Without You...

I don't know how the heck to do part of my job. This started a week ago. I still don't have a solution and it's really bugging me. I mean, I should be able to figure this out and I *can't* do it. I can't ask our resident gurus to help b/c they're tied up with a hot project. I finally found "Franklin Rogers" and he wants to charge $250 to do the work. I don't begrudge him at all - it is his job to do the type of work I need done but I can't see our company paying for it. I wish they would, though, because then I wouldn't have to mess with it.

However, at my employer, everyone is seen as invincible. We need a product to be able to repel Kryptonite, be able to never sleep, and be able to be 100% bug free. We are expected to be invincible. Damnit, I'm human. I am. I am good at what I do but get me into an area that is unfamiliar to me and without a lot of guidance and I feel insecure and anything but invincible.

Here is my conversation with Franklin, the consultant. It is in reverse chronological order so read from the bottom up, if you want it to make sense.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Franklin Rogers
> Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 1:06 PM
> To: Jerry Rice
> Subject: RE: Administrator: MSI
>
> Hi Jerry,
>
> You can also take a look at
> http://www.instedit.com/
>
> It is better than ORCA.
>
> I also would like to mention that our consulting rates start with
> $125/hr with a minimum of 2 hrs purchase.
>
> If you would like our assistance further, I can take a look at your
> MSI and make the necessary recommendations/adjustments to resolve your
> issues.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Franklin
>
> Quoting Jerry Rice
>
> > I am using Orca. I was looking @ http://dennisbareis.com/makemsi.htm
> > but, at this point, I don't think using that tool would solve my
> > issue.
> >
> > I have already released the setup.exe with the incorrect version
> > displaying to one client on CD last week. By tomorrow, I am to send
> > out three more CDs to 3 different clients. I would really REALLY
> > like to be able to go to my (cool) manager and say, "It's fixed.
> > Franklin figured out what to do and got it working."
> >
> >
> >
> > Network is still down but I will send you my Word doc when it's up.
> >
> > I really appreciate your willingness to dive into this issue. As I
> > said, this MSI stuff is not my primary focus as I'm normally writing
> > end-user and internal documentation. When things come up like this
> > that are outside of my normal job, I acknowledge my limits and
> > gladly take any help I can get!
> >
> > Jerry
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Franklin
> > Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 9:05 AM
> > To: Jerry Rice
> > Subject: RE: Administrator: MSI
> >
> > Hi Jerry,
> >
> > Yes, the information you have explains how you can fix the problem
> > without making a change to the MSI files. However, since your MSI
> > files are embedded into your EXE file, you will probably not be able
> > to pass command line options to windows installer engine during
> > execution.
> >
> > Could you tell me which MSI development tool you are using? Then I may
> > be able to give you better instructions to resolve this problem.
> >
> > You can also send the screen shot when your network is back up again.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Franklin
> >
> > Quoting Jerry Rice
> >
> >> I have a Word doc that shows how the MSI is behaving. Unfortunately,
> >> our network is down right now. I'll send it to you when the network
> >> is back up.
> >>
> >> I was told the following:
> >>
> >> It sounds to me like you may have done a minor upgrade via a
> >> reinstall, but left off the "v" option for recaching the MSI file.
> >> If you do this, the MSI file in the cache is not updated and this
> >> would explain getting the old UI.
> >>
> >> Your command line should be "msiexec.exe /fvomus MINORUPGRADE.msi"
> >> OR "msiexec.exe /i MINORUPGRADE.msi REINSTALL=[featurelist ALL]
> >> REINSTALLMODE=vomus"
> >>
> >> Does that sound right to you? I am packaging the MSI within a .exe
> >> file so I'm not doing anything at a command line.
> >>
> >> Jerry
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Franklin Kaplan
> >> Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 6:58 AM
> >> To: Jerry Rice
> >> Subject: RE: Administrator: MSI
> >>
> >> Hi Jerry,
> >>
> >> Because of the holiday season, I was not able to answer your
> >> question earlier.
> >>
> >> It sounds like your problem is related to ProductCode specified in
> >> both packages. If they both match, you may have the problem you
> >> described.
> >>
> >> If you still need assistance, we can arrange a conference call or
> >> use some desktop sharing program for me to see what you have
> >> developed so far.
> >>
> >> You can let me know. Happy new year!
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >>
> >> Franklin Kaplan
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Jerry Rice
> >> Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 6:13 PM
> >> To:
> >> Subject: Administrator: MSI
> >>
> >> This is an enquiry e-mail via from:
> >> Jerry Rice
> >>
> >> Hi. I'm a Technical Writer at a software company in Cedar Rapids,
> >> IA. I have the job duty of creating a MSI for distribution.
> >>
> >> The problem is that updating a PC with a newer version of
> >> displays the previous version in the UI.
> >> Here are the symptoms of the problem.
> >> I start with a PC that does not have installed.
> >> I install the <01> version of .
> >> Then I upgrade the PC to the <02> version.
> >> The problem is that when you run the setup.exe for <02>, it
> >> displays <01> unless you first remove the <01> and then rerun
> >> the setup.exe. Then <02> displays.
> >>
> >> I can send you a doc that has a load of screen captures. The
> >> solution to run the setup.exe twice is not acceptable.
> >>
> >> I really need some help.
> >>
> >> Jerry Rice