Files that are in Use are Missing after Major Upgrade

[Joe Kool]

Hello, fellow product deployers,

I'm having recurring issues with files that are in use during a major
upgrade. The uninstall for the old product marks these files for
removal after the reboot, but the install for the new version notes
that these files are already present (and of an equal version) and
goes on. So once the system is rebooted, the old uninstall takes
these files out, and the system is left with these files missing.
Interestingly, a repair for the new version lays down the missing
files.

This is what the log file says:
From the uninstall section for old version:
Info 1903.Scheduling reboot operation: Deleting file C:\Program
Files\MyCompany\MyProduct\XXX.exe. Must reboot to complete operation.

From the install section for new version:
MSI (s) (71:99): File: C:\Program Files\MyCompany\MyProduct\XXX.exe;
Won't Overwrite; Existing file is of an equal version

It seems like the uninstall for the old version and the install for
the new version do not share information about post-install actions.
Or, am I sequencing something wrong?

I am using Installer 2.0 on Windows 2000. Any help would be
appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Kallely Sajan]

The only option you have is to make sure that the application using this
file is shut down before proceeding. If a service is involved, shut down
that service.

 

[Joe Kool]

This is what I ended up doing. Thanks for your help.

Seems weird that the Installer architecture doesn't handle this situation better.