WM / Adobe Reader conflict

[Andrew McDonald]

Having upgraded to WM 5.1, I now get an installer popup for WM every time I try to run Adobe Reader
6. It gets stuck in an infinite loop, popping the box back up each time I cancel. I thought
upgrading to the new Adobe Reader 7 would fix it, but no luck. There are a couple of other threads
here about the problem, and I found a web forum post. If I re-download the messenger.msi installer
file and point the error dialog at it, will that fix the problem or make it worse?

Given that both Adobe Reader and Windows Messenger have had new versions released since the problem
was first reported (some threads are from 2003!), when can we expect this to be fixed? What's the
problem anyway? I can't find mention of it in MS' knowledge base. Are the developers on either side
actually aware of it?

Andrew

 

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings Andrew,

It's an issue with the Windows Installer, not specifically the products in question.

To correct this, click Start,then Run, and type the following:
msiexec /x {C3A6819F-62D3-4750-AF1C-28206DDF2C2E}
then click OK.

Then, after uninstallation, reinstall Windows Messenger 5.1 from:
http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a8d9eb73-5f8c-4b9a-940f-9157a3b3d774
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2004 Jonathan Kay.
You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.

 

[Andrew McDonald]

Greetings Andrew,

It's an issue with the Windows Installer, not specifically the products in question.

To correct this, click Start,then Run, and type the following:
msiexec /x {C3A6819F-62D3-4750-AF1C-28206DDF2C2E}
then click OK.

Then, after uninstallation, reinstall Windows Messenger 5.1 from:
http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a8d9eb73-5f8c-4b9a-940f-9157a3b3d774

Thanks for the reply. In the end I just got the messenger.msi package again and pointed the dialog
at it - seems to have fixed the problem, but will I encounter any more from not having bothered with
the msiexec step above? How often will this problem occur - every time we upgrade Messenger, Adobe
Reader, or both? Couldn't it be mentioned in the installer dialog if it's known?

What's the issue, are the two products using clashing guids or something? It doesn't seem like they
should have any dependency on each other.

Andrew