Deployment Installation Issue [TS4.2 & LV2009]

[swalkin]

Hi,

I am using TestStand 4.2 and Labview 2009 and I have created a deployment to go onto a machine.

I have tested all the code out on my development PC and everything works fine.

I then installed the deployment, from DVD, onto a target machine that I use for test before releasing it to a customer and it all runs fine without any errors.

I sent the DVD to our customer and got them to install the software. When they ran the code, they got some error prompts coming up as follows/attached:

Error 1 - Run Teststand.png

- This comes up as soon as they run the GUI. It is Labview based and unfortunately I have no way of running it on the TestStand default GUI's as I didn't ship them as part of the installation.

Error 2 - Browse Looking for EnginePart.msi.png

- If I then press the browse button it tells me that it is looking for "EnginePart.msi".

- I browse through the DVD and find the required file and press OK

Error 3 - Locate EnginePart.msi Error.png

- This error comes up after I press OK

- If I press OK on this error, the issue goes away and it runs the test code as normal.

When I did the first installation, Error 1 through 3 happened three times and then the code ran. Now it just happens once and then the code will run.

I can hit cancel instead of looking for the EnginePArt.msi and the code will also run.

Obviously I don't want to have these prompts coming up and I was wondering if anyone else has seen this issue before and if so can you post some suggestion please.

Thanks 🙂

[AllenP]

Did you install the software from a removable drive?  For example, was there a 😧 present during installation that is no longer present?

[swalkin]

The installation was carried out from a DVD and I have tried putting the DVD in during code startup and this doesn't work.

I have also tried to browse for the EnginePart.msi on that DVD and it returns an error 1706.

[snowpunter]

Did you include the entire Installer folder on the DVD? It looks like you're missing a part of the installer files or that part of the DVD is corrupt. I've seen issues where a DVD/CD wasn't burned correctly and it caused similar issues with our deployment.

[swalkin]

All the files appear to be there as I did a byte count of DVD vs deployment directory and they are the same.

[snowpunter]

Was the target machine clean (i.e. fresh image of WinXP or whatever your target OS is) before you ran the installer from the DVD? Was the customer's machine clean or did it have a previous installation on it?

[AllenP]

This sounds very similar to a known issue.  The issue will occur if the following conditions are met:

1)  The software was installed using a drive that can be removed

2)  The drive no longer exists (e.g. you have a USB DVD Drive that you used to install the software, then removed it)

3)  You launch software that tries to use the TestStand Engine

The reason this happens is there are some components that are installed that have a key path that is the same as the now removed drive.  A key path will tell Microsoft Installers whether a component is installed or not.  Since the drive does not exist, the Installer framework thinks that the component is missing, and needs to be repaired.  This is when you get prompted for the installation disk.

Putting the DVD back in and repairing will not resolve this issue.  As soon as the drive is no longer present, the key path will now think the component is missing and will want to repair itself.  This happens because it is not actually repairing anything, but it thinks everything is now fixed since the directory of the media now exists.  Another reason this may happen is if the DVD is writable and there is free space remaining on it (I haven't seen this case personally, but it may be a cause).

I am not 100% sure this is your issue, but it sounds very likely to be the case.

To confirm this is your issue, you will need to create a drive (this can be a network drive) with the same letter as whatever the drive you installed the software from.  If you add this drive and the problem goes away, that should confirm this problem.  If the drive has not been removed, try putting a writable DVD in the drive and starting the software and seeing if the problem occurs (this is an educated guess, I have not seen this version of the problem, but it is possible to occur).  You will need to do this before any of these dialogs show up.

To avoid this issue, copy the contents of the DVD to the local drive before installation, then attempt to launch the software.  You will need to uninstall and reinstall your deployment on this machine.  If the problem is caused by a writable DVD, then you might also be able to solve this by closing the session when you create the DVD, then uninstalling and reinstalling from a non-writable DVD.  That solution has not been tested, but it may be what is causing the problem.

If you have any other information about the state of the drive or DVD, it would be helpful to document what might be causing this problem.  This problem has been fixed in future versions of TestStand.

[AllenP]

The simplest way to test if it's the known issue is to put the DVD in the drive and attempt to software.  If you can launch the TestStand engine without getting the Autorepair dialog, this is most likely the issue.

[swalkin]

@AllenP

When I installed the software, there was a previous version of the test code on the machine but it was all the same TS and LV versions.

As I mentioned I installed from the DVD and then restarted the PC etc.

I started the code with the DVD in the drive and I still got the errors, so I assume the issue you mentioned is not the one that I am having.

I have not access to the tester at the moment until tomorrow morning GMT but I will try out what you were suggesting.

If anyone else has other suggestions I'd greatly appreciate it.

[AllenP]

It could be possible that the other software that was installed has this problem.

Was the TestStand 4.2 Engine installed previously?