Purpose
Microsoft Windows Installer is an installation and configuration service that reduces the total cost of
ownership.
Windows Installer enables customers to provide better corporate deployment and provides a standard format for
component management. The installer supports the advertisement of applications and features according to the
operating system. For more information, see
Platform Support of Advertisement.
This documentation describes Windows Installer 4.5 and earlier versions. Not all the
capabilities available in later Windows Installer versions are available in earlier versions. This documentation
does not describe versions earlier than Windows Installer 2.0.
Beginning with Windows Installer 3.0, multiple patches can be installed with a single
transaction that integrates installation progress, rollback, and reboots. The installer can apply patches in a
constant order regardless of the order that the patches are provided to the system.
Patches installed with Windows Installer 3.0 or later can be uninstalled in any order to leave the state of the
product the same as if the patch was never installed. Patching using Windows Installer 3.0
only updates files affected by the patch and can be significantly faster than earlier installer versions.
Accounts with administrator privileges can use Windows Installer 3.0 functions to query
and inventory product, feature, component, and patch information; and to read, edit, and replace Installer source
lists for network, URL, and media sources. Administrators can enumerate across user and install contexts, and
manage source lists from an external process.
Installation packages and patches that are created for Windows Installer 2.0 can be
installed by using Windows Installer 3.0.
Where Applicable
Windows Installer enables the efficient installation and configuration of your products and applications. The
installer provides new capabilities to advertise features without installing them, to install products on demand,
and to add user customizations.
Developer Audience
This documentation is intended for software developers who want to make applications that use Windows Installer.
It provides general background information about installation packages and the installer service. It contains
complete descriptions of the application programming interface and elements of the installer database. This
documentation also contains supplemental information for developers who want to use a table editor or a package
creation tool to make or maintain an installation.
Run-Time Requirements
Windows Installer ships with Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003,
Windows XP, and Windows 2000.
Windows Installer 4.5 will be available as a redistributable for Windows Server 2008,
Windows Vista, Windows XP SP1 and later, and Windows Server 2003 SP1 and
later.
Windows Installer 4.0 requires Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. There is
no redistributable for installing Windows Installer 4.0 on other operating systems. An updated
version of Windows Installer 4.0, which does not add any new features, is available in
Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008.
Windows Installer 3.1 requires Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or
Windows 2000 SP3.
Windows Installer 3.0 requires Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or
Windows 2000 SP3. Windows Installer 3.0 is included in
Windows XP SP2. It is available as a redistributable for Windows 2000 Server SP3 and
Windows 2000 Server SP4, Windows XP RTM and Windows XP SP1, and
Windows Server 2003 RTM.
Windows Installer Redistributables
are available for Windows Installer versions 3.1 and earlier versions.
Windows Installer 2.0 is contained in the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family
and Windows XP.
Windows Installer 2.0 is available as a package for installing or upgrading to Windows
Installer 2.0 on Windows 2000. This package should not be used to install or
upgrade Windows Installer 2.0 on the
Windows Server 2003 family and Windows XP.
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Build date: 11/1/2007