Validation

AdminStudio 2023 | 25.0 | Tuner

What is Validation?

Validation is the process of comparing a Windows Installer-based installation to a known set of guidelines (an evaluation file) to ensure it has been created to those guidelines. Tuner can perform two types of validations: prevalidation and postvalidation.

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Prevalidation compares only the base Windows Installer package to an evaluation file. This ensures that, when starting a customization project, the initial file was created using the guidelines in that evaluation file. If it does not pass prevalidation, then the installation may work fine, but it may not be able to use all Windows Installer features.

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Postvalidation compares the base Windows Installer package and the changes made in a customization project against an evaluation file. In this case, the combination of the initial file and the subsequent modifications of the transform can produce different results than a comparison of just the base Windows Installer package. If the initial file was valid and postvalidation fails, the problems exist in the customization project. In some situations, advanced users may be able to use a transform file to make an initially invalid MSI file valid in conjunction with the transform.

What Do You Validate Against?

Tuner provides two files that you can validate against: the Windows 2000 Logo Program Suite and the Full MSI Validation Suite.

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The Windows 2000 Logo Program Suite is a subset of the Full MSI Validation Suite, and is used to certify that the installation meets the Microsoft standards for the Windows logo.

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The Full MSI Validation Suite is used to ensure that the installation meets all MSI standards.

Validation Procedure

Follow this procedure when validating an installation:

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In practice, you should prevalidate the base MSI file to ensure compliance to MSI standards before you begin creating a customization project.

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After you have finished your project, postvalidate it to make sure it is still compliant.

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If the base installation was compliant and the postvalidation fails, go back to the changes you made to determine what caused the validation problems.

For full details, consult the Windows Installer Help.