windows installer - Other installation In Progress Hanging my Wix Install

Question

I am creating a WIX installer bootstrapper (with DisplayInternalUI="yes" on the msipackage), but it hangs when there are other installations occurring at the same time.

If i run the MSI file on its own using msiexec I get a windows installer error "Another installation is in progress" message (i.e 1500 MSI error message) - and I presume this is hanging my install.

Therefore what I am doing is seeing if I can lock the _MSIExecute mutex just after the user presses the Install button (i.e. before the ProgressDlg). If I can lock the Mutex then there are no other installs in progress - therefore it is safe to proceed with the install (i.e. the execution phase) . If not the installer shows a cancel button (and no other buttons) - so the install will not proceed.

I was wondering if there was a way of preventing the "Another installation is in progress" error message (and other messages) from hanging the installer.

Answer 1

Simpler explanation from serverfault.com

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No MSI Concurrency: Why are there other installations happening "at the same time" - or in other words concurrently? I am not too potty-trained when it comes to WiX Burn bootstrappers, but I am wondering if the MSI in question contains any custom actions which kicks off other MSI installs? This is not allowed for MSI packages. You can not have two concurrent InstallExecuteSequences running at the same time. Hence you can not kick off an MSI from within an InstallExecuteSequence. Some people try to kick off installs from the InstallUISequence, which is also very unadvisable for many reasons - for one thing it won't run at all when the setup is run in silent mode. I also suspect potential issues with elevation, and unexpected setup failure if you set check exit code for the custom action, and that kind of stuff. It always permutes. The basic rule of thumb to remember is: Custom actions must never launch other MSI installations. The WiX Burn bootstrapper basically specifically exists to allow you to run MSI files in sequence - and not concurrently - but it is also more: it is a combined bootstrapper, chainer, downloader, etc...

Mutex: Strong words, but if you know what is good for you, you will stay away from MSI mutexes. Save yourself! :-). MSI is a technology which fights back, and you will be fighting windmills for real if you take the fight. That is all I can say to warn you. It really is impossible to deal with unless you follow the basic rules, which in this case is one installer running at a time. The WiX guys could deal with it though - leave it to them - and use their tool propery (WiX Burn). Though the technical details are unclear to me, they will certainly have features implemented to do exactly what you describe (check if the system is ready for installation).

Suspended Installation: It is also possible that there is a suspended installation on your system that needs to be undone before you can install MSI files at all. Can you try to install another MSI file and see if it runs correctly? I am not 100% sure this is the right link, but you can also try: Fix problems that block programs from being installed or removed.