Prevent multiple installations of the WiX bundle. It should prevent running while another installation of the same bundle is running

Question

right now I have Wix bundle which installs .NET and VC++ as pre-req along with my other MSIs. But the problem is if I run it once, and then run it again while the first one is already running, it doesn't stop the installation. (Multiple instances of the installation are not blocked) I am using BURN. Candle and Light. Sorry, I am a newbie, would appreciate the help. I want it to run only once and possibly display "Another installation is already running" message. Would appreciate help, stuck at this particular problem for too long.

Answer 1

As for me you can try two ways how to do it:

1. Custom action:

Just add your msi first in chain and add custom action with check on msi start. Here you can find custom action sample. And here you can find how to run it at start. This way is easy and fast.

2. Custom bootstrapper:

This way is little bit long and hard, but it will work too. First of all you need to create your own custom bootstrapper. Here's good step-by-step guide to do it.

After you'll have one just add check before Engine run. It will look like this:

public class CustomBootstrapperApplication : BootstrapperApplication
{

   /// <summary>
   /// Entry point of managed code
   /// </summary>
   protected override void Run()  
   {
      if (Process.GetProcessesByName("process_name").Length > 0)
      {
         MessageBox.Show("process_name is already running");
         //not sure messagebox will be good idea here according to MVVM, 
         //but I guess you'll find way to solve it or... it will work anyway)))
      }
      //all that engine management stuff
   } 
}

Little bit overhead, but as result you'll get your own WPF bootstrapper with UI you want.