Reboots partway though APXP October

[PsiMoon314]

Hi Guys,

Just to let you know that the MSXML installers may have an issue which causes the PC to reboot during an APXP install session.

I finally caught one of the responsible modules in an XP Systems Event Log and it's the MSXML3SP7 module.

Looking at the parameters for many of the XML installers, is it possible a mistake was made when producing APXP October? The install parameters for MSXML3SP7 are:

"AutoPatcher:\modules\Components\msxml\MSXML3SP7\msxml3.msi" /qn

I have changed this to:

"AutoPatcher:\modules\Components\msxml\MSXML3SP7\msxml3.msi" /quiet /norestart

which seems to have corrected this issue for me.

It may be that other modules in the MSXML section have the same issue.

Kind Regards

Simon

[drew826]

I use AutoPatcher on all new installs, and so far every install I've done this month has rebooted part of the way through and I've had to install about 50 new updates when I check Windows Update. I'm pretty sure this is the reason why, so i'd greatly appreciate some insight, even if it's simply "Sorry, you'll have to wait until the next AutoPatcher release."

Thanks!

Edit: Downloaded the ap_packing.zip file and found out how to edit the .amc file to fix the issue. Will test it to see if it makes a difference.

Edited November 20, 2006 by drew826

[rmoody]

I have also experienced this issue and traced it to MSXML 3 SP7. Two things, could the above poster please post some detailed instructions of how he/she fixed this issue so that others (like me) are not left guessing, and also, would it really hurt the AP team to put out a freaking fix for issues like this and the incorrect Java update with a quick patch? How long would this take, honestly?

Let the unintended flame wars begin.

[drew826]

could the above poster please post some detailed instructions of how he/she fixed this issue so that others (like me) are not left guessing

I'm still running autopatcher on 2 machines to test, so I can't guarantee this fixes the problem, but I'll explain the process anyway. To change the install flags/parameters for a package, you have to edit the .amc file for that package. This can be done with the ap_packing.zip file used by autopatcher translators, available at http://uk.geocities.com/lrebrown/ap_packing.zip . I used the replacer.exe file to open up the .amc file for the module (C:\Program Files\AutoPatcher\modules\Components\msxml\MSXML3SP7_enu.amc), then told it to replace "/qn" with "/quiet /norestart" and had it replace the .amc file with the updated version. I noticed it also seemed to add the "/overwriteoem" flag, so I don't know what consequences that might have. I'll attach the .amc file I've already edited, but like I said before, I'm still testing so I don't know for sure that this will have an impact.

To use the file, download it and remove the ".txt" extension (added so that I could upload the file).

[drew826]

Apologies for the back-to-back postings.

AutoPatcher just completed successfully on the first computer: no reboots, all updates installed. I ran Windows Update afterwards and it only had 7 new high-prioirty updates to install (excluding IE7, that hasn't been cleared for use here yet) which sounds reasonable since there have been a couple of Tuesdays since the October release. Much better than previously where the computer would reboot part of the way through and I'd have to install 50 more updates.

[+theblazingangel MVC]

going to be looked into and hopefully corrected in the november release!

[acetken]

Awesome, thanks!

[drew826]

Just as another update, I've successfully run autopatcher on 2 or 3 machines now, but it did reboot on one machine after the MSXML install so I'm not sure what the difference was there. I'm using the same autopatcher with the same switches from the network, so I don't know why 2 or 3 worked flawlessly and one rebooted halfway through.

[PsiMoon314]

Hi,

Well I am at least glad that I was able to bring this issue to someone's attention for correction in this months release.

Apologies for anyone who was looking for step-by-step instructions on how to fix this issue, however that was not the purpose of my posting. It was to ensure that this issue was resolved in the next release.

Incidentally I suspect **ALL** of the MS XML installer modules need to be looked at, not just the one referenced in earlier postings on this thread.

The simple way to edit or change any module is with the Module Editor which is included with every version of AP in the installation TOOLS folder. Open the editor and select "Associate with AMC Files" from the Tools menu.

Then locate the .AMC file for the module you wish to edit and double-click on it. This will open the module for editing. It helps to find the AP documentation and read this before you change any fields so you understand what everything does.

Once you have edited the module you then need to save the changed via the File -> Save menu option. If you edit a supplied module it will then become Unofficial and will state that when you are using AP.

If there was somewhere central to post changed modules such changes,corrections and new modules, it would help with both beta testing fixes and introducing new modules to AP faster and ensuring that they are TESTED properly before release.

Sorry if this come over the wrong way, but having come from a Software QA background it does seem to be a shame that an excellent project like AutoPatcher is spoilt for the lack of a little testing.

Kind Regards

Simon

[Zoom7000]

I was wondering what was causing these reboots, thanks for that info!http://forums.ffonline.com/showthread.php?t=7574

[drew826]

The simple way to edit or change any module is with the Module Editor which is included with every version of AP in the installation TOOLS folder. Open the editor and select "Associate with AMC Files" from the Tools menu.

Ah, thanks for that. I wish I had figured that out earlier. Time to test things again!

[BuzzSaw]

Well at least that sheds some lights as to why AutoPatcher XP restarted once while I was in the middle of installing updates on my computer. I thought I was imagining things.

[drew826]

I don't suppose there's an easy way to remove that file from my post up above is there? :whistle:

Anyway, here's the file corrected through the module editor.

Again, remove the .txt file extension.

MSXML3SP7_enu.amc.txt

[BuzzSaw]

I don't suppose there's an easy way to remove that file from my post up above is there? :whistle:

Anyway, here's the file corrected through the module editor.

Again, remove the .txt file extension.

Go to My Controls at the very top of the page, on the next page on the very left side, look for Manage Your Attachments. This will list the stuff you attached in the forum.