Summary

This article discusses ways to detect if a reboot is pending during the execution of an installation package that uses the Microsoft Windows Installer technology.

Synopsis

This article discusses ways to detect if a reboot is pending during the execution of an installation package that uses the Microsoft Windows Installer technology.

Discussion

Below are some of the methods that can be used to detect if a reboot is pending.

MsiSystemRebootPending Property

Windows Installer package sets the property, MsiSystemRebootPending, when an operation is pending to rename a file. This property is not supported in Windows Installer 3.1 and earlier.

MsiGetMode Function

The MsiGetMode function can be called from a Custom Action to check if a reboot is pending. The function distinguishes between the type of reboot pending: "reboot required to continue the install" or "reboot required at the end of a successful install".

As an example, to check for a reboot in VBScript, use the Mode Property from the Session Object. (The Session Object is one of many Windows Installer objects.) You can detect the value by calling Session.Mode. A number of different detections can be made using this object, but for a reboot, use parameter 6 or 7. A parameter value of '6' indicates reboot is needed at the end of the install; a parameter value of '7' indicates a reboot is needed to continue the installation.

Additional Information

For more information, please refer to Microsoft Windows Installer Help articles:

• System Reboots
• MsiSystemRebootPending Property
• Session Object
• Mode Property of the Session Object
• MsiGetMode