[wix-users] WiX Custom Bootstrapper Application and .NET 4.5

[Ben Key]

I am posting an answer to my own question in the hopes that it will benefit
others who encounter similar problems.

It turns out that the problem was not in the contents of my
BootstrapperCore.config file, but in the name of my BootstrapperCore.config
file. That is, the final contents of my BootstrapperCore.config file turned
out to be exactly what I indicated in my question, which is as follows.

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
>     <configuration>
>         <configSections>
>             <sectionGroup name="wix.bootstrapper"
> type="Microsoft.Tools.WindowsInstallerXml.Bootstrapper.BootstrapperSectionGroup,
> BootstrapperCore">
>                 <section name="host"
> type="Microsoft.Tools.WindowsInstallerXml.Bootstrapper.HostSection,
> BootstrapperCore" />
>             </sectionGroup>
>         </configSections>
>         <startup useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy="true">
>             <supportedRuntime version="v4.0"
> sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.5" />
>         </startup>
>         <wix.bootstrapper>
>             <host assemblyName="FSCustomBA" />
>         </wix.bootstrapper>
>     </configuration>


I was on the wrong track when I tried multiple variations involving the use
of the  supportedFramework element. The problem turned out to have nothing
to do with that. Instead, the problem was that I followed the example of
the WixBA and TestBA applications that are part of WiX, which is to name
the BootstrapperCore.config file after the pattern
${ProjectName}.BootstrapperCore.config. Since my project is named
FSCustomBA, my BootstrapperCore.config file was named
FSCustomBA.BootstrapperCore.config.

This is fine. It can be made to work. However, what I did not realize is
that the file must be named BootstrapperCore.config in the context of the
.ba directory that is created when the setup package is run. Since I was
not aware of this, I included the file in my bundle as follows.

    <Payload
> SourceFile="$(var.FSCustomBA.TargetDir)FSCustomBA.BootstrapperCore.config"
> />


This will not work. The following will.

    <Payload Name="BootstrapperCore.config"
>  SourceFile="$(var.FSCustomBA.TargetDir)FSCustomBA.BootstrapperCore.config"
> />


Note the use of the Name attribute in the Payload element. This says to
name the file BootstrapperCore.config in the .ba directory.

After I resolved that problem, I next encountered the following error:
 "0x80131040 : The located assembly's manifest definition does not match
the assembly reference." In the log file, this was recorded as an inability
to loaded the Managed Bootstrapper Application.

In order to resolve this issue, I simply set the
SuppressSignatureVerification attribute to yes for the Payload element
associated with my Custom BA. For example, the Payload element I am using
is as follows.

    <Payload SourceFile="$(var.FSCustomBA.TargetDir)FSCustomBA.dll"
> SuppressSignatureVerification="yes" />


I think this is only necessary due to the code signing certificate I am
using.

My employer uses an official code signing certificate from VeriSign for all
official builds. However, the details of this certificate are kept secret
even from most of the developers. Developers instead use a self-signed
certificate for their day to day work. This works for most things, but
apparently not for this.

Now that I have resolved these issues, my Custom Bootstrapper Application
is loading and, with the exception of one minor bug, working as expected.

I hope that by documenting my findings, I will save others the headaches I
had to go through to solve this problem.

On Fri, Jun 24, 2016 at 7:12 PM, Ben Key <bkey76 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I am having difficulties getting a WiX Custom Bootstrapper Application
> that targets .NET 4.5 to work.
>
> I have the following line in my Bundle.wxs.
>
>     <PackageGroupRef Id="NetFx45Web" />
>
> My BootstrapperCore.config is as follows.
>
>     <configuration>
>         <configSections>
>             <sectionGroup name="wix.bootstrapper"
> type="Microsoft.Tools.WindowsInstallerXml.Bootstrapper.BootstrapperSectionGroup,
> BootstrapperCore">
>                 <section name="host"
> type="Microsoft.Tools.WindowsInstallerXml.Bootstrapper.HostSection,
> BootstrapperCore" />
>             </sectionGroup>
>         </configSections>
>         <startup useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy="true">
>             <supportedRuntime version="v4.0"
> sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.5" />
>         </startup>
>         <wix.bootstrapper>
>             <host assemblyName="FSCustomBA" />
>         </wix.bootstrapper>
>     </configuration>
>
> I have tried multiple variations of this.
>
> For example, I have also tried the following.
>
>     <host assemblyName="FSCustomBA">
>         <supportedFramework version="v4\Full" />
>         <supportedFramework version="v4\Client" />
>     </host>
>
> And the following.
>
>     <host assemblyName="FSCustomBA">
>         <supportedFramework version="v4.5\Full" />
>         <supportedFramework version="v4.5\Client" />
>     </host>
>
> And the following.
>
>     <host assemblyName="FSCustomBA">
>         <supportedFramework version="v4.5" />
>     </host>
>
> And the following.
>
>     <host assemblyName="FSCustomBA">
>         <supportedFramework version="v4.5\Full" />
>     </host>
>
> And the following.
>
>     <host assemblyName="FSCustomBA">
>         <supportedFramework version="v4.5\Client" />
>     </host>
>
> No matter what I have tried, when I run my setup package on a system that
> does not have .NET 4.5 installed, I am prompted to install .NET 4.5. Once I
> press the Agree and Install button, the setup package crashes. When I
> attempt to run the setup package again, it hangs before it displays the
> buttons. It hangs even after I reboot. I need to restore my system from the
> system image before it will run again.
>
> Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong?
>
> I am using WiX 3.10.
>
>