How do you enable MSI Logging?

Not version-specific

Tekla Tedds Tekla Tedds for Word

If you are experiencing issues when installing software you may wish to create log file of the installation process.

Option 1

Run the msi with the following command line including the logging switch

msiexec /i <path_to_package> /l*xv <path_to_log>
e.g. msiexec /i "c:\temp\TeklaTedds.msi" /l*xv "c:\temp\TeklaTeddsLog.txt"

Option 2

If for some reason you cannot use the command line switch there is a more generic approach which is to turn logging on for all msi install's.

Please Note:

These steps should only be carried out by and IT administrator.

Logging should be used only for troubleshooting purposes and should not be left on because it will have adverse effects on system performance and disk space.

Add the following registry entry

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer\]
String Value: Logging = voicewarmup

This causes the MSI Installer to log all installations. Once an install is launched the log file is created in the %TEMP% directory, normally,

C:\Users\[user name]\Local Settings\Temp\
The file will be named as follows
MSI[random number].log