Windows Installer: Logging

These handy reg files for increasing the logging level of Windows Installer came in useful today:


LoggingOn.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer]
"Logging"="voicewarmupx"
"Debug"=dword:00000007[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Trace]
"Flags"=dword:00000016
"Level"=dword:00000004



LoggingOff.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer]
"Logging"=-
"Debug"=-
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Trace]


In most cases, the Windows Installer log starts with msi, ends with a .log extension, and
includes a group of characters. For example, the Windows Installer log will have a file name that resembles the following:

msib3a6g.log

You should be able to find it in the %temp% path.

The letters in the value field can be in any order. Each letter turns on a different logging mode. Each letter's actual function is as follows for MSI version 1.1:


v - Verbose output

o - Out-of-disk-space messages

i - Status messages

c - Initial UI parameters

e - All error messages

w - Non-fatal warnings

a - Start up of actions

r - Action-specific records

m - Out-of-memory or fatal exit information

u - User requests

p - Terminal properties

+ - Append to existing file

! - Flush each line to the log

x - Extra debugging information. The "x" flag is available only on Windows Server 2003 and later operating systems, and on the MSI redistributable version 3.0, and on later versions of the MSI redistributable.

"*" - Wildcard, log all information except for the v and the x option. To include the v and the x option, specify "/l*vx".



Sean