Microsoft KB Archive/307364

= How To Install the Windows Installer by Using Visual Studio .NET =

Article ID: 307364

Article Last Modified on 7/15/2004

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Professional Edition

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This article was previously published under Q307364



IN THIS TASK
SUMMARY
 * How to Include the Windows Installer in the Visual Studio Deployment Package


 * Files Created When You Include the Bootstrap Loader with the Visual Studio Deployment Package



SUMMARY
The Windows Installer engine may not be present on the operating system onto which you are deploying your Installer package (.msi). Therefore, it may be necessary to include the Windows Installer redistributable with the Installer package that is created with the .NET Deployment Tool. Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 do not include the Windows Installer as part of the operating system. If you attempt to install a .msi package on one of these platforms with the Windows Installer Engine not present, you receive an error message indicating that the Installer package has no file extension associated with it. Therefore, you should include the Windows Installer Redistributable on these operating systems.

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How to Include the Windows Installer in the Visual Studio Deployment Package
To include the Windows Installer installation for all operating systems with your Microsoft Visual Studio package, follow these steps:
 * 1) Open or create your Setup project with the Visual Studio Deployment Tool in Visual Studio .NET.
 * 2) In the Solution Explorer window, right-click the name of your project, and then click Properties. You can also click Properties on the Projects menu.
 * 3) In the Property Pages window, click Windows Installer Bootstrapper in the Bootstrapper list.
 * 4) Click OK.

The bootstrap loader checks to see if the Windows Installer is already on the target computer. If not, the bootstrap loader installs the correct Installer for the operating system of the target computer. The bootstrap loader runs the Installer package file after it checks for (and, if necessary, installs) the Windows Installer.

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Files Created When You Include the Bootstrap Loader with the Visual Studio Deployment Package
When you build an installation with the Windows Installer bootstrap loader, you create the following distinct files as part of your Installer package:
 * Your .msi file.
 * Setup.exe: the file that determines whether the Windows Installer resides on the target computer. If necessary, the file installs the Windows Installer.
 * Setup.ini: the file that tells Setup.exe the name of your .msi file to install.
 * Instmsiw.exe: the Windows Installer for Windows NT-based computers.
 * Instmsia.exe: the Windows Installer for Windows 95 and Windows 98-based computers.

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Keywords: kbhowto kbhowtomaster kbinfo kbdeployment KB307364

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