WiX installer unable to find dll

[TimHodgson97]

I'm a bit stumped. I am trying to make an installer for a Windows Service, something I thought would be pretty straightforward.

I followed these two tutorials:
Create Windows Service
Create a Windows Service installer

I followed the tutorial for making the windows service and ran it. SUCCESS, I have a service that provides me with top quality dad jokes. It runs from a single-file exe that I published to when installed and started from Powershell.

The installer tutorial seems to be a little bit out of date as I needed to swap Directory out for StandardDirectory, but apart from that it pretty much build without an issue.

I then ran the msi and it seemed to be working fine until I got an error:

Service '.NET Joke Service' (App.WindowsService) failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services.

This led me on a bit of a wild goose chase until I checked the Event Logs. Under the Application logs I found this:

Description: A .NET application failed.
Application: App.WindowsService.exe
Path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET Joke Service\App.WindowsService.exe
Message: The application to execute does not exist: 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET Joke Service\App.WindowsService.dll'.

And under the System logs it seems that it's timing out:

The .NET Joke Service service failed to start due to the following error:
The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.

I've tried everything under the sun that I can think of to ensure that the exe is in fact self-contained, but given that the Service runs without issue from the exe when run in Powershell I suspect there may be a different issue.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[nirbar]

It seems like you're installing only the executable file rather than the entire folder.
Try adding the folder using Files element.
Make sure to exclude the main executable from the Files element since you're including it explicitly in another Component

[TimHodgson97]

Thanks for a the quick response!

When you say

installing only the executable file rather than the entire folder
I'm not entirely sure that I follow. From my (limited) understanding it has published to a single exe. There are no other dlls in the folder, so I'm not sure how including the folder will help, because the exe should contain the dll because it's self-contained.

I'll give it a try regardless.

[TimHodgson97]

I tried what you suggested and got the same error. I included all of the Files in the folder, and during the install I could see the files in the Program Files folder as expected, but got the same error.

`

<Package Name="$(Name)"
		 Manufacturer="$(Manufacturer)"
		 Version="$(Version)"
		 UpgradeCode="$(var.UpgradeCode)"
		 Compressed="true">

	<!-- Allow upgrades and prevent downgrades -->
	<MajorUpgrade DowngradeErrorMessage="A later version of [ProductName] is already installed. Setup will now exit." />

	<!-- Define the directory structure -->
	<StandardDirectory Id="TARGETDIR" />
	<StandardDirectory Id="ProgramFiles64Folder">

		<!-- Create a folder inside program files -->
		<Directory Id="ROOTDIRECTORY" Name="$(var.Manufacturer)">

			<!-- Create a folder within the parent folder given the name -->
			<Directory Id="INSTALLFOLDER" Name="$(Name)" />
		</Directory>
	</StandardDirectory>

	<ComponentGroup Id="ServiceFiles" Directory="INSTALLFOLDER">
		<Files Directory="INSTALLFOLDER" Include="path\to\publish\*">
			<Exclude Files="path\to\App.WindowsService.exe" />
		</Files>
	</ComponentGroup>

	<!-- The files inside this DirectoryRef are linked to
		 the App.WindowsService directory via INSTALLFOLDER -->
	<DirectoryRef Id="INSTALLFOLDER">
		<!-- Create a single component which is the App.WindowsService.exe file -->
		<Component Id="ServiceExecutable" Bitness="always64">
			<!-- Copies the App.WindowsService.exe file using the
				 project reference preprocessor variables -->
			<File Id="App.WindowsService.exe"
				  Source="App.WindowsService.exe"
				  KeyPath="true" />

			<!-- Remove all files from the INSTALLFOLDER on uninstall -->
			<RemoveFile Id="ALLFILES" Name="*.*" On="both" />

			<!-- Tell WiX to install the Service -->
			<ServiceInstall Id="ServiceInstaller"
							Type="ownProcess"
							Name="App.WindowsService"
							DisplayName="$(Name)"
							Description="A joke service that periodically logs nerdy humor."
							Start="auto"
							ErrorControl="normal" />

			<!-- Tell WiX to start the Service -->
			<ServiceControl Id="StartService"
							Start="install"
							Stop="both"
							Remove="uninstall"
							Name="App.WindowsService" />
		</Component>
	</DirectoryRef>

	<!-- Tell WiX to install the files -->
	<Feature Id="Service" Title="App.WindowsService Setup" Level="1">
		<ComponentRef Id="ServiceExecutable" />
		<ComponentGroupRef Id="ServiceFiles"/>
	</Feature>

</Package>

`

[robmen]

I'm curious, why are you doing this:

<!-- Remove all files from the INSTALLFOLDER on uninstall -->
<RemoveFile Id="ALLFILES" Name="*.*" On="both" />

and why are you defining TARGETDIR like this:

<StandardDirectory Id="TARGETDIR" />

[TimHodgson97]

The "remove files" line is in the tutorial. This is my first time working with an installer of any kind, so I was following the tutorial exactly. The TARGETDIR definition was because I got this warning and asked ChatGPT how to fix it:

It is no longer necessary to define the standard directory 'TARGETDIR'. Use the StandardDirectory element instead.
<Directory Id='TARGETDIR' Name='SourceDir'>

If there is a better way please do tell, because I tried following the tutorial on the FireGiant site and it was not particularly helpful, plus the search function turns up results that are deprecated half the time. For example when I searched for TARGETDIR in the docs the clearest answer was the WiX v3 version.

[robmen]

The "remove files" line is in the tutorial.

Do you know where you saw it in the tutorial? I searched all of the doc files and didn't find anything recommending using the RemoveFile element or Name="*.*" or a reference "ALLFILES", but my search may be missing something. Using it this way is not necessary and definitely not a recommended practice.

I tried following the tutorial on the FireGiant site and it was not particularly helpful

That's why I'm asking the questions. 😄 We're looking to improve the tutorial. When I see strange code, I try to figure out where people got it.

plus the search function turns up results that are deprecated half the time. For example when I searched for TARGETDIR in the docs the clearest answer was the WiX v3 version.

We're trying to tune the search to not return results in deprecated code. However, topics like TARGETDIR are deprecated in WiX v4+, so if you explicitly search for it, the answer will be in the old WiX v3 documentation.

I was wondering why you went to ChatGPT to ask how to add TARGETDIR? You shouldn't need it. What led you down the path thinking you needed to add it?

[barnson]

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/extensions/windows-service-with-installer?tabs=wix

[TimHodgson97]

As barnson posted, in my original post I put the two Microsoft tutorials that I followed where it shows how to make a Windows service and an installer for it, and in that tutorial it had this line:
<RemoveFile Id="ALLFILES" Name="*.*" On="both" />

For the "TARGETDIR" bit it was also in the Microsoft tutorial, but as Directory not StandardDirectory, and this then threw the error that I fixed as mentioned here:

The installer tutorial seems to be a little bit out of date as I needed to swap Directory out for StandardDirectory, but apart from that it pretty much build without an issue.

When I mention the tutorial I am still talking about the Microsoft tutorial, and the reason that I followed that one is because it tackles the specific problem I was looking to solve, specifically and installer for a Windows Service.

The tutorial in question:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/extensions/windows-service-with-installer?tabs=wix

Overall, I found the FireGiant tutorial to be well-structured and easy to follow. The tone is engaging, which makes it approachable even for someone new to WiX. The first three sprints felt intuitive and well-paced, but I found sprints four and five to be a bit more complex. I say I found it unhelpful because I felt like it didn't cover the specific things that I was struggling with.

One challenge I encountered was figuring out how to make the installer run as an administrator, which I later understood is tied to the perMachine scope. This might just be due to my unfamiliarity with WiX and installer development, but I spent quite a bit of time on this aspect.

If I could suggest two additions to the tutorial, they would be:

1. A clearer explanation of how to configure the installer to run as an administrator.
2. Guidance on properly creating files and folders in key system directories, such as Program Files and ProgramData.

These additions would be incredibly helpful for those new to WiX (or at least would have made it easier for me) and would make an already great tutorial even more comprehensive. Thanks for the effort that has gone into it!

[robmen]

Microsoft tutorials

Ahh, I don't think of those as "tutorials". That's just some Microsoft documentation. 😄 But thanks for pointing to it. It has a number of bugs that should be cleaned up. We'll try to work with Microsoft to fix it up.

Overall, I found the FireGiant tutorial to be well-structured and easy to follow.

That's great news. It took a long while to get as much as is there and as you point out it needs more content. That is definitely on our roadmap, along with several other documentation projects (like a better migration guide for WiX v3 users coming to "contemporary WiX").

but I found sprints four and five to be a bit more complex

Thanks for the feedback. We'll take in advisement.

If I could suggest two additions to the tutorial, they would be...

Again, useful feedback. The WiX Toolset supports the full breadth of the Windows Installer which in turn can support the full breadth of functionality in Windows. It's a daunting amount of functionality to document, so feedbakc helps us prioritize which parts to cover first.

already great tutorial even more comprehensive.

We still feel like there is A LOT more to do, so it is good to hear that what we have is helpful and how we can possibly tweek sprints 4 & 5.

Plus, we need to go help Microsoft fix up their documentation too. :)

[TimHodgson97]

Thanks! Could you point the bug out for me, because I basically based my installer off of theirs?

[wmanning]

Still find the book Wix 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML very useful. From 2012 so outdated with some changes in Wix 4 but MSI is very old so still very relevant.