Updating multiple instances problems

[Chips]

Hello,

I’ve been using the "Generate Instances at Install Time" feature in my installer, but I’ve encountered several issues that I hope you can assist with:

Issue 1: Control Panel Displays Incorrect Information
When updating to a new version, the information displayed in the Control Panel doesn’t match what the installer reports. As you can see in the image below, the installer correctly shows the version, but the Control Panel does not.

Versions_diff.png (92.13 KiB) Viewed 3764 times

Additionally, after updating all current instances to the desired version, the Control Panel lists three instances with the same name. However, it should only display two: one named "Eps3Outdoor" and another named "2ndI".

2ndVersions_diff.png (112 KiB) Viewed 3764 times

.

Issue 2: Update Behaviour for the First Instance
This issue also includes a question.

It seems that the first installed instance behaves differently from the others. When updating, the first instance uses the First-Time Install dialogs, whereas the other instances skip these dialogs and proceed directly to the update.

This causes problems when the user misconfigures the first instance during the upgrade dialogs (which are the First Time Install dialogs and only appear for the first instance). For example, our custom dialog allows users to input credentials for installing a service. If the user inputs incorrect credentials, the installation fails, and the following error appears:

Error_Service.png (6.28 KiB) Viewed 3764 times

When clicking "Abort," most of the instance files are deleted, and the installer no longer recognizes the instance as installed. However, some files (including the service) remain. Shouldn’t the rollback mechanism restore the instance to the previous version instead of leaving it in this incomplete state?

Issue 3: Renaming the First Instance
Is it possible to rename the first instance to something other than the product name specified in the Product Details? While we can rename all other instances, the first instance seems locked to the default name.

Issue 4: Removing Instances via Control Panel
Possibly related to Issue 3, it seems we cannot remove instances through the Control Panel. Is there a way to address this limitation?

I apologize for the lengthy post, but since all these issues relate to the "Generate Instances at Install Time" feature, I thought it would be better to address them together.

Thank you for your assistance!

Best regards,
Rafael Marques

[Eusebiu]

Hi Rafael,

Issue 1: Control Panel Displays Incorrect Information

I'm not sure why this happens, maybe something got corrupted on that machine. Do you reproduce the issue on multiple clean machines? Also, it's strange to me that the installer shows version 1.3 and the "Programs and Features" view shows version 1.03.

Issue 2: Update Behaviour for the First Instance

When the "Build major upgrades for multiple instances" option is not used, the instances are upgraded as minor upgrades (patches) and all the secondary instances depend on the first one. Hence, the "First Time Install" dialogs are displayed only for the first instance (main instance) while the "Resume" are displayed for the other instances.

Please keep in mind that the "Generate Instances at Install Time" option comes with a lot of limitations and I don't encourage customers to use it. Using static instances with the "Build major upgrades for multiple instances" option is a much better solution.

Issue 3: Renaming the First Instance

I'm afraid that renaming the first instance is not possible regardless the used options. It will always take the name of the product.

Issue 4: Removing Instances via Control Panel

As far as I know this limitation does not exist. This may also happen if something got corrupted on the machine due to multiple tests. That is why we recommend tests to be done on clean virtual machines that can be easily restored to their clean state.

Best regards,
Eusebiu