Hello Friends,

Windows Installer is a engine that let you install programs and set up services in Windows systems, using *.msi files and its derivations (For example, *.msu files let you install HotFix). Nowadays, thanks to its great advantages, almost every software that can be installed in Windows use this engine in their setup wizards. For example, CorelDraw X4 and Photoshop CS4 use Windows Installer in their wizards.

The two most recent versions of Windows Installer are 4.5 and 5.0. Since 2008, Microsoft provides version 4.5 of Windows Installer for download, while version 5.0 comes in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Since this topic always generates questions, below is a little FAQ about Windows Installer.

Which version of Windows Installer is supported by my Windows?

Windows Installer comes within SP2 (Service Pack 2) of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. However, you can also download a standalone installer from Microsoft’s website and install it on Windows XP SP2 or above, Windows Server 2003 SP1 or above, Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008. Windows Installer 5.0 comes only in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Is it possible to install Windows Installer 5.0 on Windows XP?

No. Only Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 supports version 5.0 of Windows Installer.

How can I know what version of Windows Installer do I have?

Type “msiexec /?” at the Command Prompt, in the Run box (Windows XP, Windows Server 2003), or in the search field of the Start menu (Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2).

Is Windows Installer updated automatically by Windows/Microsoft Update?

No. Except in case where the SP2 of Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 is being installed, Windows Installer 4.5 is not updated automatically by Windows/Microsoft Update. Users must download the updater according to their version and language of Windows.

There are programs that require the most recent versions of Windows Installer?

Yes, and there are many of them. For example, SQL Server 2008 Express Edition and some standalone components of SQL Server 2008, such as Books Online, require at least version 4.5 of Windows Installer.

For users with previous versions of Windows, the installer of Windows Installer 4.5 is available at the link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en-us&FamilyID=5a58b56f-60b6-4412-95b9-54d056d6f9f4.

Attention: the link above redirects to a page with many files for download. Read the Instructions topic and download the installer according to the version of your OS.

Regards!

Hello Friends,

It´s with great happiness that I make my first post at the new version of my technical blog. After one month of arrangements, we’re transferring the structure existing in Live Spaces (Portuguese) and in MSMVP.org (English) to a customized and unified structure, based on Wordpress.

One of the great advantages of using Wordpress was to have a totally customized blog, with all pages created according to our requirements. This was all possible thanks to the knowledge in PHP, CSS and MySQL, which resulted in the development of an exclusive Wordpress theme to the site.

Also because of this great power of customization the areas with technical resources, which were hidden before because of the visual pollution of the blog, now have dedicated pages. As a result, you will find what you’re looking for much faster than before.

In the new blog you can also learn more about professional certifications and qualifications that we’ve achieved in all these years. Information like MVP Profile and MCP Transcript are now accessible anytime.

Talking about the technical part, we’ll have many posts about Microsoft solutions, like SQL Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and Office 2010. However, a great new is that I’m going to post studies, articles and researches related to my Master degree in Applied Informatics.

Another new is the concern with interoperability: all pages of the blog are in the valid format suggested by W3C (http://www.w3c.org/). So all friends of Internet Explorer 8, Firefox, and other browsers will view our blog correctly.

Besides the blog, the whole domain now is hosted in a server with Windows Server 2008 and IIS 7.0, assuring a greater reliability and security. I want to thank all the staff of HostWeb (http://www.hostweb.com.br/) for the support along the process, especially to Pablo Weyne, Rafael Biserra and Sérgio Gurgel.

The creation of this blog is only the beginning of a series of activities related to the share of knowledge about IT and Microsoft between professional from Brazil and the rest of the world. For example, we already have a twitter (http://www.twitter.com/herlesonpontes), where you can check news in real time.

I want to dedicate this post to my wife, Priscila, for all support and comprehension. I LOVE YOU!

I hope that you enjoy these modifications and continue to follow our activities with the IT community. Welcome!

Regards.