Creating Setup Log Files in Reflection

  • 7021632
  • 10-May-2000
  • 01-Apr-2018

Environment

All Reflection Windows-Based Products version 13.0 through 14.x

Situation

A setup log file is automatically created when you install Reflection by running Setup.exe or Install.exe. No setup log is created, however, if the Reflection installation is initiated using any other method. If you are experiencing installation difficulties and are not running one of these executables to start the installation, you will need to manually enable Windows Installer logging to capture setup information. This technical note explains how to locate, enable, disable, view, and upload setup log files.

Resolution

The Default Setup Log File

When Setup.exe or Install.exe is run, a setup log file named Msiwrq.txt is created and saved to the user's personal Temp folder. If setup is rerun or if other Reflection products are installed, the new setup information is appended to the end of this file.

For directions on locating the Msiwrq.txt log file, see Locating the Setup Log.

Note the following:

  • Since each installation attempt appends information to the Msiwrq.txt log file, this file can get quite large and unwieldy to upload and review. If you are asked to upload this file for review by Attachmate technical support, please rename the existing msiwrq.txt file and rerun the installation to produce a new, clean msiwrq.txt file that contains only the current installation information.
  • If you are concerned about disk space, you may want to delete this file once the installation problem has been resolved.

Manually Enabling Setup Logging

Manually enable setup logging if you are experiencing installation difficulties when attempting to install Reflection, or a component of Reflection, by any method other than running Setup.exe or Install.exe. The following is a non-inclusive list of installation options that will be logged only if setup logging has been manually enabled:

  • Install on demand.
  • Advertise a package to the workstation.
  • Add Reflection, or a Reflection component, from the Windows Add/Remove Programs dialog box.
  • Create a shortcut that initiates an installation transform.
  • Programmatically call Msiexec.exe.

When setup logging is manually enabled, a setup log file named Msi*.log is created and saved to the user's personal Temp folder. Unlike the default setup log which produces the single log file Msiwrq.txt, manually enabling logging produces a separate log file for each installation attempt.

Note: If you are using Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you must be a member of the Administrators group to enable or disable Windows Installer logging.

Follow the directions below to enable Windows Installer logging:

  1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the Tools folder of your Reflection product CD-ROM.
  2. Right-click the Logstart.inf file and click Install.

Microsoft Windows Installer logging is now enabled.

For directions on locating the Msi*.log log file, see the "Locating the Setup Log" section below.

Note: While logging is enabled, a separate Msi*.log file will be created for ALL software installations that use the Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI)—not just Reflection installations. It is recommended that you disable Windows Installer logging once you have created the log file.

Locating the Setup Log

All setup log files are stored in the personal Temp folder of the user who installed the product. If you do not know where the user's personal Temp folder resides, follow the steps below to locate the log files:

  1. Open a Command Prompt (DOS) and type: echo %TMP%.

You will see the Temp folder path in response (for example, C: \TEMP). Note: An environment variable named "TEMP" may also be defined. This variable is NOT used by Reflection Setup or by the MSI installer service. Only the "TMP" environment variable is used.

  1. Close the Command Prompt (DOS) window.
  2. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the path you received in step one above.

Depending upon how the log was initiated, you will see a file named Msiwrq.txt, or one or more log files named Msi*.log.

Note: On some systems, the Temp folder may be hidden. For example, by default on Windows 2000 workstations, the log file is written to the hidden folder: Documents and settings\<user's logon name>\Local settings\Temp\.

Manually Disabling Setup Logging

While logging is enabled, each MSI installation will create an Msi*.log file. To conserve disk space and avoid any performance degradation caused by logging, Attachmate technical support strongly recommends that you disable logging after you have successfully completed the installation. Follow the directions below to disable Windows Installer logging:

  1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the Tools folder on your Reflection product CD.
  2. Right-click the Stoplog.inf file and click Install.

Microsoft Windows Installer logging is now disabled.

Viewing the Log File

The log files are Unicode text files that can be viewed using any Unicode-ready text editor (such as WordPad, Word, and some versions of Notepad). For more information about reading logs, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base at http://search.support.microsoft.com and enter the following search term: Windows Installer error messages.

Uploading Log Files to Attachmate

If you need to contact Attachmate technical support, a technician will give you instructions on uploading the setup log files to Attachmate.

Depending upon your installation options, setup logging may have created both an Msiwrq.txt file and one or more Msi*.log files. Attachmate support will need to see both the Msiwrq.txt file and the most recent Msi*.log file.

For information about contacting Attachmate support, see https://support.microfocus.com/contact/.

Additional Information

Legacy KB ID

This document was originally published as Attachmate Technical Note 1472.