Bug 162719 - Installation fails: "the function you are trying to use is on a network resource that is not available"
Summary: Installation fails: "the function you are trying to use is on a network resou...
Status: RESOLVED NOTOURBUG
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Installation (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
24.8.0.3 release
Hardware: x86-64 (AMD64) Windows (All)
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2024-08-31 08:41 UTC by Eyal Rozenberg
Modified: 2024-08-31 15:59 UTC (History)
0 users

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Installation log file (368.61 KB, application/x-zip-compressed)
2024-08-31 09:32 UTC, morten.skarstad
Details

Note You need to log in before you can comment on or make changes to this bug.
Description Eyal Rozenberg 2024-08-31 08:41:32 UTC
Bug reported by a user on Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/libreoffice/comments/1f4poix/678210_downloads_of_libreoffice_248_in_the_first/

1.  Download 24.8.0.3 for Windows x64, Norwegian
2.  Run the msi
3.  (Windows installer starts up, "Preparing to install")
4.  (Installation UI starts up.)
5.  Press Next.
6.  Choose installation type: Standard installation
7.  Choose to enable creation Make desktop shortcut.
8.  Press Install.
9.  (Installer starts working.)
10. (UAC prompt asks me to allow changes.)
11. Press Yes in UAC dialog

Expected results: 

Installation should now run and conclude.

Actual Results:

12. Installer starts working.
13. "Checking for free space" or something.
14. The progress bar works it way up to about 60 or 70 %
15. Status changes to "Removing programs".
16. Message pops up, saying something like "The function you are trying to use is on a network resource that is not available. Press OK to retry, or type an alternate path to the folder containing the installation package target.msi in the box below." - followed by a folder path which defaults to my temp folder. 
17. When I press cancel I get something like "Error 1714. Unable to remove previous version of LibreOffice 24.8.0.3. Contact technical support."
18. Finally the installation wizard says "Installation wizard complete. Wizard was cancelled before LibreOffice 24.8.0.3 completed installation. System is not changed. If you want to complete the installation you can start the wizard again. Click Done to close the wizard."

Text is in norwegian, translated by me, so the exact wording in the english version of Windows would probably be somewhat different.

Notes: 

* Trying to select different msi files for different installers for LO I have around does nothing. I am unable to find a file called target.msi anywhere on my machine.
Comment 1 Mike Kaganski 2024-08-31 08:47:18 UTC
FAQ: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Faq/General/General_Installation_Issues_(Windows)

What Windows Installer does with its own system database is a black box. If it for some reason corrupts its data, or if user clears cached install packages (kept somewhere under Windows directory), it may result in the requests for the old installer (we have them in the download archive linked at the bottom of the download page) - and even then, sometimes the installer can't proceed. MS knows that, and that's why they have their troubleshooter (linked in the FAQ).

NOTOURBUG.
Comment 2 Eyal Rozenberg 2024-08-31 09:10:28 UTC
(In reply to Mike Kaganski from comment #1)
> What Windows Installer does with its own system database is a black box. If
> it for some reason corrupts its data or if user clears cached install
> packages (kept somewhere under Windows directory), it may result in the
> requests for the old installer (we have them in the download archive linked
> at the bottom of the download page) - and even then, sometimes the installer
> can't proceed. MS knows that, and that's why they have their troubleshooter
> (linked in the FAQ).
> 
> NOTOURBUG.

Do we have a way to present a link to that FAQ page, in case of installation failure?
Comment 3 Mike Kaganski 2024-08-31 09:30:05 UTC
Likely. We have our own dialog for the failure, and so we could add some custom text there (I don't know about hyperlinks). It wouldn't be an error-specific text, though.
Comment 4 morten.skarstad 2024-08-31 09:32:03 UTC
Created attachment 196126 [details]
Installation log file

Attached the log file from installation.
Comment 5 Mike Kaganski 2024-08-31 10:12:27 UTC
(In reply to morten.skarstad from comment #4)
> Attached the log file from installation.

FTR: the version that fails to uninstall is 5.3.0.3 (64-bit) - no idea why its MSI was renamed. You may download it from the download archive, rename it to the same name as shown in the error message (this is mentioned in the FAQ), and try again, pointing to that MSI when requested. Or you may use the mentioned troubleshooter.
Comment 6 morten.skarstad 2024-08-31 10:25:38 UTC
The MSI for that version is one of multiple files already present in my local download folder, and one of the files I have tried. 5.3.0.3 x86 is also there.

However, it seems I have managed to fix the problem.

I took a look myself at the log file, and noticed this part:

RemoveExistingProducts: Program: {769A4A4C-3EBD-4469-B13B-5083F1C7717F}, Kommandolinje: UPGRADINGPRODUCTCODE={0E49FCED-3C8B-4382-A39B-398B6122D44D} CLIENTPROCESSID=15456 CLIENTUILEVEL=0 REMOVE=ALL
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:703]: Resetting cached policy values
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:704]: Machine policy value 'Debug' is 0
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:704]: ******* RunEngine:
           ******* Product: {769A4A4C-3EBD-4469-B13B-5083F1C7717F}
           ******* Action: 
           ******* CommandLine: **********
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:704]: User policy value 'SearchOrder' is 'nmu'
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:704]: User policy value 'DisableMedia' is 0
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:704]: Machine policy value 'AllowLockdownMedia' is 1
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:704]: SOURCEMGMT: Looking for sourcelist for product {769A4A4C-3EBD-4469-B13B-5083F1C7717F}
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:704]: SOURCEMGMT: Adding {769A4A4C-3EBD-4469-B13B-5083F1C7717F}; to potential sourcelist list (pcode;disk;relpath).
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:704]: SOURCEMGMT: Now checking product {769A4A4C-3EBD-4469-B13B-5083F1C7717F}
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:704]: SOURCEMGMT: Attempting to use LastUsedSource from source list.
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:704]: SOURCEMGMT: Trying source C:\Users\Helge\AppData\Local\Temp\750C2B~1\.
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:705]: Note: 1: 2203 2: C:\Users\Helge\AppData\Local\Temp\750C2B~1\target.msi 3: -2147287037 
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:03:705]: SOURCEMGMT: Source is invalid due to missing/inaccessible package.
[...]
MSI (s) (A8:D0) [11:07:09:370]: SOURCEMGMT: Failed to resolve source
CustomAction  returned actual error code 1612 (note this may not be 100% accurate if translation happened inside sandbox)
MSI (s) (A8:BC) [11:07:09:371]: Note: 1: 1714 2: LibreOffice 24.8.0.3 3: 1612 
MSI (s) (A8:BC) [11:07:09:372]: Transforming table Error.

At first I tried googling the keys on the first lines, hoping they would point me to the exact version used. They did not. The fist one gave only a handful of irrelevant result, and the second one pointed to 24.8.0.3.

Then I tried to search for them in regedit. I found a couple of keys when searching for 769A4A4C-3EBD-4469-B13B-5083F1C7717F, and one of those also contained values like "target.msi" and "soffice.ico", so I was obviously on the right track. I deleted the values, rebooted, and now 24.8.0.3 installed just fine.
Comment 7 Eyal Rozenberg 2024-08-31 15:29:53 UTC
(In reply to morten.skarstad from comment #6)
> Then I tried to search for them in regedit. I found a couple of keys when
> searching for 769A4A4C-3EBD-4469-B13B-5083F1C7717F, and one of those also
> contained values like "target.msi" and "soffice.ico", so I was obviously on
> the right track. I deleted the values, rebooted, and now 24.8.0.3 installed
> just fine.

Do you remember where in the registry you found those keys?
Comment 8 Mike Kaganski 2024-08-31 15:59:01 UTC
(In reply to Eyal Rozenberg from comment #7)
> Do you remember where in the registry you found those keys?

This is irrelevant. The product code is written by Windows Installer in multiple places; and trying to tinker with those records is dangerous, prone to making the system instable. The goal of the MS troubleshooter is to do that correctly. What morten.skarstad did is even more dangerous / advised against, than those "registry cleaners" (destroyers) mentioned in the FAQ; although I used to do that sometimes, to understand things better.

If you are curious, you may find the current product code in the MSI's Property table, and search for that in the registry, to answer the "where in the registry" you may find it. But in no way, this information may be helpful to anyone trying to fix such a problem.