Where does Windows Platform Installer (WPI) save the downloaded files in my computer? - web-platform-installer

I have a network with one server that is connected to the internet and some clients that are not.
I want to download and install Microsoft products on my server first and let the client computers download the installer later from the server.
The questions are
where does the WPI save the downloaded files?
is it possible to run WPI and force it to install the Microsoft products from the already downloaded files rather than downloading again from Microsoft's server.
Note: Assume there is no license issue, hopely :-)

It will be cached under %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Web Platform Installer\installers if you are on Vista or above, or in the equivalent location on XP (there is no %LocalAppData% environment variable in XP).
If the products are downloaded, they will be installed again from the cached location, unless they were updated, which would change their hash and force Web PI to download them again. Moreover, you can copy the cache folder from one computer to another to the same location and Web PI will pick it up automatically and install products from cached installers.

Microsoft has released a tool called Web Platform Installer v4 Command Line which has a switch to prepare an offline installation. Quote from the page above:
Creates an offline cached copy of a specified set of products and
applications so you can install while offline
Example:
Ex: >WebPICMD.exe /Offline /Products:WebMatrix,SQLExpress /Path:c:\OfflineCache
The above will create an offline cache at c:\offlineCache that contains WebMatrix and all it's possible dependencies!
Update 2017
The link above is no longer valid (404). The page i found is
Web Platform Installer v5 Command Line (WebPICMD.exe) - RTW release
WebPI Command line
The Web Platform Installer v5 (WebPI) command line tool is now
available as part of the WebPI MSI! We've added a bunch of new
features and fix several issues, and now it's ready for it's full
release
On the page are two links
WebPI v5 x86.msi
WebPI v4 x64.msi

Microsoft has released a beta tool that will do this.

In windows 8 I found it here
%AppData%\Local\Microsoft\Web Platform Installer\installers

Related

Where's the Azure SDK version 2.9?

In late March Microsoft announced the release of the Azure SDK version 2.9.
On that page, as well as from within Visual Studio 2015, I'm invited to download and install it.
If I do so, the Web Platform Installer (5.0) fires up and shows me this:
That's strange...I don't want version 2.8.2...I already have it.
So I click the "back" button in Web Platform Installer and try to find 2.9 manually. At the time of writing, I'm seeing this:
That is, in the Web Platform Installer's list of products, version 2.9 is not there.
I'm on Windows 10 and using Visual Studio 2015 (with the latest update 2). My Web Platform Installer is version 5 and its primary feed is set as "default". Normally I have no problems installing an updated Azure SDK in this way.
I tried deleting the installer cache in Web Platform Installer (no help).
Can anybody give me a hint as to what might be happening here? Is anybody able to reproduce it (not finding v2.9 in the products list on WPI) on their machines? Could it be possible that v2.9 has been accidentally removed from the MS servers...any way to check this directly at the source?
For some reason it is not shown in the Web installer. This are the steps to fix it:
1 run a reset on the installer:
"%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft\Web Platform Installer\WebPlatformInstaller.exe" /reset
2 run the following registry fix:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WebPlatformInstaller]
"Install"=dword:00000001
"ProductXMLLocation"="http://www.microsoft.com/web/webpi/5.0/webproductlist.xml"
This seems to be a known issue. See the comments on this page:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-visual-studio-azure-tools-and-sdk-2-9/
Please search "2.9" in Web Platform Installer search pane. You will be able to see "Microsoft Azure SDK for .Net (VS2013)-2.9.6" in searched results.

Running Platform Builder 5.0 on recent operating systems

Platform Builder 5.0 is only supported on Windows 2000 and XP.
This question is to aid those looking for a way to run Platform Builder 5.0 on more recent operating systems.
A few reasons one might want to do that:
Corporate IT policy may not permit the use of Windows 2000/XP
With time, genuine copies of Windows 2000/XP may become increasingly hard to obtain
Depending on your overall setup and requirements, might eliminate the need for using a virtual machine for Platform Builder 5.0
You may simply wish to run a more modern and secure operating system
This answer explains how to install and run Platform Builder 5.0 on operating systems it is not officially supported on.
Windows Server 2008 and 2012
This procedure has been found to work on:
Windows Server 2008 (32-bit)
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2012 R2
It is recommended that you install Platform Builder before joining a Windows domain. I've had some issues getting the Platform Manager components registered while logged in as a domain user. See also the description further below.
Virus protection software might prevent the installation of .NET Framework 1.1, at least this has been a problem with Symantec Endpoint Protection. You may have to remove any security products before starting the installation (these may be re-installed later, but see the note below on the Full vs. Basic version of Symantec EP).
To install PB5, start by copying the contents of the installation CD (or mounted .iso) to a local folder, from here onwards referred to as the installation folder.
Use an .msi editor (like Orca) to remove the following entries from Microsoft Windows CE 5.0.msi in the installation folder:
OS version check (Table LaunchCondition, Action (MsiNTProductType=1 OR ...)
Emulator device driver (Table InstallExecuteSequence, Action CA_InstallVMMDriver.3D2F911E_A60A_4C07_8F7D_5306DC073E9A)
From the installation folder, run, in this order
ISScript8.msi (installs the InstallShield 8.0 script engine)
dotnetfx.exe (installs .NET Framework 1.1)
Microsoft Windows CE 5.0.msi (installs Platform Builder 5.0)
The installation may appear to hang at the Registering Platform Manager components step. It should proceed after a few minutes. If it is still stuck after, say, ten minutes, and your machine is joined to a Windows domain, then kill the installer in Task Manager, leave the domain and try installing again (you can rejoin after the installation is complete).
During the installation, you will receive a warning about compatibility issues. Select Don't show this warning again and click Run the program without getting help.
After the installation has finished, add a registry entry as follows.
If installing on a 32-bit system:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools]
"SharedFilesDir"="C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\"
Otherwise (installing on a 64-bit system):
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Shared Tools]
"SharedFilesDir"="C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\"
Next, install Windows CE / Platform Builder updates as required (i.e. the "monthly updates" provided by Microsoft).
Optional: If any of your Windows CE targets require CJK support, you will need to update the cenlscmp tool to avoid an error during the makeimg phase. While this bug has long been fixed in Platform Builder 6.0 (PB6), the PB5 version has been left in the dust. So for CJK support you will need to copy cenlscmp from a PB6 installation, i.e. copy C:\WINCE600\PUBLIC\COMMON\OAK\BIN\I386\cenlscmp.exe to the corresponding folder in your new WINCE500 tree. Note that I've only tested the PB6 version; it is likely that newer versions would work too.
Optional: If you need support for building SDKs, you must make a copy of the Platform Builder help files, or a hard-coded assumption in the SDK builder will cause the build to fail. Copy the directory C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows CE Platform Builder\5.00\cepb\help to C:\Program Files\Windows CE Platform Builder\5.00\cepb\help.
Launch Platform Builder.
You will see a warning about compatibility issues. Select Don't show this warning again and click Run the program without getting help.
Optional: In the main window, click Tools | Customize. Click the Build OS menu once to open it. Drag the Build and Sysgen menu item out of the menu and drop it when the cursor displays a small 'X'. This will remove a dangerous command that, if clicked by accident, will require reinstalling Platform Builder. Hit Close to dismiss the Customize dialog box.
Platform Builder 5.0 is now ready to use, including the IDE itself, the build system, the help system, the debugger, and the run-time licensing tool.
Features that I haven't tested and which may or may not work include CETK and the emulator (the latter highly unlikely to work, as the emulator device driver had to be removed from the .msi).
If you use Symantec Endpoint Protection, be aware that the Full version may prevent pbxmlutils - an important Platform Builder tool - from running. This does not appear to be an issue with the Basic version.
One last hurdle is to configure the firewall to permit debugger traffic. To do this, open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security and
Under Inbound Rules, hit New Rule...
Select Program, Next
Enter the Path %ProgramFiles% (x86)\Windows CE Platform Builder\5.00\CORECON\BIN\cesvchost.exe, click Next
Ensure Allow the connection is selected, Next
Ensure Private and Domain are selected (but not Public, unless you really need this), Next
Enter a Name, e.g. "Platform Builder 5.0 debugger - cesvchost", Finish
Repeat the above with the path %ProgramFiles% (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows CE Tools\Platman\bin\cemgr.exe.
Platform Builder will now be able to receive BOOTME frames, upload images, and connect to target with the kernel debugger.
Windows 7 and 8
The procedure documented above will not work for 64-bit Windows 7 or 8 (32-bit not tested).
Modifying the .msi as described makes the installation hang at the Registering Platform Manager components step. Removing the Platform Manager components from the installer causes a number of other issues, including failed registrations of the Help system and some common controls. More importantly, with Platform Manager missing it will not be possible to install any Windows CE/Platform Builder updates, making it virtually impossible to build any non-trivial CE project.
Windows 10
Not tested.

Deploy Windows Apps to Family and Friends without store, enterprise or development-tools

I wrote a App for my family/friends and now we would like deploy it on or PCs. Publishing it in the store is not an option and not everyone has an Widows Live account. Sideloading isn't an option, because we do not own a Enterprise edition.
I found only the three already described ways. Either by publishing it in the store, using the development tools or having the enterprise edition.
Is there a fourth way to deploy a Windows UWP App without using the Windows Store or the need to install a developer certificate? If not, is there a possibility that something similar will be possible in the future?
The Windows 10 Deployment Tool looks like the thing I'm looking for, but i seems to be for mobile phones, or am i wrong?
The future is now! The process is easier on Windows 10 and the linked questions aren't relevant to that version. On Windows 10 users can enable developer mode or side loading in system settings on the "Update & security" page, in the for developers section.
See https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/dn706236.aspx
now with Windows 10 Anniversary update, you could just double click *.appxbundle file to install
Steps:
create your package, select no, when prompt "Do you want to build packages to upload to Windows Store?"
go to the package folder, double click *.cer, and install the certificate to Trusted Root Certification Authorities
double click *.appxbundle to install
Client OS Requirement: Win10 14393
UWP Target SDK: 14393
UWP Min SDK: 14393
On the target device, open the test folder. For example, C:\Projects\MyApp\MyApp\AppPackages\MyApp_1.0.2.0_Test
Right-click on the Add-AppDevPackage.ps1 file, then choose Run with PowerShell and follow the prompts.
Click the Start button and then type the name of your app to launch it.

5.2 and Windows 10 compatibility release

I know this isnt a dev question per se, but is there a timeline on a 5.2 build that can be installed on Win 10?
I think the issue i am seeing is just with the installer so an in place upgrade to Win 10 might work fine, but a clean install fails as it doesnt acknowledge IIS 10 or whatever version comes with Win 10.
Thanks!
Official answer - Windows 10 is not yet supported by the currently available Acumatica ERP installers, however the issue has already been fixed internally (AC-56069 - fixed in 4.20.2262, 5.10.0785, 5.20.1012 and newer). Following workaround can be used in the meantime:
Download the Orca tool to edit the MSI file: http://adriank.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Orca.zip
Open the
MSI file using this tool (might be able to right click on MSI and
open with Orca)
Go to the LaunchCondition table
Drop/delete the IIS version condition (inside MSI, the LaunchCondition entry is IISVERSION >="#7"; system does a string comparison and "10" is
smaller than "7")
Save and close Orca
Run the setup
I can't give you an "official" answer but I can give you a work around.
If you download a utility called LessMSI you can extract the installation files. They will come out in a folder called "SourceDir". Simply take these and replace the files in your default installation folder or run them from another location.
Then you can proceed as normal.
The installer only checks if pre-reqs are installed and then copy's the files to the output location. If you have IIS already setup with dotnet support then the rest will be fine.
I do this frequently if I have to install a site with a specific version in order to upgrade or test a client's snapshot.
I have 4.1,4.2,5.1,5.2 running on my Windows 10 workstation as I type

Remote debugging Tools Cannot Install on Surface RT Running 8.1 Preview (cannot verify digital signature)

I am trying to install Remote Tools on a Surface RT running Windows 8.1 preview. I downloaded update 2 of remote tools from Microsoft's site and when I try to run it I get the error:
Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source.
This is confusing because I downloaded the file directly from MS website and when I look at the .exe properties it says digital signatures by Microsoft Corporation.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Update: It seems like my Microsoft Root Authority certificate is "not valid for the selected purposes" I've tried exporting a "good" certificate from another machine and importing it into the Surface machine but it still gives the same issue.
This is because your downloading the 2012 tools. You can download the 2013 preview tools here at the following link! (Be sure to choose ARM)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40781
Would have been nice if Microsoft had given us a heads up.
Also, when I go to the 2013 download on my Surface RT running 8.1 preview, and I click on Download, no matter which option I pick (x86, x64, or ARM) it downloads the x86 version, which obviously won't work. I had to download it on a PC and copy it over using a USB drive.
This problem exists on the released version of 8.1 too.
If you previously had the vs2012 tools installed, they appear to be uninstalled during the upgrade.
Attempting to reinstall gives the above error.
That means, it's now impossible to connect to the 8.1 Surface RT from VS2012 Pro to debug an 8.0 app running on 8.1. Instead, you need to connect with the VS2013 tools and remote debugger.
For anyone who is just trying to test their App updates a surface device running Windows 8.1 RTM, I have at least found a workaround.
You can manually deploy your package to your device by coping the package content to a USB memory stick and running a already defined powershell deployment script.
Basically you need to run the normal package creation process you would do to deploy to the app store to create a package, then copy the contents of the package folder (Not the compress package itself) to your USB stick. There should be a file named Add-AppDevPackage.ps1 in this folder.
Open your USB device from your Surface RT system, right click the Add-AppDevPackage.ps1 file and select "Run with powershell". You will receive several confirmation prompts at the command line and a popup window prompting you to run with admin privileges.
This is by no means a convenient or speedy process but it worked for my purposes.
This link has more detailed information on manually deploying your app package.

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