[wix-users] why does 64 bit bundle install key/value pairs under the 32 bit HKLM/Software/Win6432Node registry key?

[Hoover, Jacob]

32 bit processes write to 32 bit keys.... It would be smell if burn registered elsewhere.

Your app shouldn't need to look in the registry for the bundle info, but if it does it should use the existing logic inside of dutil in Butil.cpp.  If your process is a 64 bit process, this code would have to be tweaked to only access the 32 bit locations.  I still don't see a reason as to why your application would need to know about the UninstallString, but with a given bundle upgrade code you can find this (BundleEnumRelatedBundle->BundleGetBundleInfo).

Note, only the bundle registration is done in 32 bit land, if your bundle installs 64 bit MSI's then they register into the 64 bit location. If there is a configuration option your BA collects, then one would think you would pass it to your application installer via a MSIProperty, and then your MSI puts it in the registry where it sees fit.  Using that pattern, then your application doesn't need to care about a bundled install vs a bare install, as the location will be the same for both.


-----Original Message-----
From: wix-users [mailto:wix-users-bounces at lists.wixtoolset.org] On Behalf Of Ian Bell
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2016 2:02 PM
To: 'WiX Toolset Users Mailing List' <wix-users at lists.wixtoolset.org>
Subject: Re: [wix-users] why does 64 bit bundle install key/value pairs under the 32 bit HKLM/Software/Win6432Node registry key?

Burn only writes to the 32 bit registry?   OUCH - the 'code-smell' is
already detectable.   JJJ 

 

The WIX based MSI installer adds configuration information to 32 bit or 64 bit registry keys depending on which soluction platform (i.e. 32 bit or 64
bit) of the WIX base MSI project is built in VS2015.   So far, so good.
Now, you have just confirmed the same is not true for WIX based SETUP (i.e.
bundle) installers - these installers only add configuration information to
32 bit registry keys.  Here is the problem.  My app needs to know where to find configuration information added to the registry by WIX based MSI and
SETUP installers (e.g. the 'UninstallString'  key/value pair).   If the 64
bit version of my application was installed using the WIX based MSI installer then my application needs to look for the installer added information in the 64 bit registry keys (this is the expected location).
On the other hand, if the 64 bit version of my application was installed using the WIX based SETUP installer then my application needs to look for the installer added information in the 32 bit registry keys (this is the
unexpected location and where the 'code-smell' begins).   The question is,
how does the 64 bit version of my application know whether it was installed
using the WIX based MSI installer or the WIX based SETUP installer?   There
are several hacks that come to mind such as writing a custom installer that adds this extra information to the registry (i.e. was the application installed using an MSI or a SETUP installer) and rewriting the source code
to accommodate this hack, hence the 'code-smell'.   Oh well, I'll just have
to decide which of these hacks is the lesser evil and get on with it. 

 

Anyways, thanks you for responding so quickly.   Now I can start to grapple
with the next WIX based SETUP hiccup. J

 

Cheers,

 

Ian

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: wix-users [mailto:wix-users-bounces at lists.wixtoolset.org] On Behalf Of Bob Arnson
Sent: 12-Oct-16 13:22
To: WiX Toolset Users Mailing List
Subject: Re: [wix-users] why does 64 bit bundle install key/value pairs under the 32 bit HKLM/Software/Win6432Node registry key?

 

Yes. Burn is currently 32-bit.

 

-----Original Message-----

From: wix-users [ <mailto:wix-users-bounces at lists.wixtoolset.org>
mailto:wix-users-bounces at lists.wixtoolset.org] On Behalf Of Ian Bell

Sent: Wednesday, 12 October, 2016 12:59

To:  <mailto:wix-users at lists.wixtoolset.org> wix-users at lists.wixtoolset.org

Subject: [wix-users] why does 64 bit bundle install key/value pairs under the 32 bit HKLM/Software/Win6432Node registry key?

 

The 32 bit version of my WIX setup bundle adds key/value pairs under the 32 bit HKLM/Software/Win6432Node/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall

registry key.    Examples of the keys added to the registry are

BundleCachePath, BundleVersion, QuietUninstallString and UninstallString.

Now, I found the 64 bit version of my WIX setup bundle also adds key/value pairs under the 32 bit HKLM/Software/Win6432Node/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall

registry key and this is not where I expected to find the 64 bit key/value

pairs.   Instead, I expected the 64 bit version of my WIX setup bundle to

install under  these key/value pairs under the 64 bit registry key

HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall.   My application

needs to know where the key/value pairs installed by my WIX bundle are

located in the registry.    Is it normal for the 64 bit version of the setup

bundle to add these key/value pairs to the 32 bit version of the registry key?

 

 

Thanks,

 

 

Ian

 

 

 

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