InstallAware

Hi,

I've been trying to create a simple installer that uses the DIFx Driver Install command to install a driver. But there's been no way I can make this command work. It always returns 0 for its three return values. Any help will be appreciated.

- I'm using InstallAware 9 R2 (any known issue for DIFx in that version?)
- The set of files comprising the driver seems sound. Copying the files manually to a folder on the target machine and double clicking on the .inf file will install the driver flawlessly.
- I install all the files composing the driver into a subfolder of $TARGETDIR$, call ApplyInstall and then call DIFxAPI, passing the path to the .inf files installed under $TARGETDIR$.

I've seen posts where people deploy the WDK utilities by hand and execute them instead of using the command, but would like to try the (seemingly) more straightforward option first.

Thanks,

Octavio

Dear Octavio,

Are you able to try out our newest version (V12) and see if that resolves the issue? I think there might have been an issue with DiFX with 9 R2.

Dear Aviv,

Thanks for your answer.
I've installed IA12 and built the installer with it - the same happens.
Checking the Windows driver installation logs (in C:\Windows\inf), looks like when attempting the installation from my installer, a 'No class installer found' error occurs.
When directly installing, the same happens initially, but after that some "Update Driver Software Wizard" kicks in and installs the driver from the folder where the .inf is.
Any ideas?

Thanks, regards,

Octavio

Octavio,

Could you elaborate on this "Update Driver Software Wizard" you mentioned?

Dear Aviv,

The issue seems to be related to what's discussed in this thread:

http://www.installaware.com/forum/viewt ... f=2&t=4301

I'm still investigating.

Thanks, regards,

Octavio

I think the DIFx functionality is broken in IA9R2.
Sadly, I can't try IA2012 easily as I don't want to risk breaking my IA9 install!

For me, the reason it fails is IA attempts to run a 32-bit version of DPInst.exe on 64-bit systems (even though I checked the 64-bit flag on the DIFx options and have tried setting the installer to 64-bit mode). It runs the 32bit version regardless which aborts immediately (you can see this in C:\Windows\DPInst.log).

I suspect the problem is because my installer is hybrid 64/32 bit and IA doesn't understand to bundle two versions of DPInst.exe.

I've resolved the problem by bundling my own copies of DPInst into a filebag, together with my drivers. Then I execute the command myself rather than using the DIFx plugin. Its a shame as its a bit tedious to setup. You then have to parse the returning code using the mathematic command to determine the result: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... 85%29.aspx


Its also worth noting IA doesn't bundle a multilingual version of DPInst or the alternative approach (using MUI localisation files). I'm not sure if this matters as IA requests an almost silent install - but I get a warning when installing non-signed drivers so I would want o check that warning is localised properly in multilingual installs. For safety I just included the mui files in my file bag: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... 85%29.aspx


I can post a code snippet of my workaround if anyone needs it.

Dear Obliterator,

If you are able to send me a small project that replicate your issue I will try to test it using IA 2012.

Regards