RemotePayload: the system cannot find the file `` with type ''

Question

Moving to WiX 3.6, I'm trying to use the recording features to make it easier to download / install the necessary elements, such as a specific VC ++ runtime.

I started working with a little "test.wxs", see below, which is normal for candle.exe:

$ candle test.wxs Windows Installer Xml Compiler version 3.6.3303.0 Copyright (C) Outercurve Foundation. All rights reserved. test.wxs 

But light.exe clamps it:

 $ light test.wixobj -ext WixBalExtension Windows Installer Xml Linker version 3.6.3303.0 Copyright (C) Outercurve Foundation. All rights reserved. light.exe : error LGHT0103 : The system cannot find the file '' with type ''. 

Can someone help with this (rather cryptic) error message?

This seems to be related to RemotePayload, since the modified version with the local file is working correctly. However, I would like to keep the package size and leave the download on the target machine, if necessary.

The full content of "test.wxs" was:

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <Wix xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi"> <Bundle Version="1.0.0.0" UpgradeCode="e349236d-6638-48c5-8d8b-db47682b9aeb"> <BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="WixStandardBootstrapperApplication.RtfLicense" /> <Chain> <!-- C++ Runtime --> <ExePackage Name="vcredist_x64.exe" DownloadUrl="http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=2092" > <RemotePayload CertificatePublicKey="F321408E7C51F8544B98E517D76A8334052E26E8" CertificateThumbprint="D57FAC60F1A8D34877AEB350E83F46F6EFC9E5F1" Description="Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Setup" Hash="13674C43652B941DAFD2049989AFCE63CB7C517B" ProductName="Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable" Size="4961800" Version="9.0.30729.17" /> </ExePackage> </Chain> </Bundle> </Wix> 

Answer 1

A partial answer to my question: The error message will disappear if I add the Compressed = "no" attribute to the ExePackage element.

The documentation for the Compressed attribute says: “Should load the packet payload into the container or leave it as an external payload,” and its value can be “yes,” “no,” or “by default.”

Using yes or default causes an error message. Using "no" does not work.

Answer 2

I had the same problems with another package (.NET framework) and Wix 3.7. I used the Wix source code to find the appropriate package names and registry keys to check, and then paste the corresponding bits into my installer. Then I intentionally installed "Compressed =" yes ", because I wanted to insert this file into my installer instead of downloading it.

A report was published similar to yours, published to this mailing list thread :

Benjamin Mayrargue: if ExePackage is set to DownloadUrl and Compressed, yes, with error LGHT0103: the system cannot find the file '' with type ''.

Marcus Wirl: Okay, I see. If you want ExePackage to be compressed into your bootstrapper.exe (compressed = "yes"), you need to specify it using the "Source" attribute. The reason that during compilation it will be compressed into your accelerator, you should not declare DownloadUrl. If you specify compressed = no, your ExePackage will be downloaded from DownloadUrl during the installation of your accelerator.

Rob Mensching: More specifically, you cannot use the RemotePayload element and compressed = 'yes' with the ExePackage element. This does not make sense, and the error here is that the compiler did not give you an error message here saying this.

So, you correctly identified the same solution to the problem.

The Compressed attribute, incidentally, indicates: "Should the packet payload be loaded into the container or left as an external payload." This external payload can be either RemotePayload or another file on disk, but a typical setup is one bootloader with all the resources built into it.

Using yes for the Compression attribute will allow you to install your application and the VC ++ runtime, even if the user has a slow or non-existent Internet connection. Remove DownloadUrl and RemotePayload from your installer and replace them simply with Compressed="yes" as follows:

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <Wix xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi"> <Bundle Version="1.0.0.0" UpgradeCode="e349236d-6638-48c5-8d8b-db47682b9aeb"> <BootstrapperApplicationRef Id="WixStandardBootstrapperApplication.RtfLicense" /> <Chain> <!-- C++ Runtime --> <ExePackage Name="vcredist_x64.exe" Compressed="yes"> </ExePackage> </Chain> </Bundle> </Wix> 

Then download the vcredist_x64.exe file (on your own, once) and place it next to your test.wxs file. Adjust the "Name" if you want it to be in a different place. Note that this will increase the size of your bootable boot file by approximately the size of the vcredist_x64.exe file, so it is not a good idea if your users download your installer.

Answer 3

In my case, the error was selected due to the fact that the path to the file / directory was more than 255 characters. The file exists, but the compiler claims that the file does not exist.