Summary

Synopsis

When installing a package, the following error message may be seen:

File '<path to file>\MyDll.Dll' can not be found. Make sure the file is on target system or installed already.

Discussion

This list of possible causes is not exhaustive and will be updated as new causes are identified:

1. Custom action sequencing
   If the custom action is placed in the sequence prior to the availability of the file.
2. Standard DLL incompletely identified in its component
3. Incorrect location of Standard DLL file
4. Missing dependencies
   The returned message reports that the DLL in the custom action is missing even if it is only a matter of its dependencies being unavailable.

1. If the file used in the DLL custom action is installed with in a Component, two settings of the custom action are especially important.
   • use an In-Script Execution setting of Deferred or Deferred in System Context
   • place the custom action in the Execute Sequence, at least as late as following DuplicateFiles
2. Set the DLL file as the key of its Component for a Standard DLL custom action scheduled as Deferred (for the In-Script Execution property).
3. Do not store the DLL file in the Binary table if the Standard DLL custom action to call a function in the Standard DLL is to be scheduled as Deferred (for the In-Script Execution property).
4. Missing dependencies
   • Identify additional files that should be included in the installation package with scanners like the Dependency Walker or Portable Executable (PE) analyzer
   • Identify files sought, but not found, by the MSI engine during the installation process with monitoring tools like FileMon (especially helpful if the utility is launched immediately before the DLL custom action)
   • Identify the search path(s) used by LoadLibrary to locate dependencies with monitoring tools like FileMon (the dependencies may need to be installed to another location)

Additional Information

Additional information regarding custom actions and dependencies can be found in the following articles:

• Sysinternals and Sysinternals Utilities: File & Disk

Related KB Articles