from a vulnerability stand point, for every version that the program is behind is a separate vulnerability. So that's what? About 13 vulnerabilities from that program alone.

Hi sonny,
please do not resurrect such an old thread!
See this post for a solution: http://www.appdeploy.com/messageboards/fb.asp?m=61985
And use this thread for further questions.
Regards, Nick

• from the CD create an administrative install point (if you don't do this you will get MicrosoftBob's error).
  
• Incrementally patch that install point to 8.1.2. (msiexec /a <path to MSI> PATCH=<path to patch>. NOTE:Do not specify any transform files at this point as i had some issues with this
  
• Create your transform file If you're creating an MST using the Adobe Customization wizard make sure the setup.ini file exists in the administrative installpoint beforehand (if not get it from the CD). Othersize the DirectEditor function wont work properly.
  
• At this point you can carry out your normal install. Mine looks like the following:
  msiexec /i "<PATH_TO_MSI>" TRANSFORMS="<PATH_TO_MST" /qb-! /li "<PATH_TO_LOG_FILE>" REBOOT=ReallySupress
  
  hope this helps
  

ORIGINAL: aogilmor

FWIW, I think the Adobe customization wizard is really the best way to go. I am not sure that doing an admin install is worth the trouble, especially as the vendor doesn't seem all that interested in supporting it. [:D]

Therefore, the approach I'd recommend is to use the Customization tool to adjust your installation, run the setup.exe with the PATCH that comes with it, and run the other 2 patches sequentially using whatever shell program suits your environment (wise script?)....

good luck!


HAHAH about time someone mentioned this. Get the customizatin wizard it will help you get the job done after which you can just install it with an MSI/MST using a btach comamnd.