Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

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tillerya
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Last visit: Wed Feb 10, 2021 1:48 pm

Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

Post by tillerya »

Purchased PowerShell Suite 2021 a short time ago. I am attempting the install PowerShell Studio 2021 and PrimalScript 2021 on a US Military (high security) system to no avail. Both products attempt to install SAPIEN Update which fails with "cannot read file" error. After acknowledging this error, both products display a progress bar with a message stating "Extracting files from archive". However, the products never complete the process. They simply keep cycling through the process repeatedly. I let both installs run for up to an hour without completion. Here's some details about the system:
1) MS Windows 10 Enterprise Edition 64-bit (version 1809, OS Build 17763.1697)
2) 8GB of memory
3) 340GB free space on HDD
4) McAfee Agent v5.7.0.194; HIP v8.0; Endpoint Security v10.0
5) System on on military domain and I am an authorized local administrator without internet access.
6) Many security controls are managed by military network operation centers through GPOs.

I would greatly appreciate any advise can offer on how to resolve this installation issue. Thank you!
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Alexander Riedel
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Re: Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

Post by Alexander Riedel »

Usually these types or problems stem from lack of permissions (local admins still may have group policy limitations) or security software interference. This may be not so much as a malfunction but a timing issue.
Some security endpoint software takes their sweet time to scan and 'release' newly installed files.
Unfortunately you did not add a screenshot, so I do not know exactly what the error looks like.
Download the update tool directly from here:
https://sapien.s3.amazonaws.com/softwar ... %20Bit.exe
and see if that installs.
Alexander Riedel
SAPIEN Technologies, Inc.
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tillerya
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Re: Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

Post by tillerya »

Mr. Riedel; thank you for the quick reply. I downloaded SAPIEN Updates 64-bit directly from the link you supplied, and received the same error as I did when installing PowerShell Studio and PrimalScript. Please see attached screen shot.
Error-Installing-SAPIEN-Updates-64-Bit-v1.1.38.png
Error-Installing-SAPIEN-Updates-64-Bit-v1.1.38.png (2.8 KiB) Viewed 20055 times
I have also attached a screenshot for the issue previously mentioned.
Error-Installing-PowerShell-Studio-2021.png
Error-Installing-PowerShell-Studio-2021.png (19.7 KiB) Viewed 20055 times
The installation routine starts the "extracting files from archive" process and the progress bar begins at 0% and progresses to 100%, then it sets there for 30 seconds, and repeats the cycle (0-100%) over and over again. As I said, I have allowed this process to repeat up to one hour.
I spoke to other administrators seeking their experience with installing software products, and like you they suggested the AV may be impacting the install. Unfortunately, I do not have the ability to stop the AV services.
Does the installation process require access to the Internet in anyway? My workstation administrator account does not have access to the Internet. Therefore, I perform installations using boot loaders, etc.
I discovered another issue that I'd like to address. Although, it may be a subject for another topic. My system has MS Windows Desktop Runtime v5.0.2 (x64) installed. However, the prerequisites installer wants to install Windows Desktop Runtime v5.0.0, and does recognize a newer version is already installed. If you attempt to install v5.0.0, then installer informs you that a newer version is installed, and you must remove it to install the older version. Interestingly, some of the other products look for a specific version or higher, yet the installer logic does not do the same for this product.
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Alexander Riedel
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Re: Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

Post by Alexander Riedel »

The installer does not require internet access. Specially not the updates installer. Running it would need that of course, but that is not the problem at the moment.
We have a good number of customers, including military, who install this offline. You will need an offline activation file eventually, but we get to that later.

Please run the updates installer like this
"SAPIEN_Updates 64 Bit.exe" /L*V "installer.log"

If examining the log gives you no actionable information, please upload it here.
Alexander Riedel
SAPIEN Technologies, Inc.
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Alexander Riedel
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Re: Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

Post by Alexander Riedel »

This is a thread in the installer software vendor's forum. https://www.advancedinstaller.com/forum ... php?t=9693
It is pretty old, but it entails the same error message and points to McAfee.
Might be worth investigating.
Alexander Riedel
SAPIEN Technologies, Inc.
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tillerya
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Re: Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

Post by tillerya »

Mr. Riedel; again thanks for pointing me towards the Advanced Install forum. The user thought AV might be causing their issue, but the real fix appears to be upgrading to a new version of the Advanced Installer product. Not much I can do about that in my situation.
I ran the Update executable with the option you presented to no avail. However, I did discover the available command line options. So, I created a log file using the "/exelog" option. Here is the resulting log:

====== Starting logging of "C:\MyTemp\SAPIEN\SAPIEN_Updates_64-Bit.exe" ====
OS Version: 10.0.17763 SP0 (workstation) [x64]
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz

2021-02-09 11-05-17-Full command line:SAPIEN_Updates_64-Bit.exe /noprereqs /exenoupdates /exelog "c:\mytemp\sapien\updates_install.log"
2021-02-09 11-05-17-Command line to pass to MSI:
2021-02-09 11-05-17-Extraction path set to:\\?\C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\SAPIEN Technologies, Inc\SAPIEN Updates 1.1.38.0\install\
2021-02-09 11-05-18-Extraction path set to:\\?\C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\SAPIEN Technologies, Inc\SAPIEN Updates\prerequisites\
2021-02-09 11-05-18-Language used for UI:0-English (United States)
2021-02-09 11-05-18-Maintenance mode:false
2021-02-09 11-05-18-An error occurred while extracting.
2021-02-09 11-05-20-Code returned to Windows by setup:1
2021-02-09 11-05-20-=====================End of Log=====================

You may notice that I removed my username in the extraction path. The log output is not much help as you can see.

I used the "\Extract" option to extract the files directly into a folder without error. Unfortunately, the MSI requires a boot loader to run properly. I ran the update program directly from this folder and the program loaded. However, I did not check for updates.

I am still seeking help from the military network operations center. But, nothing yet.
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Alexander Riedel
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Re: Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

Post by Alexander Riedel »

I am not sure what you mean with "the MSI requires a boot loader to run properly".
Usually MSI files can be directly run by double clicking.
If that association has been removed or disabled on your system, try:
MSIExec.exe /i <path to MSI>
MSIExec.exe should be located in C:\Windows\WinSxS\wow64_microsoft-windows-installer-executable_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.18362.1_none_26338f1a37b31380
or something similar.
If this is missing or turned of you likely cannot install any software.

Additionally, the path "\\?\C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\SAPIEN Technologies, Inc" would be correct.
Do you have permission to write, create files and folders on AppData\Roaming?
The \\?\ will not work on a file system other than NTFS, I would assume you have that, but I'll ask anyway.
Alexander Riedel
SAPIEN Technologies, Inc.
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tillerya
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Re: Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

Post by tillerya »

Mr. Riedel; like you, I found the need for a "boot loader" when "installing" the MSI confusing. However, I'm simply reporting what the system is telling me.
The military network operations center finally got back to me. They examined the HIPS log on my system and found an entry associated with the installation of "SAPIEN_Updates_64-bit.exe" indicating a HBSS rule is "preventing unexpected DLL files from running in user AppData and ProgramData folders". They have agreed to place my system into maintenance mode which should allow me to install the applications without further difficulty. At least, that's what they are telling me. I shall let you know if this is true.
This leads me to ask if there is a way to tell the "Advanced Installer" to extract the installation files to a location other than the AppData or ProgramData folders? If this can be done, this might be a solution for this issue that other customers may follow.
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Alexander Riedel
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Re: Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

Post by Alexander Riedel »

Um, well, I am not sure how to put that :D So I am just gonna say it.
The roaming appdata folder is the prescribed location per Microsoft's documentation where you should put these things.
There are MSI command line options to override properties. I would assume that there is a way to override the extract folder somewhere too (I never had the need to look :D )
At any rate, Microsoft prescribes the default folders used here because they are supposed to be writeable, accessible and can execute code, such as dlls, scripts etc. at install time.
The next generation of installers (MSIX) installs into an AppData folder for applications that are per user, so the rules your admins apply here will soon create more problems I am guessing.
I am not telling you to turn that off or neglect any security settings, I just thought you should be aware of that if you encounter problems down the road.

Please make sure to request an offline activation file on your SAPIEN account page. If your system is not connected to the internet you will need that to activate the software.
Alexander Riedel
SAPIEN Technologies, Inc.
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tillerya
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Re: Unable to install PowerShell Suite 2021 on Win10

Post by tillerya »

Mr. Riedel; I just wanted to follow-up on this topic. The military network management folks placed my system into maintenance mode on the McAfee HBSS management system. Thus, I was able to install all of the SAPIEN PowerShell Suite 2021 applications. I want to thank you for your assistance, guidance and suggestions regarding this topic. Respectfully; - Al Tillery
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