MSI Software Packaging

I spent a few years consulting on repackaging software into Windows Installer MSI setups to be used in automated deployments. Some of the articles I wrote during this time remain popular to this day.

Applying Permissions with MSI's Custom Actions

Disclaimer: This article is now very old (in Internet years), so you are at your own risk in heeding any advice herein. Microsoft has been promising for a while that they would overhaul the LockPermissions method for setting permissions within MSIs, but so far they haven’t.

Understanding COM Component Registration

Disclaimer: This article is now very old (in Internet years), so you are at your own risk in heeding any advice herein. What are COM components? COM components are binary files of compiled code that executable programs rely on to function.

Creating an Uninstall-First Upgrade MSI

Disclaimer: This article is now very old (in Internet years), so you are at your own risk in heeding any advice herein. Here I’ll cover the easy method-an uninstall-first upgrade MSI.