Create a MSI Installation Log

When troubleshooting an OPENXTRA installation issue it can be useful to create an installation log to find out precisely where the error is occurring.

Each of the OPENXTRA packages can create a log of its activities. Unfortunately, they cannot produce a log retrospectively. If a problem has occurred and a log is required then the installation must be run again with the correct command line arguments supplied to the installation program.

Command Line Arguments To Create a Log

setup_program.exe /V"/l*v c:\log_filename.log"

The log file created can be quite large, in the case of the OPENXTRA XTRA packages they are usually ~6MB. They do compress very well as the log is just a text file. After compression the files will typically be no larger than ~200KB.

Example - Network Install for Ethereal-XTRA

It usually helps to have a specific worked example. So, if you’ve downloaded the Ethereal-XTRA package and are having some difficulty with it type in the following in a command box or in the Start|Run… menu.

[Folder Path]\Ethereal_XTRA.exe /V"/l*v c:\log_filename.log"

The example above will create an installation log for the Ethereal-XTRA package called log_filename.log in the root of the C: driver (C:\).

If you are using the command box and are already inside the directory in which the installation program is situated, then you may omit the Folder Path from the command line.

The log file name and path is entirely arbitrary - you may place the log anywhere you have appropriate permissions and the file name can be any valid filename. Just make sure the name is memorable so that you can remember where you put it.