.msi installer troubles
June 18, 2010 1:55 PM   Subscribe

[WindowsFilter] By mistake, when I ran an .msi installer, I selected "Install for All Users" with a user that didn't have enough privileges. I don't need to install that application for all users, so I ran the installer again, but I don't get asked by the installer if I want to install it for the current user or all of them. It seems to remember my previous (and wrong) choice. Is there a way to force the installer to install it for only the current user?
posted by edmz to Computers & Internet (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
How about uninstalling it and then reinstalling it?
posted by I_pity_the_fool at 1:58 PM on June 18, 2010


Go to a command line and run msiexec /uninstall your_installer.msi, then try installing it again.
posted by zixyer at 2:06 PM on June 18, 2010


Response by poster: IPTF,

yes, I tried that.
posted by edmz at 2:07 PM on June 18, 2010


MSI is supposed to error out and then just install to the current user if the install to all users fails.

I don't know what version installer your using or even what you're installing but a good bet is to clear your temp files because it may have saved a installer settings file there.

Start -> Run -> %temp% should open it up. Empty that folder out and run you installer again.

Another option if that doesn't work it to run the installer with a blah.msi /allusers=""
This way it is set to null which is the default value for only the current user.
posted by zephyr_words at 2:35 PM on June 18, 2010


Some installers record the initial basic settings (e.g. per-user vs per-machine; install location; etc.) in the registry. I suspect that's your situation. Cleaning it up could involve editing your registry, to delete those values, but you may be screwed by the restricted privileges. I'd try using regedit and searching for the name of the company, as the data is probably in a key something like "OurCompany/TheApplication/data". If I found a key in that form I'd export a copy to file, delete the key, and then try another install. BUT as you probably know, you can hose your computer by mis-hacking the registry.

In zepyr_words' suggested command blah.msi /allusers= the word ALLUSERS must be upper case; it's case-sensitive, and should not be preceded by a slash. In fact a better form of the command might be msiexec /i blah.msi ALLUSERS= I think (but have not checked.)
posted by anadem at 8:40 AM on June 19, 2010


make that msiexec /i blah.msi ALLUSERS=""
with no spaces in ALLUSERS=""
posted by anadem at 11:33 AM on June 19, 2010


« Older What should we (tech startup guys) do when...   |   Berber-Fu Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.