Installation ended prematurely ... why?

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LigH
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Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by LigH »

On a PC with Windows XP SP3 german, where I already used Far 1.x and 2.x for a while, I wanted to re-install the Far manager 2.x with its MSI installer. Unfortulately, "Far manager 2 Setup Wizard ended prematurely because of an error. Your system has not been modified. To install this program at a later time, run Setup Wizard again." - even after another reboot.

Now I wonder why exactly the installation failed. Is there any way to get more details about the reason?
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DrKnS
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by DrKnS »

Is there any way to get more details about the reason?
msiexec /i Far20b1743.x86.20101207.msi /log log.txt
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chupakabra
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by chupakabra »

Better use /l*v log.txt instead of /log log.txt, it will log more detail.
Upload log.txt to mediafire.com and post link here.
LigH
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by LigH »

log.txt -- Doesn't look very specific...
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chupakabra
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by chupakabra »

Installation fails because of error in one the custom actions. Actual reason is not known because error message was not logged for some reason. In case you wish to debug this problem I will provide you with debug version and necessary info.
LigH
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by LigH »

Yes, I am curious about it. Let's try to discover the mystery.
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chupakabra
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by chupakabra »

- Ensure that you login under administrator account
- Download debug version: http://www.mediafire.com/file/19nq91lxs ... i_debug.7z and unpack into some directory e.g. c:\temp
- Install Debugging Tools for Windows (google it).
- Create user environment variable called MsiBreak with value UpdateFeatureState. This will tell MS Installer to stop at start of extension execution.
- Launch installation (far.msi), it will present at some point dialog box with process ID.
- Launch WinDBG, press F6 and attach to process with PID shown by installer.
- Execute commands in WinDBG command prompt:

Code: Select all

.sympath c:\temp
.srcpath c:\temp
bp update_feature_state
g
- Close installer dialog box with process id, execution will break into debugger soon and show you source code at the start of update_feature_state procedure (if not just input g command again).
- Use F10 key to step line by line and find failing line of code (failure is indicated by throwing C++ exception, you may want to enable break on exception by issuing command sxe eh)
LigH
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by LigH »

The debug installer ran through (step by step in the debugger, checking each requirement in the loop) without error and installed the Far manager successfully. ... Hooray?!?

Running the release installer afterwards failed as usual. Sorry ... that didn't help much.

But at least I have one working installation with updated system registrations. From now on I can update from non-installing archives again.
Groucho2004
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by Groucho2004 »

I have used pretty much every FAR version since 1998 and never felt the need for an installer.
Maybe I'm missing something but why would one need an installer for FAR?
LigH
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by LigH »

Just the linking of shortcuts here and there, mainly - "system integration" for all users in one step.
Groucho2004
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by Groucho2004 »

LigH wrote:Just the linking of shortcuts here and there, mainly - "system integration" for all users in one step.
Ah, I see. If this installer doesn't work properly for you - there's always InnoSetup.
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chupakabra
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by chupakabra »

I added error logging via OutputDebugString. This output can be captured with DebugView: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysi ... s/bb896647
Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/9qrib5ivizusyk3/far.msi
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chupakabra
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by chupakabra »

Maybe I'm missing something but why would one need an installer for FAR?
- Installer lets you select components to install.
- It will make upgrades easier because it will upgrade installed components only and find installation directory automatically.
- It is good for first time install because it will create shortcut with proper window size and font.
- It will keep track of installed files and if some of the files are obsolete and removed from Far distribution they will be removed from user system.
- MSI can be used to automate software installation across enterprise.
zippy1981
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by zippy1981 »

I am having a similar installation issue on windows 2000 . In my case, it seems to be due to my system lacking the Tahoma font. Pertinant log message pasted below. Full log at

Property(S): PrimaryVolumeSpaceRequired = 0
Property(S): PrimaryVolumeSpaceRemaining = 0
Action ended 6:15:23: ExecuteAction. Return value 3.
Action 6:15:23: FatalError.
Action start 6:15:23: FatalError.
Info 2898. WixUI_Font_Error, Tahoma, 0
Action 6:15:23: FatalError. Dialog created
Action ended 6:15:24: FatalError. Return value 2.
Action ended 6:15:24: INSTALL. Return value 3.
Property(C): UpgradeCode = {67A59013-488F-4388-81F3-828A1DCEDA32}
Property(C): LicenseAccepted = 1
Property(C): INSTALLDIR = C:\Program Files\Far2
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chupakabra
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Re: Installation ended prematurely ... why?

Post by chupakabra »

I confirm installation error on Win2k. It is related to migration to VS2010 compiler to build custom action library. This will be fixed in a future.
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