asp.net - Include another MSI file in my setup project

Question

I'm trying to make a setup program for an ASP.NET web site. I need to make sure the target machine has sqlxml installed.

I must verify the target machine has the software installed, and if not, launch a .msi file either before or after the main installation.

I'm a complete newbie with setup projects, so maybe this is obvious, but after several hours browsing the web I haven't found a satisfactory solution. I've been reading about WiX, etc. but I'm looking (if possible) for a simple solution.

---

Thank you both!

I understand an installer can't run another one. I was thinking in a functionality similar to Prerequisites (in project properties). There I can check a component and it will be automatically installed if it isn't. I don't need to do anything else. But, the most important thing for me is that the installation won't run if it's not needed.

I also tried the .msm solution, but I couldn't find any. Maybe I can make one myself? I haven't tried it yet though.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, you can't run one installer from another, since only one can be running at a time. You need to chain them together and run one after the other. Google "msi chaining". This is often the reason why products like Visual Studio use an external setup.exe which then runs the installers one after the other.