Install Stalling

[Lin]

I am trying to run my install on a machine and it keeps "stalling" in the same place.

Right after "Next" is clicked on the readme dialog, the readme dialog disappears and nothing else happens. The install process is still running in the background but the verifyregcodes dialog never shows?


Display Dialog: readme, wait for dialog to return (modal)
if Variable WIZARD Equals BACK
GoTo Label: License Check
else
if Variable WIZARD Equals CANCEL
GoTo Label: Main Install
end
end
label: Verify Registration Codes
Display Dialog: verifyregcodes, wait for dialog to return (modal)


I have attached the log file. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[FrancescoT]

Dear Lin,

try to post a very basic project that replicate the issue.

Regards

[Lin]

I can not replicate the issue in-house, we are seeing it in production so I was hoping you could tell me something from the log file?

[swordfish]

Some more details:
================
Environment:
----------------
Windows XP Pro SP3\32bit

Install Aware:
----------------
Version: 9 R2
Windows Installer: 4.5

Behavior:
---------------
As stated above, right after "Next" is clicked on the readme dialog the readme dialog disappears and nothing else happens where we typically see the next dialog screen. The install process still runs in the background.

Windows Event Viewer Log:
--------------------------------
12:06:15PM| Beginning a Windows Installer transaction C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\mia179\AppName.msi Client Process ID: 2024 | EventID 1040
12:06:15PM| Ending a Windows Installer transaction C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\mia179\AppName.msi. Client Process ID: 2024 | EventID 1042
12:06:15PM| Product: AppName - installation completed successfully. | EventID: 11707
12:06:15PM| Windows installer installed the product. Product Name: AppName. Product Version: ... product Language: 1033 Installation success or error status: 0 | EventID 1033

Note the time stamp. All same. And even though it says the product installed, the product never installed. It didn't even get passed the readme dialogue. So something is failing and not getting handled correctly but thinking it installed successfully?

Install Aware Setup Log:
-------------------------------
Refer to the attached (above) IA install log. The log does show that the product was installed and then removed.


We are unable to reproduce it in house. If we were able to reproduce it in-house, we would have looked into it and troubleshot it. However, we have seen this happening several times in the past. Fresh OS install or manual DLL updates seemed to work but that's not how we should approach this issue when dealing with our clients in production.

So questions for your team:
=======================
1. Based on the above information and the attached setup.log file (above post) can you do analysis and provide us your feedback\theory?
2. Do you have any tools\utils we can use to get more information on what is going on when the NEXT is clicked and the whole thing disappears?
3. If no analysis luck, and if no tools then can someone from your technical team look at this issue in production with us?

[FrancescoT]

Dear swordfish,

It is really strange and as usually happens when an issue is really hard to replicate, as you know it is not easy to find out what happens.

Unfortunately, for what I know doesn't exist a tool that could help you.

Let me try to verify with dev team if exist any other useful information that I can share with you.

Just a question, the error for what I understand, can be reproduced only with some machines, should be possible for you to have a VM clone of that System?

Then also, I know that probably seems an obvious question, have you verified if any Antivirus is causing the issue?

Regards.

[swordfish]

Francesco,

Thanks for looking into this for us. However, I still haven't gotten answers to my questions.

1. Were you able to look into the setup log and if so, what was your analysis result?
2. You said there is no tool\util that can be used to help troubleshoot the issue but you will check with your Dev team. So if there is nothing much in the setup.log, and if there is no other tool to troubleshoot how do you resolve technical issues that can't be replicated in house? As application provider, we come across issues like this within our APP that can't be replicated but we still have to troubleshoot because of the fact that clients in production get affected so we use 3rd party tools, monitoring system, debugging, logging and at times even a custom utility\tools to help us troubleshoot issues. Obviously, clicking NEXT on the ReadMe runs certain code in IA and fails to display the next window. Logging should tell us what it is trying to do and what it couldn't do...etc right?
3. What is the feasibility of having someone from your team look at this issue in production with us in an attempt to find out what could be causing the issue?

Thanks!

[FrancescoT]

Dear swordfish,

Probably I was misinterpreted ... but you have not aswered my question too.

1. Were you able to look into the setup log and if so, what was your analysis result?

I have forwarded your log to our dev team to see if they can find any useful data from it and actually I'm waiting for a response.
Personally, I have not found any other additional info that could help you to localize the issue.

Regarding your other two questions;
That's the reason why I asked you "should be possible for you to have a VM clone of that System?".
This is the most powerfull way to replicate an issue and having it in site, we are able to debug the process and also, this is the only effective way to find out possible issues.

Then also consider that actually, we can only debug a process generated with the last NX version.
For this reason I suggest you to try to produce a build of your project using the last NX trial version, in order to verify if the same happen.
If possible use the new IA version in a VM or with a totally new machine.
If this is not possible, PLEASE REMEBER TO have a full backups of the trial installer and license generator for the old version before to proceed in any way, otherwise you will be not be able to restore back your actual InstallAware version.

I also asked you, "I know that probably seems an obvious question, have you verified if any Antivirus is causing the issue?"

Regards.

[swordfish]

Answers to your question:
======================
1. Should be possible for you to have a VM clone of that System?
A) The only time we had to do something similar was to have our client's (not the same client having the issue) IT folks reimage the HD and mail it to us. This itself is a lengthy process and requires a lot of coordination. So my answer is: "most likely no", unless that's the last option we are left with.

2. I know that probably seems an obvious question, have you verified if any Antivirus is causing the issue?
A) We did check antivirus to make sure it wasn't blocking the install. Not sure what else to check unless you can suggest certain things to check based on past experience.

3. "Build your project using the last NX trial version" - This will be one of the last options but we need to be able to troubleshoot the issue with your help without rebuilding an install using a newer product version. We will definitely keep it in mind.

I am sure your clients ran into issues which can't be replicated in test\dev environment but occurs in production env and I am not sure how you typically resolve those issues. But please know that this is not a one-time instance and it affected several clients in production.

Please also note that we are here only seeking assistance, not pointing out that IA product is having issues. The fact that we are using your product to deploy the package you have much more data to find out what's going on in the backend than us.

Thanks~

[FrancescoT]

Dear Swordfish,

I perfectly understand your situation.
I'm basically a developer so I faced similar problems as anyone else.

I proposed you to try rebuild using the NX trial because actually, it is impossible for us to execute any test or debug of a project with any past version.
Every test that I run over an user project it is always executed under our last version and actually we can't do differently.

Please note that this our internal working way ( ... due the impossibility to test using past versions) and it is not required in any way that the user have to forcibly update the product.

When we receive a support request regarding a problem that can't be easly replicated as you are having, we require a VM copy of the affected system to work on. This is the unique way we use to proceed and also the only, for past experience, that guarantees a possible success.
Among other, it the same rule followed by many other software houses.

Please believe me, I have no doubt about the existence of the problem that you actually have and I am not thinking at all that you are pointing to a possible IA issue. But we must consider any possible cause.

Unfortunately from your log files we haven't found anything that could point to any useful info.

Regarding a possible AV issue, I have spent two weeks to find out of a problem I had when compilng with VS2010.
It was failing on every build with very strange errors.
Then I found was caused by the AV ... but was not enough to turn it off ... I had to remove it completely.

Finally, I can only suggest you to proceed as I told you and I may require to have your InstallAware project too.

Let me know.

Regards

[swordfish]

Thanks for the update!

One quick question, please:

What approach do you take when taking VM clone of a system? Do you use certain 3rd party tool or freeware or? I don't think it is something we have done in the past - so we are not familiar with the approach even though the idea sounds pretty straight forward and simple. And of course, being a software engineer, not an IT professional - I am not familiar with all the technologies out there that can clone an existing system in a VM environment. So if you know of certain 3rd party software, freeware...etc please let me know and I will see if I can look into that option and press on getting it done.

The other question I have is - let's say we can get a VM copy of the system. Now, would you still be able to look into it even though the install is not built with NX or do you still require the VM copy AND the install be built in the NX version of your product to be able to debug?

Thanks.

[FrancescoT]

Dear Swordfish,

I am a software engineer too and I learned to use VM environment, due the effective needs to have an efficient way to run incoming support request.

Plaese send me an email and I will give you informations about the tool we use.
Is a very simple task to create a VM clone of an existing system. I am sure once you used the first time you will use it with all your test.

But please AS FIRST STEP proceed with releasing a build using NX and then test it on the affected OS.
This will assure that the error is reproducible even with NX.
You can test the package over the original OS or using a VM clone.

Once you tested it, post to me your results and then we decide how to go further.

PLEASE NOTE! As I already told you with my previous reply;

If possible use the new IA version in a VM or with a totally new machine.
If this is not possible, PLEASE REMEBER TO have a full backups of the trial installer and license generator for the old version before to proceed in any way, otherwise you will be not be able to restore back your actual InstallAware version.

Regards.

[swordfish]

How do I send you email?

I will reach out to my team to see if building the install with NX on a new flat is something we can do and what it will take to get it done.

[FrancescoT]

Please use: support@installaware.com

Regards.