Just today I needed to update an InstallShield for a new release of a product but ever since I put InstallShield Express on my new PC, it has refused to open any of my old files so I need to create all my InstallShields again from scratch.

To create an installer which will upgrade from an older version of the same package, it is neccessary to provide the UpgradeCode.

This code takes the form of a GUID like this:

Upgrade Code: {DDEDA4AB-722F-43F6-89D5-A093644CD469}

Since I could not open my old .ISE file with InstallShield, all I had to work with was the SETUP.EXE I distributed with the last release of the product.

Enough of the back-story, here’s how you extract the upgrade code from an installer:

STEP 1 - Extract the MSI installer from SETUP.EXE

You can skip this step if you already have the MSI file.

First make sure the package is not installed on your PC then run the installer. When it gets past the first screen (it typically shows the license agreement at this point), it will have unpacked the MSI and placed it in a temporary folder.

The first time I tried this, it put the MSI in C:\Documents and Settings\Adam\Local Settings\Temp and the second time I tried it, the MSI ended up in C:\WINDOWS\Temp with a non-obvious file name so you may need to hunt for it a bit.

STEP 2 - Extract the UpgradeCode from the MSI file

For this, I have used a very excellent free utility called Less MSIérables which you can download from Scott Willeke’s website at http://blogs.pingpoet.com/overflow/archive/2005/06/02/2449.aspx.

After loading the MSI file into Less MSIérables, go to the Table View tab and then select Property from the drop-list. You will then see the properties for the installer, one of which is the UpgradeCode.

Unfortunately Less MSIérables does not have a cut and paste facility so you’ll have to actually write the code down on a piece of paper.

STEP 3 - Add the upgrade code to the new installer

Under General Information section in InstallShield, enter the Upgrade Code. You can then go to the Upgrade Paths section and create a new upgrade path based on the MSI file of the old installer.

Phew! we are done.

You can download Less MSIérables from Scott Willeke’s Website.
Please try there first but if it does not work, I have a local copy here which might or might not be up to date.