InstallAware

I have not had any trouble using Check Registry before, but with this particular key I am searching for, I always get the return value NO$VALUE even if the key does not exist. I just want to check for the key's existence so I am using Check Registry and leaving the Value field blank. I've also tried using Read Registry and picking a Value from the key to check for, but this always returns empty even if the key and value do exist.

For an example, I need to check if a program is installed by verifying the product GUID exists in the following path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
Say for example, I'm looking for Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5, the GUID is: {92FB6C44-E685-45AD-9B20-CADF4CABA132}

My InstallAware code would be (copied data):
~InstallAware Clipboard Data~
~Check Registry~
~{834FE6AC-9ED5-417C-A019-793E6BD78176}~
~net4.5_check_installed~
~2~
~SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{92FB6C44-E685-45AD-9B20-CADF4CABA132}~
~~

The returned value is always NO$VALUE regardless of whether that key is actually there or not. If it's not there, I would expect it to return NO$KEY. Is there a limitation on the length that Check/Read Registry can do? Or are there reserved characters I need to escape like the curly braces?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as to why this doesn't work.

Dear ru2,

to check for the installed .Net version you should use the following regkey instead;
- HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP

For example, to check for the installed .Net 4 version you should read the value of "Version" key under;
- HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full

That said, do not forget to consider that by default the setup process runs Always under 32 bit mode.

So if your target is a x64 system, the setup process has to be switched to x64 mode in order to be able to query any registry key under "HKLM\SOFTWARE". Otherwise any call will be re-directed by default to the respective "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node" key.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa384232(v=vs.85).aspx

Finally, to correctly check for the installed .Net version and regardless of the target OS Platform (x86/x64), your script code should be;




Hope this helps you.

Regards

Thank you for the response!

.NET being installed was just an example, I know to check for it elsewhere, but my issue was checking that specific Uninstall key with the GUID. I'm not actually checking for .NET but just a Windows program that is installed which are listed under that key and the only way I know to check in the registry that they are installed. I just figured .NET would be a good example GUID for others to test with.

Anyway, I think you may be on to something with the target system. The program I'm looking for could be installed as either 32-bit or 64-bit on a 64-bit system, so I've adjusted the code to the following:


The first check is done in whatever the native mode is (either Win32 or x64 depending on the system, set previously in the script) and the second check is done in Win32 mode in case it's a 64-bit machine and the user installed the program I'm looking for as 32-bit. On the machine I'm testing, the mode is set to x64 by default so the first check is done in x64 and the second check is done in Win32.

Unfortunately, I am still getting the same results. Both results are returning NO$VALUE, indicating the key exists, but it is not possible for this program to be installed as both 32-bit and 64-bit and I have verified on the machine that the key only exists in the 64-bit location. I have also tried changing the second check (32-bit check) to Check Registry Key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{38C5644C-290B-492C-A001-1DD58C29E84C}\ into check_32_installed (adding the Wow6432Node because that's how the path actually looks), but it still didn't change the results.

I hope this explains my issue more thoroughly and that you may have another suggestion.

Dear ru2,

first of all your "Check Registry Key" looks to be wrong. It seems you just specified the target Registry path, while you missed the value that needs to be checked.

So supposing you want to verify the "version" key, this should be;

Otherwise it will never work.

In addition the approach described by your code snippet looks not correct! By default the setup runs in 32 bit mode and not in 64 bit mode.
This should be instead ( ...supposing to verify the "version" key);




Alternatively, in place of the "Check Registry" you may use "Is MSI Setup Installed". This command only wants the Product Code (Guid) as parameter. Of course ... the same x86/x64 approach still needs to be used.

Hope this helps you.

Regards

The Check Registry command explicitly says to leave the value empty when you want to just check for the key itself (https://www.installaware.com/FlashHelp/ ... gistry.htm):

Value

Type the value to read or check for. Leave empty to test for the existence of the key itself (and read the default value if the key exists).

I have also tried checking an actual value in the key anyway but that doesn't make a difference.

And I know the default is 32-bit mode, I mentioned in my comment that the script sets it to 64-bit mode already. What I have written above is actually correct and what I want to check for. The program I am checking for is not the program I am installing. It is a completely separate program and it may have been installed as either 32-bit or 64-bit and I don't know which. So even though I am running my install in 64-bit mode, I want to check for the external program being installed as 32-bit mode. The code you suggested will not work for me.

However! I did not know about "Is MSI Setup Installed". This does exactly what I need and since checking with the registry keys is so hard to use and problematic I will use that function instead. Thanks very much for mentioning it!