The Windows Installer Service

The Software Installation extension uses the Windows Installer service to mcp systematically maintain software. The Windows Installer service runs in the background and allows the operating system to manage the installation process in accordance with the information in the Windows Installer package. The Windows Installer package is a file containing information that describes the installed state of the application.
Because the Windows Installer service manages the state of the installation, it always knows the state of the software. If there is a problem during software installation, Windows Installer can return the computer to its last known good state. If you need to modify features after software installation, Windows Installer allows you to do so. Because the Software Installation extension uses Windows Installer, users can take advantage of self-repairing applications. Windows Installer notes when a program file is missing and immediately reinstalls the damaged or missing files, thereby fixing the application. Finally, Windows Installer enables you to remove the software when it is no longer needed.
The Windows Installer service itself is affected by settings A+ certification cost in Group Policy. You can find these settings in the Windows Installer node, which is located in the Windows Components node in the Administrative Templates node, for both the Computer Configuration and the User Configuration nodes.
Windows Installer Packages A Windows Installer package is a file that contains explicit instructions on the installation and removal of specific applications. You can deploy software using the Software Installation extension by using a Windows Installer package. There are two types of Windows Installer packages:
? Native Windows Installer package (.msi) flies These files have been developed as a part of the application and take full advantage of Windows Installer. The author or publisher of the software can supply a natively authored Windows Installer package.
Repackaged application (.msi) files These files are used to repackage applications that do not have a native Windows Installer package. Although repack?
aged Windows Installer packages work the same as native Windows Installer packages, a repackaged Windows Installer package contains a single product with
all the components and applications associated with that product installed as a single feature. A native Windows Installer package contains a single product with many features that can be individually installed as separate features.
Windows Server 2003 provides the following Group Policy troubleshooting tools to assist you in verifying your configuration and in diagnosing and solving 70-685 problems: Resultant Set Of Policy Wizard, Gpresult and Gpupclate command-line tools,Event Viewer, and log files.