A few weeks ago we have started with the preparation for introducing Microsoft Office 2013 and Internet Explorer 11. As with every introduction of new software it’s all about compatibility. During the course of testing applications we were informed that some of them caused an issue due to hard coded paths. Each application is going to be installed anyway so that application owners can conduct testing, but at the same time I thought, it would be nice if we could identify potentially affected applications upfront without having to go through an actual install.
Here’s an example of an application that has a hard coded path to Microsoft Office 2010. The Directory is defined as Office14 which translates to the Office 2010 Installation directory.
As most of you probably know, a Windows Installer file is a database that contains all the necessary information for the installation of an application. In order to query the files referenced within the Windows Installer database, we have to look at the following database tables.
Let’s start with the File Table. In the below example we see that this Application consists of two files. The File Table contains the following attributes: File, Component_, FileName, FileSize, Version, Language, Attributes and Sequence.
To find out in which directory this file installs, we first have to look at the Component table which has the following attributes: Component, ComponentId, Directory_, Attributes, Condition and KeyPath.
To link these two tables, we use the FileName attribute of the file table and Component attribute of the Component table. So far we know that the file iPublish_.dotm.lnk is going to be stored into the STARTUP folder. Now we only need to find out where the STARTUP folder is going to be, so we are going to look at the Directory table.
And there it is, the STARTUP directory. But we still don’t know where the file is going to be stored, as we first need to resolve the other Directory entries. If you study the directory table for a while, you notice that there is some logic in here.
To link the Directory table with the File and Component data, we join the Component table Directory_ attribute with the Directory table Directory attribute. However this still doesn’t give us the information where the file is going to be stored on the system, unless we would try to resolve the various entries within the Directory table, that to be honest would end up in a complex script (at least for me).
But then I found this forum post on stackoverflow discussing how to resolve MSI paths programmatically by calling the CostInitialize and CostFinalize Actions. The result of calling these actions is that the full file paths are resolved.
So now that we know what pieces need to be tied together, let’s turn this into a PowerShell script. I had a few challenges here. When calling the Windows installer object to invoke the CostInitialize and CostFinalize actions directly from within the PowerShell script that contains the Get-MSIFileInfo function, the Windows installer session would not close. So had to launch this in a separate process and then process the results within the calling script. This is why you find a complete PowerShell script defined in the $launchmsiscript variable.
When running the function against one or multiple Windows installer databases, the results are exported into a text file containing the following attributes for each file.
MSIFileFullname
MSIProductName
MSIProductVersion
Manufacturer
MSIProductCode
File
Component
FileName
FileSize
Version
Directory
Directory_Parent
DefaultDir
TargetPath
Example:
The entire script can be downloaded from here
function Get-MSIFileInfo()
{
<#
.SYNOPSIS
This function retrieves File information from Windows Installer (MSI) files
.DESCRIPTION
This fucntion uses the Windows Instaler COM object to retrieve file information from the Windows Installer
database. The script can be used for analyzing content of Windows Installer databases without the need of
having to initiate an actual install.
The function retrieves the following information for each file referenced in the Windows Installer Database
MSIFileFullname : C:\TEMP\cmcollctr_1.0.0.11.msi
MSIProductName : Collection Commander for Configuration Manager
MSIProductVersion : 1.0.0.11
Manufacturer : Zander Tools
MSIProductCode : {38253945-0CBC-4A05-BCAF-CE979EA4AAEF}
File : sccmclictr.automation.dll
Component : sccmclictr.automation.dll
FileName : sccmcl~1.dll|sccmclictr.automation.dll
FileSize : 435576
Version : 0.0.0.55
Directory : APPDIR
Directory_Parent : TARGETDIR
DefaultDir : APPDIR:.
TargetPath : C:\Program Files (x86)\Collection Commander for Configuration Manager
.EXAMPLE
Get-MSIFileInfo -Installerfile "C:\TEMP\cmcollctr_1.0.0.11.msi"
This command processes the specified file(s) and stores the file information results into a csv file
located in the same folder as the script.
.EXAMPLE
Get-MSIFileInfo -IstallerFolder "C:\TEMP\MSI"
This command processes all MSI files stored under c:\temp\msi and stores the file information results
into a csv file located in the same folder as the script.
.EXAMPLE
Get-MSIFileInfo -Installerfile "C:\TEMP\cmcollctr_1.0.0.11.msi" -OutPutFile "C:\TEMP\msifileresults.csv"
This command processes the specified file and stores the file informatoin results into the spevified
output file.
.PARAMETER InstallerFile
The path to a Windows Installer file.
.PARAMETER InstallerFolder
The path of the folder containing Wwindows Installer files
.PARAMETER OutPutFile (Optional)
The path to the output file. If no Output file is specified the results are stored into a csv file
located within the script file folder.
.LINKS
MSDN Windows Installer
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa369432(v=vs.85).aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa371653(v=vs.85).aspx
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/23903254/advanced-installer-powershell-script-set-property
.NOTES
Version 1.1.0 by Alex Verboon
Credits
weberik's post at stackoverflow for the vb script code and Claude Henchoy for the conversion into PS
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17543132/how-can-i-resolve-msi-paths-in-vbscript#new-answer
Adam Bertram's Get-MSIProperties script got me started with how to read content from MSI files
http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Get-all-native-properties-e4e19180
Trevor Sullivan's memory usage snippet
PowerShell: Prompt Function to Monitor Memory Usage
#>
[CmdletBinding()]
param (
[Parameter(ParameterSetName="File",
Mandatory=$True,
ValueFromPipeline=$True,
ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$True,
Position=0,
HelpMessage='What is the path of the Windows Installer file to query?')]
[String[]]$InstallerFile,
[Parameter(ParameterSetName="Directory",
Mandatory=$True,
ValueFromPipeline=$True,
ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$True,
Position=0,
HelpMessage='What is the path containing the Windows Installer files to query?')]
[string]$InstallerFolder,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
Position=1,
HelpMessage='What is the path of the output file')]
[String]$OutPutFile
)
begin
{
# Check what parameter was used File or Folder
switch ($PsCmdlet.ParameterSetName)
{
"File" {
# Check if the Windows Installer file(s) exists, exit if not
ForEach ($checkfile in $InstallerFile)
{
if (!(Test-Path -literalpath $checkfile))
{ throw "File '{0}' does not exist" -f $checkfile}
}
}
"Directory"{
# Check if the provided Directory exists, exit if not
if (!(Test-Path -Path $InstallerFolder))
{
throw "Folder '{0}' does not exist" -f $InstallerFolder
}
Else
{
# When a folder is provided, retrieve all Windows installer files
# in the folder and subfolders
$InstallerFile = (Get-ChildItem -Path "$InstallerFolder\*.MSI" -Recurse -File).FullName
}
}
} # end switch
# Check if an output file was specified
if ($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey("OutPutFile"))
{
# no Output file parameter specified so we use the default output defined below
$msifileinfo_output = $OutPutFile
}
Else
{
# construct the results output file
$timestamp = $((get-date).tostring("MMddyyyyHHmmss"))
$filename = "MSI_FileInfo" + "_" + $timestamp + ".txt"
$msifileinfo_output = $PSScriptRoot + "\" + "$filename"
}
# Windows Installer COM object
$com_object = New-Object -com WindowsInstaller.Installer
# construct the temp powershell script file name
$tmpfile = [guid]::NewGuid().Guid + ".ps1"
$tmpfld = "$env:Temp\"
$tmpps = $tmpfld + $tmpfile
# $launchmsiscript contains the powershell code used to run the Windows Installer CostInitialize and
# Costfinalize actions
# http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa368050(v=vs.85).aspx
# http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa368048(v=vs.85).aspx
# we have to launch a separate powershell process as otherwise the Windows Installer process remains open
# the below code is stored into a temporary ps1 file that is then launched from the below process.
$launchmsiscript = @"
<#
.Synopsis
This function invokes the Widnows Installer CostFinalize action
.DESCRIPTION
This function invokes the Widnows Installer CostFinalize action
and then provides the filename, component and resolved path of the path as output
.EXAMPLE
Invoke-MSICostFinalize -FileName "C:\TEMP\cmcollctr_1.0.0.11.msi"
.NOTES
Credits
weberik's post at stackoverflow for the vb script code to run the MSI costfinalize action
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17543132/how-can-i-resolve-msi-paths-in-vbscript#new-answer
Claude Henchoz for converting the above referenced vb script code into powershell
#>
function Invoke-MSICostFinalize
{
[CmdletBinding()]
Param
(
# Param1 help description
[Parameter(Mandatory=`$true,
ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=`$true,
Position=0)]
[String]`$FileName
)
Begin
{
# Check if the Installer File exists
if (!(Test-Path -literalpath `$FileName))
{ throw "File '{0}' does not exist" -f `$FileName}
}
Process{
# Installer init, OpenDatabase, OpenPackage
`$Installer = New-Object -ComObject "WindowsInstaller.Installer"
`$DB = `$Installer.GetType().InvokeMember("OpenDatabase","InvokeMethod",`$Null,`$Installer,@(`$FileName, 0))
`$Session = `$Installer.GetType().InvokeMember("OpenPackage","InvokeMethod",`$Null,`$Installer,@(`$DB, 0))
# CostInitialize, CostFinalize
`$Session.GetType().InvokeMember("DoAction","InvokeMethod",`$Null,`$Session,@("CostInitialize", 0))
`$Session.GetType().InvokeMember("DoAction","InvokeMethod",`$Null,`$Session,@("CostFinalize", 0))
# Add Query
`$View = `$DB.GetType().InvokeMember("OpenView","InvokeMethod",`$Null,`$DB,
@("SELECT File, Directory_, FileName, Component_, Component FROM File,Component WHERE Component=Component_ ORDER BY Directory_", 0)
)
# Execute Query
`$View.GetType().InvokeMember("Execute","InvokeMethod",`$Null,`$View,@(0))
# Fetch 1st record
`$Record = `$View.GetType().InvokeMember("Fetch","InvokeMethod",`$Null,`$View,@(0))
do {
# Fill variables
`$File = `$Record.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData","GetProperty",`$Null,`$Record,@(1,0))
`$DirectoryName = `$Record.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData","GetProperty",`$Null,`$Record,@(2,0))
`$FileName = `$Record.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData","GetProperty",`$Null,`$Record,@(3,0))
`$Components = `$Record.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData","GetProperty",`$Null,`$Record,@(4,0))
# Split filename
try {
`$FileName = `$FileName.Split("|")[1]
} catch {}
# Resolve Directory
`$ResolvedDirectory = `$Session.GetType().InvokeMember("TargetPath","GetProperty",`$Null,`$Session,@(`$DirectoryName, 0))
# Output
`$outline = `$ResolvedDirectory + `$FileName + "," + `$Components
write-output `$outline
# Get next record
`$Record = `$View.GetType().InvokeMember("Fetch","InvokeMethod",`$Null,`$View,@(0))
} while (`$Record)
}
End{}
} # end function
If ([string]::IsNullOrEmpty(`$args) -ne `$true)
{
Invoke-MSICostFinalize -FileName "`$args"
}
Else
{
"Input Parameter -FileName is missing"
}
"@
#write the temporary powershell script file
$launchmsiscript | Out-File -FilePath $tmpps -NoClobber -Encoding ascii
}
process
{
$ParentID = 1
$swcount = $InstallerFile.count
$si=1
ForEach ($msifile in $InstallerFile)
{
$FilePath = [IO.FileInfo[]]$msifile
Write-Progress -id $ParentID -Activity "Processing $si / $swcount" -Status "$msifile" -PercentComplete (($si / $swcount) * 100)
# construct the temp resolved path output file
$tmpfile = [guid]::NewGuid().Guid + ".txt"
$tmpfld = "$env:Temp\"
$tmprpaths = $tmpfld + $tmpfile
# launch the temp powershell script to resolve the MSI paths
Write-Progress -ParentId $ParentID -Activity "Initialization" -Status "Resolving paths" -PercentComplete 0
$resolvedpath = powershell.exe -NoLogo -file "$tmpps" "$FilePath"
Write-Progress -ParentId $ParentID -Activity "Initialization" -Status "Resolving paths completed" -PercentComplete 100
# store the results into a tmp file
$resolvedpath | Out-File -FilePath $tmprpaths -Encoding ascii
# bulid the resolved paths table
$in = 0
$resolvedpathdetails = @()
while ($in -lt $resolvedpath.Count)
{
$fullpath = $resolvedpath.item($in).split(",")[0]
$component = $resolvedpath.item($in).split(",")[1]
$in = $in + 1
$rpath = New-Object -TypeName psobject
$rpath | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "FullPath" -Value $fullpath
$rpath | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Component" -Value $component
$resolvedpathdetails += $rpath
}
try
{
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
# Open Database 1
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
Write-Progress -ParentId $ParentID -Activity "Initialization" -Status "Opening Database" -PercentComplete 0
$database = $com_object.GetType().InvokeMember(
"OpenDatabase",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$com_object,
@($FilePath.FullName, 0)
)
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
# MSI Property Information 2
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
Write-Progress -ParentId $ParentID -Activity "Initialization" -Status "Gathering Property Information" -PercentComplete ((5/100*1) *100)
$Propertyquery = "SELECT * FROM Property"
$PropertyView = $database.GetType().InvokeMember(
"OpenView",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$database,
($Propertyquery)
)
$PropertyView.GetType().InvokeMember("Execute", "InvokeMethod", $Null, $PropertyView, $Null)
$Propertyrecord = $PropertyView.GetType().InvokeMember(
"Fetch",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$PropertyView,
$Null
)
$properties_table = @{}
while ($Propertyrecord -ne $null)
{
$Prop = $Propertyrecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $Propertyrecord, 1)
$value = $Propertyrecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $Propertyrecord, 2)
$properties_table.Add("$($prop)","$($value)")
$Propertyrecord = $PropertyView.GetType().InvokeMember(
"Fetch",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$PropertyView,
$Null
)
}
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
# MSI Directory Information 3
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
Write-Progress -ParentId $ParentID -Activity "Initialization" -Status "Gathering Directory Information" -PercentComplete ((5/100*2) *100)
$dirquery = "SELECT * FROM Directory"
$dirView = $database.GetType().InvokeMember(
"OpenView",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$database,
($dirquery)
)
$dirView.GetType().InvokeMember("Execute", "InvokeMethod", $Null, $dirView, $Null)
$dirrecord = $dirView.GetType().InvokeMember(
"Fetch",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$dirView,
$Null
)
$directory_table = @{}
while ($dirrecord -ne $null)
{
$Directory = $dirrecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $dirrecord, 1)
$Directory_Parent = $dirrecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $dirrecord, 2)
$DefaultDir = $dirrecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $dirrecord, 3)
$directory_table.Add("$Directory",("$Directory_Parent","$DefaultDir"))
$dirrecord = $dirView.GetType().InvokeMember(
"Fetch",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$dirView,
$Null
)
}
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
# MSI File Information 4
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
Write-Progress -ParentId $ParentID -Activity "Initialization" -Status "Gathering File Information" -PercentComplete ((5/100*3) *100)
$filequery = "SELECT File,Component_,FileName,FileSize,Version FROM File"
$fileView = $database.GetType().InvokeMember(
"OpenView",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$database,
($filequery)
)
$fileView.GetType().InvokeMember("Execute", "InvokeMethod", $Null, $fileView, $Null)
$filerecord = $fileView.GetType().InvokeMember(
"Fetch",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$fileView,
$Null
)
$files_table = @{}
while ($filerecord -ne $null)
{
$file = $filerecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $filerecord, 1)
$component = $filerecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $filerecord, 2)
$filename = $filerecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $filerecord, 3)
$filesize = $filerecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $filerecord, 4)
$fileversion = $filerecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $filerecord, 5)
$files_table.Add("$File",("$Component","$filename","$filesize","$fileversion"))
$filerecord = $fileView.GetType().InvokeMember(
"Fetch",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$fileView,
$Null
)
}
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
# MSI Component Information 5
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
Write-Progress -ParentId $ParentID -Activity "Initialization" -Status "Gathering Component Information" -PercentComplete ((5/100*4) *100)
$compquery = "SELECT * FROM Component"
$compView = $database.GetType().InvokeMember(
"OpenView",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$database,
($compquery)
)
$compView.GetType().InvokeMember("Execute", "InvokeMethod", $Null, $compView, $Null)
$comprecord = $compView.GetType().InvokeMember(
"Fetch",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$compView,
$Null
)
$components_table = @{}
while ($comprecord -ne $null)
{
$component = $comprecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $comprecord, 1)
$componentid = $comprecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $comprecord, 2)
$directory = $comprecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $comprecord, 3)
$keypath = $comprecord.GetType().InvokeMember("StringData", "GetProperty", $Null, $comprecord, 4)
$components_table.Add("$component",("$componentid","$directory","$keypath"))
$comprecord = $compView.GetType().InvokeMember(
"Fetch",
"InvokeMethod",
$Null,
$compView,
$Null
)
}
Write-Progress -ParentId $ParentID -Activity "Initialization" -Status "Completed Gathering Information" -PercentComplete ((5/100*5) *100)
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
# Putting it together
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
# Get MSI Property data
$MSIFileFullname = ($FilePath.FullName)
$MSIProductName = $properties_table["ProductName"]
$MSIProductVersion = $properties_table["ProductVersion"]
$Manufacturer = $properties_table["Manufacturer"]
$MSIProductCode = $properties_table["ProductCode"]
# load the tmp resolved paths dat into a variable
$rpf = Get-Content -Path $tmprpaths
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
# Create the dataset
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
$msi_fileprops = @()
$fc=1
$sw = [System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch]::StartNew()
$totalfiles = $files_table.count
ForEach($item in $files_table.GetEnumerator()){
$msifileinfo = New-Object -TypeName psobject
# MSI Properties data
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "MSIFileFullname" -Value $MSIFileFullname
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "MSIProductName" -Value $MSIProductName
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "MSIProductVersion" -Value $MSIProductVersion
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Manufacturer" -Value $Manufacturer
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "MSIProductCode" -Value $MSIProductCode
# MSI File data
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "File" -Value $item.Name
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Component" -Value $item.Value[0]
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "FileName" -Value $item.Value[1]
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "FileSize" -Value $item.Value[2]
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Version" -Value $item.Value[3]
# Get the Directory from the components table
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Directory" -Value ($cd = $components_table["$($msifileinfo.Component)"][1])
# Get the Parent Directory from the directory table
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Directory_Parent" ($dp = $directory_table["$($msifileinfo.Directory)"][0])
# Get the Default Diectory from the directory table
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "DefaultDir" ($dd = $directory_table["$($msifileinfo.Directory)"][1])
# Get the resolved path information
#$rp = Get-Content -Path $tmprpaths | Select-String "$($msifileinfo.Component)" | Select-Object -First 1
$rp = $rpf | Select-String "$($msifileinfo.Component)" | Select-Object -First 1
#$rp = Get-Content -Path $tmprpaths -filter "$($msifileinfo.Component)" | Select-Object -First 1
$rp = $rp.ToString().split(",")[0]
# because the above command sometimes returns multiple values, we have to check whether we have
# just a string or an array, if we get an array we just take the first entry to get the path information
if ($rp -is [array] -eq $true)
{
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "TargetPath" -Value ([System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($rp[0]))
}
Else
{
$msifileinfo | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "TargetPath" -Value ([System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($rp))
}
$msi_fileprops += $msifileinfo
$fc++
# to prevent write-progress from slowing down the process, only display process every 1000 milisecnds
if ($sw.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds -ge 1000)
{
$curmemusage = "$('{0:n2}' -f ([double](Get-Process -Id $pid).WorkingSet/1MB)) MB"
Write-Progress -ParentId $ParentID -Activity "Retrieving Files" -Status "Processed $fc of $totalfiles files, Memory Usage: $curmemusage" -PercentComplete (($fc / $totalfiles) * 100)
$sw.Reset(); $sw.Start()
}
} # end while file info
# Delete the temp resolved path output file
Remove-item -Path "$tmprpaths" -Force
# dump the results into the text file
Write-Progress -ParentId $ParentID -Activity "Processing results" -Status "storing results into log file" -PercentComplete 100
$msi_fileprops | Select-Object * | export-csv -Path $msifileinfo_output -NoClobber -NoTypeInformation -Append
$si++
}
catch
{
# show the error but continue
Write-Output "Failed to get MSI file information the error was: {0}." -f $_
}
} # end for each msi file
} # end process
End
{
# remove the temp ps script
Remove-Item -Path "$tmpps" -Force
}
} # end function
Thanks for this, I have a load of vbscripts for messing with MSIs but nothing in PowerShell yet! Something you might want to add, packages made by Visual Studio and some other tools set the main install dir via a custom action, so you may want to add support for that too.