A portable and free utility designed specifically for the task of viewing and extracting files from MSI installer packages is LessMSI a. In addition to extracting files, the program also has some additional tabs to view the data tables from the package and to view the summary information stored inside the package dates, languages, version numbers, publisher, and etc. Browse or drop an MSI installer onto the window and the contents will be shown.
We found LessMSI very effective at reading and extracting more tricky MSI files where other options occasionally failed to read the whole contents.
Also included in the zip archive is a command line version of LessMSI so you can extract an installer from Command Prompt or a script. The syntax is very straightforward. Download LessMSI. Simply run the program and drop an MSI onto the window or click the button to browse for a file.
The list of registry entries or files can be copied to the clipboard from the right click context menu or Edit menu. Then simply click the Extract Files button on the right, browse for an output folder and click OK to extract all files. If you want to selectively extract files, click the Files tab after opening the MSI file.
Download MSITools. Unpack an MSI file by using the right click menu entry or drop the file onto the main window. If the selected method does not seem to work, simply run Universal Extractor again and select an alternative method. Download Universal Extractor 2.
Because Windows Installer files are built to allow silent and administrative installs, it makes sense to have a good command line interface. To avoid drowning in a river of paper, set up a system for organizing and storing important documents as part of settling into your new home.
Here are some tips to get you started. The first step may be the most tedious, but also the most important — get all your documents in one place so you can file and safely store them. Examples of the types of home-related records and other papers you should put together include:. Home inspection report;. Home and product warranties for systems like the water heater, furnace and major appliances;.
As long as you are gathering important documents from your home purchase to organize and file, consider taking this opportunity to assemble other documents you may want to keep in a safe and easily accessible spot. Here's a good checklist:. Once you've gathered all your home purchasing and other documents in one place, take some time to sort through them.
Divide them into stacks based on order of importance, with things like birth certificates, social security cards and property deeds taking top spot and old tax records and transcripts set to the side. Then take a hard look at these low-priority mountains of paper and shred and toss what you can to eliminate clutter. Paperwork that has overstayed its welcome includes:. Your culled stacks of paperwork can now be organized in a way that makes finding a specific document in the future fast and intuitive.
This may be alphabetical or chronological, although most people find that filing paperwork by subject makes the most sense. So personal records all go in one file, banking records in another, home purchasing documents in a third, and so on.
Consider adopting a color-coded system to group related documents. With this system, you can find the general category of document you are looking for at a glance but avoid the problem of over-stuffing a single file folder with hundreds of sheets of paper.
Assign a primary color to a category of files red for home-related, for example , with the most important documents in that category in the brightest folder home inspection report, property deed.
Then break down the category by filing secondary but related documents in folders of different shades of the same color pink for warranties, operating manuals and service contracts, for example. Remember that the more you break down your system into categories and subcategories, the less time-consuming and frustrating the process of tracking down specific documents will be in the future.
To keep track of your system, create a simple file index with a table of contents to further ensure that you won't misfile or misplace any important document. You may be tempted to stack your files in a box and tuck it away in a corner of the attic or basement. Keep in mind that many important documents are difficult and expensive to replace if they are damaged by water, heat or rodents. Instead, find a spot in a room with a relatively constant temperature that is not prone to flooding, extreme heat or cold or pests.
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I have come up in situations where Windows Installer is unable to uninstall because it's missing the original MSI file, which leads me to believe that it stores a copy of all installed MSI packages somewhere. It expectes it to reside in the same folder as it was installed from. Removing the MSI file from this folder does not hinder the uninstallation process though, so I've refused this theory.
This folder actually contains a bunch of seemingly randomly named MSI files. But this list is incomplete. I do find entries in the registry key mentioned in 1 which does not have an MSI copy in this folder. So how does this work? If you want to delete your app which refuses to uninstall for example from the list of installed apps in Control Panel, you can delete the entry from this Uninstall key.
It will surely disappear from the list in control panel, but Windows will still remember it. For example, if you try to install a next version of the same app, Installer may still insist on uninstalling the previous version. The process that's described in this article provides emergency relief only and not a permanent fix. When you install a Microsoft SQL Server service pack or a cumulative update, you may encounter various error messages that indicate Windows Installer Cache problems.
If the installer cache has been compromised by deleting files, you may not immediately encounter problems until you uninstall, repair, or update SQL Server. SQL server installation packages. MSI and. These files are required for uninstalling and updating applications. Missing files cannot be copied between computers because they are unique. These problems may occur when the Windows Installer database file.
When a product is installed by using Windows Installer, a stripped version of the original. Every update to the product such as a hotfix, a cumulative update, or a service pack setup, also stores the relevant. Any future update to the product such as a hotfix, a cumulative update, or a service pack setup, relies on the information in the files that are stored in the Windows Installer cache. Without this information, the new update cannot perform the required transformations.
Manual intervention by users in this directory may result in variety of issues, including the problems that are described in this article. For SQL Server installation, first use the repair process that's described in the following articles to verify your current installation:.
You should run the repair from the original installation media by using the following command line:. Repair the common shared components and features first, and then repeat the command to repair the instances installed. During the process, the setup dialog box disappears. As long as the progress window does not show an error, the process is proceeding as expected. If the installer cache file for a specific component is missing, the repair process will encounter an error. As an extra resolution, you can point the tool to the original media location and re-cache the missing files.
This script is used against the source locations to make sure that all MSP packages are in the Windows Installer cache directory.
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