Adobe CC - Managed Package Install - .msi Installer Fails

[ChimiChangaAlabama]

I have created a managed package in the Adobe Admin Portal for the Adobe Creative Cloud client. Wheen I download the package .zip and extract the contents, I am only able to install the package via the setup.exe file, not the included <package name>.msi file.

I contacted Adobe Support, who reviewed the issue and requested a copy of the PDAP.log file which I provided. I was then told that the "backend team" said that this is not something that Adobe provides support with despite Adobe creating/providing the MSI file.

How can I get assistance in reviewing the PDAP.log and any other logs to determine what the specific issue is as accurately as possible?

[defaultwqzlq95wzj9q]

Hi Bani,

I can't see any messages:

[Bani Verma]

Hi there, 

Sorry for the confusion; the message was for @ChimiChangaAlabama, as they shared a case number for which we were following up.

^BS

[defaultwqzlq95wzj9q]

Oh ok no problem, except the packages page on the admin console has stopped working now. Hopefully this means adobe has recognised the packages are broken and has taken down the page while they fix their backend.

[Bani Verma]

Hi there, 

I have checked and confirmed that the Packages tab is working fine. I recommend using another browser or clearing up the cache and trying again.

Let us know if it still gives you this error.

Thanks,
^BS

[Bani_Verma]

Hi there,

Thank you for updating the support team. I’m glad to hear your issue is resolved!

Could you please share the steps or solutions that helped you? This information would benefit other community members having trouble with similar problems.

[ChimiChangaAlabama]

From my post above:

That is simply untrue. Double-clicking an msi file will trigger msiexec to install an msi package. This has been a function of Windows Installer for 25 years now.

It's only the Adobe package that is having issues in my environment. I was able to resolve this on my end by moving the unzipped package contents, retaining the folder structure and contents, to a local drive. For whatever reason, running this package from a network or cloud location simply does not work.

This is the only msi I have in my environment that does this. It seems as though something with how Adobe Admin Console is creating the package and relying on it's dependcies is the cause of this.

I would be interested in hearing from @defaultwqzlq95wzj9q to know if this solved his problem or if there was another solution on their end.

[defaultwqzlq95wzj9q]

I'm trying to run the MSI from the C:\users\user\desktop and C:\users\user\downloads folder and having no luck.  I've initially was trying to deliver the package using OMA-URI ( ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/EnterpriseDesktopAppManagement/MSI/ProductID/DownloadInstall) which is how I've installed many many MSI's to managed PC's without any problems.

Not sure if it has any affect but I'm trying on Windows 10 computers.

[Anshul_Nautiyal]

Hi @defaultwqzlq95wzj9q,

Sorry to hear that. 

As suggested by @SuJoshi, this issue could be related to the installer service. Please refer to the following article for further troubleshooting steps:https://adobe.ly/3TE03mK

Kindly let us know if this resolves the issue, or if you need further assistance.

Thank you.

Best regards,
^AN

[defaultwqzlq95wzj9q]

Which one should we try? All of them? How do you expect us to perform these operations on several hundred computers? Why does every MSI from other companies work fine, but Adobe's does not? Could it be a problem with your MSI builder?

[Anshul_Nautiyal]

Hi there,

I'm sorry to hear you're facing this issue on multiple machines. Given the scope of the problem, I would recommend reaching out to Adobe Support for more tailored assistance. They can help troubleshoot and provide a resolution specific to your environment.

Please refer to this article for further guidance on getting support: https://adobe.ly/4gGBv6v

We're here to assist you, so feel free to reach out if you need anything further.

Regards,
^AN

[ChimiChangaAlabama]

Is there a way to make these recommendations to the appropriate team at Adobe?

Is there a reference for how to troubleshoot the PDAP.log file?

[ChimiChangaAlabama]

Which one should we try? All of them? How do you expect us to perform these operations on several hundred computers? Why does every MSI from other companies work fine, but Adobe's does not? Could it be a problem with your MSI builder?

By defaultwqzlq95wzj9q

This is the real issue. There seems to be something unusual about the msi packages that Adobe is creating and providing via the Adobe Admin Console.

At the very least Adobe needs to provide better feedback for SysAdmins by including one or more of the following:

• Feedback from the msi installer on why the installation failed. Could this be achieved by not having the setup.exe run silent from the msi by default? 
• More descriptive logging regarding failure reasons, e.g. unable to access a directory.
• A guide to deciphering the PDAP.log. It's virtually unsable unless it's Adobe Support reviewing.

None of these requests are out of the ordinary-- this is what any reputable software vendor provides. Adobe simply chooses not to do so.

Please forward these reccomendations to whatever team manages suggestions for Adobe's products.

[defaultwqzlq95wzj9q]

Quick heads up to say that the new Adobe package msi's are still broken and the only way to install the software is to run setup.exe which undermines the whole point of having a distributable MSI installer.

Has anyone Adobe posting in this thread even tried to run the MSI yet?

[Anshul_Nautiyal]

Hi @defaultwqzlq95wzj9q

As mentioned in the thread above, have you had a chance to reach out to Adobe Support regarding your MSI installation issue? If you haven't done so yet, I highly recommend contacting them for tailored assistance. Their team can help troubleshoot the specific challenges you're facing in your environment and work towards a resolution.

For your convenience, here’s an article with further guidance on how to get support: https://adobe.ly/4gGBv6v

We're here to assist you, so feel free to reach out if you need anything further.

Thank you.

Regards,

^AN

[ChimiChangaAlabama]

I was told on a support ticket that Adobe "does not support Microsoft Installer," so I'm hoping that you don't get the same runaround on this, @defaultwqzlq95wzj9q. If they're able to help you determine the issue I'd be curious to know the resolution.

[defaultwqzlq95wzj9q]

I have submitted a support case ticket and requested an "expert session".

I will repost in detail everything that is sent / said to me.

[ChimiChangaAlabama]

Any luck there, @defaultwqzlq95wzj9q?

[defaultwqzlq95wzj9q]

No, none at all. I created a support ticket and also requested an expert session and both were a massive waste of time. Lots of silly questions ("have you tried clicking on setup.exe?", "Do you have admin rights?") and ignoring of the evidence (screenshots, videos, log files etc etc) and a complete disregard for my questions / requests. I gave up in the end and stopped replying. The only useful information I got was:

"I understand you’re attempting to install using MSI to deploy the program across your network, as mentioned in the article. However, please note that we don’t support third-party deployment tools or methods outside of our official documentation, and we don’t have visibility into how these external tools interact with our installers. The setup.exe should contain the necessary switches for deployment, and if you’re able to install the package directly on the machine (outside of the method described in the external article), this would indicate that the Adobe installer itself is functioning properly. The installer may not support the specific arguments suggested by the article, as they are external. The only supported switches are those we outlined in the documentation I shared earlier. If there’s anything further you’d like to troubleshoot, please feel free to reach out."

Clearly setup.exe sends parameters into the MSI. Adobe don't want to tell us what parameters are being sent or the low level tech support is not supplied this information.

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/enterprise/using/deploy-packages.html#deploy-using-cmd:~:text=Use%20the%2...

In this article there's clearly three paramters that can be passed into the setup.exe ([--silent] [--ADOBEINSTALLDIR=] [--INSTALLLANGUAGE=]). These must then be passed from setup.exe -> MSI. I'm guessing if you dont supply them then the setup.exe will supply it's own choice of adobeinstalldir/installlanguage to the msi. The question is what else is being set from the exe to the msi? My guess is that the exe is doing some kind of license checks / checking to see what's already installed / possibly even calling the mothership for approval before allowing the msi to execute.

[ChimiChangaAlabama]

You got a bit more information than I was able to receive. Are you repackaging your own MSI to get around things, or just deploying the full messy directory structure and EXE?

It would be nice if Adobe would at least troubleshoot their own MSI installers that they are creating and supplying...

@Anshul_Nautiyal @Bani_Verma @SuJoshi is Adobe going to attempt to figure out what's wrong with their MSI installers, or are we left to come up with our own solution on this? It's rather silly that in 2024 admins such as @defaultwqzlq95wzj9q and myself are left to come up with our own solutions due to a vendors' installer not working.

Surely we're not the only ones with tihs issue as this thread has racked up 1.3k views in just over six weeks.

[Anshul_Nautiyal]

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out.

Adobe utilizes a custom installer known as HyperDrive, which differs from typical MSI-based installations. While we provide an MSI file, its role is mainly to trigger custom actions, which is why simply double-clicking it won’t yield the expected results. This also means many of the usual MSI installation options won’t work with Creative Cloud packages, and why we provide a separate uninstaller rather than relying on the MSI to uninstall.

The setup.exe helps to address some of the complexities within this system. For instance, Acrobat uses its own installer MSI, and setup.exe manages dependencies like runtimes, ensuring a smoother process. We always recommend using setup.exe for installing Creative Cloud packages to avoid potential issues.

When you create a package in the Adobe Admin Console, the installation begins with a bootstrapper, which checks permissions, system requirements, process conflicts, and which version of the Creative Cloud Desktop app to install. Any errors during this phase will likely appear in the PDApp.log as bootstrapper errors. After this, HyperDrive handles product installations, with logs captured in the install.log.

Since Admin Console packages are designed for silent deployment—often by third-party systems—there's no interactive feedback for errors. If something goes wrong, the installation will roll back and show an "install failed" message (if run interactively). To diagnose the issue, you’ll need to refer to the logs. We’re working on a tool to automate this process and help identify errors more easily.

Thank you for again for bringing these issues to our attention and for your continued engagement in helping us improve our products. We truly value your feedback and appreciate your active participation in making our services better!

Regards,

A.N

[agile_warrior9780]

Thank you @Anshul_Nautiyal  for confirming that Adobe's MSI can't be used standalone and installation requires the use of setup.exe.

This is a problem for a lot of people that use deployment methods that use the Microsoft Policy CSP (OMA-URI:  ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/EnterpriseDesktopAppManagement/MSI/<Enter ProductID>/DownloadInstall)  and therefore only support MSI for example we use Google's MDM that installs MSI via OMA-URI https://support.google.com/a/answer/10065085?hl=en

It's possible to install apps from the MS store. I will test it soon and let you all know if it works.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/mdm/enterprisemodernappmanagement-csp#de...

[ChimiChangaAlabama]

Thanks @Anshul_Nautiyal, that explaination is very helpful. Hopefull the installer will provide better installation feedback soon!

Is there any sort of PDApp.log guide that could be shared with us? While troubleshooting my installation issues, I wasn't quite sure what to make of the errors found in the log.

[Anshul_Nautiyal]

Hi there,

For diagnosing issues with the PDApp.log, we currently have a detailed document available to assist you. Please refer to the following guide for more information: Troubleshoot Adobe Creative Cloud install issues with log files

Regards,

^AN