"Installer Information" Error Message When You Install Host Integration Server Client

If you do not have administrator rights while trying to install a Host Integration Server 2000 End-User or Administrator Client installation that has been assigned or published through the Microsoft Windows IntelliMirror feature, you receive the following error message: NOTE: If the error occurs while you try to install the Administrator Client, the error message says "...Administrator Client setup." (instead of "...End-user Client setup.").

The error also occurs when users who do not have administrator rights try to manually install a Host Integration Server 2000 End-User or Administrator Client package.

This Knowledge Base article supercedes the following article, which discusses only the Host Integration Server 2000 End-User Client:

This behavior occurs because the Host Integration Server 2000 End-User and Administrator Client Windows Installer package explicitly verifies whether the user who is running the package has administrator rights, even though Windows Installer packages that are published or assigned through IntelliMirror are installed by using elevated privileges.

Host Integration Server 2000 End-User Client

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Host Integration Server 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The Host Integration Server 2000 End-User Client Refresh includes the updated HiEndUser.msi package that includes the change that resolves this issue.

Host Integration Server 2000 Administrator Client

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

NOTE: Because of file dependencies, the most recent fix that contains the preceding files may also contain additional files.

Host Integration Server 2000 End User Client

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Host Integration Server 2000 Service Pack 2.

Host Integration Server 2000 Administrator Client

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

On both the End-User Client and the Administrator Client, you must have administrator rights to add and update registry entries under the following registry key:

Requirements for End-User Client

You must have administrator rights on the End-User Client to install the OLE DB provider for AS/400 and VSAM as a Windows service on Microsoft Windows NT, on Windows 2000, and on Windows XP-based systems.

Requirements for Administrator Client

You must have administrator rights on the Administrator Client to install the following on Windows NT, on Windows 2000, and on Windows XP-based systems:

• Install SnaBase as a Windows service.
• Install the OLE DB provider for AS/400 and VSAM as a Windows service.
• Install SnaRpc as a Windows service.

Allowing Non-Administrators to Install Applications

Applications that are published or assigned through a Group Policy object (GPO) as part of IntelliMirror are designed to run with elevated privileges so that nonadministrators can install applications that may generally require administrator rights.

You can allow nonadministrators to install applications that are not published or assigned through IntelliMirror. To do this (on a Windows 2000-based system), select the Always install with elevated privileges option in both a User Configuration GPO and a Computer Configuration GPO.

For additional information about how to set the "AlwaysInstallElevated" registry parameter to allow users to install applications when GPOs are not in use, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Unattended Installations

When a Windows Installer package is published by means of a GPO, it can be installed on a system by means of the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. When installed in this manner, the application is installed in an unattended (silent) mode. For the Host Integration Server 2000 clients, the result is that the client is installed using the default settings. All the End-User and Administrator components are installed when the default settings are used. Additionally, the Host Integration Server 2000 Resource Location Wizard, which is used to configure the Host Integration Server 2000 client, is not run at the end of the installation as it is for typical GUI installations.

Additionally, a user who does not have administrator privileges cannot run the Host Integration Server 2000 Resource Location Wizard after the Host Integration Server 2000 Administrator Client is installed. In this case, the user cannot configure the Administrator Client with the correct settings to allow it to connect to a Host Integration Server 2000 server.

The Host Integration Server 2000 Help documentation describes how an unattended installation can use an initialization file (.inf) to configure Host Integration Server 2000 Clients and Host Integration Server 2000 Servers.

For more information, see "Automating Setup" under Installation and Configuration in the Host Integration Server 2000 Online Books. The documentation indicates that an unattended installation that uses an .inf file is initiated using the following command line syntax for the Host Integration Server 2000 Administrator Client: If a Host Integration Server 2000 Client Windows Installer package is published by means of a GPO, the UNATTENDED_INSTALL_FILENAME command line parameter cannot be passed to Windows Installer. Therefore, you have to modify the Windows Installer package to include this parameter and the path to the .inf file that will be used to configure the Host Integration Server 2000 client.

Using the Orca Database Editor

The Orca database editor is a table-editing tool available in the Windows Installer Software Developer Kit (SDK) that can be used to edit .msi files. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

After you install the Windows Installer SDK, you can install the Orca editor by running the Orca.msi package.

Allowing the Client to Install Using an .inf File

The following describes how to modify a Host Integration Server 2000 Client Windows Installer package. This procedure adds the UNATTENDED_INSTALL_FILENAME parameter to allow the client to install by using an .inf file that is configured by a Host Integration Server 2000 administrator.

To modify the package, follow these steps:

1. Start the Orca editor.
2. Open the Host Integration Server 2000 Client Windows Installer package that you want to modify.
3. Scroll down to the Property table. (The list of tables in the Windows Installer package appears in the left pane of the Orca window.)
4. Select the Property table to display the list of defined properties for the Windows Installer package.
5. On the Tables menu, click Add Row.
6. In the Property box, type the following in uppercase as shown:
   UNATTENDED_INSTALL_FILENAME
7. In the Name column, click Value, and then enter the path and file name in the following format:
   \\servername\sharename\filename.inf
   
   For example: \\appserver\his_install\hiadmin.inf
   
8. Click OK to close the Add Row dialog box. You can expect to see the new UNATTENDED_INSTALL_FILENAME property listed at the bottom of the Property column of the Orca window.
9. Save the changes to the Windows Installer package, and then close the Orca editor.

Resources on the Host Integration Server 2000 CD-ROM

The Host Integration Server 2000 CD-ROM includes sample .inf files for the End-User and Administrator Client in the following folders:

• \Setup\Clients\Administrator
• \Setup\Clients\EndUser

You can modify the client .inf files so that only the components that the users require are installed when you run the Windows Installer package. You can also pre-define the client configuration (Sponsor Servers, Client Protocol). For more information about the parameters that are listed in the .inf files, see the Host Integration Server 2000 Online books.

REFERENCES

The following articles are mentioned earlier in this article: