MSDE 2000 Release A and Windows Installer

I am currently writing an installer for our product, which needs to incorporate MSDE 2000.
Previous versions of the MSDE install included merge modules (.msm files) that could be incorporated straight into a Windows Installer .msi file. However, the latest version (Release A) does not include the merge modules, and to top that, also states tha
t "Desktop Engine does not support nested installations. You must not call an .msi file from within another .msi file".
My questions are:
- How are we supposed to install MSDE when we are distributing .msi files? We need .msi functionality for other components of our install, so using a non-Windows Installer technology is not an option. Do we need to ask our users to install MSDE separat
ely (ouch)?
- Why did the merge modules disappear? I thought that these were the Microsoft-sanctioned method for installing runtime components...
- Are there any other options - we want to distribute a single file, and we really don't want to have to mix and match .msi and other setup technologies...
Marc Durdin
Software for Specialists
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the comment. However, this page is not up to date. It recommends using the merge modules... which are not supported any more by Microsoft (and are not even included in the latest release of MSDE). Any other suggestions?
Regards,
Marc

MSDE 2000 named instance with my application

I am writing an application and wish to distribute MSDE with it.
I was considering using a batch file to do the install using the line
setup INSTANCENAME="InstanceName" SAPWD="AStrongSAPwd"
However, the next step would be to call osql to either script the schema or
sp_attach_db the database. Well this raises the issue of once installed
with a named instance how do I do osql -E -S MACHINENAME\InstanceName
without knowing it ahead of time? Is there perhaps 1. an easier way or 2. a
different syntax to achieving it? I am pretty sure I will run into more
grief when attempting to set up the ODBC connections also.
Maybe I'd just be better off rewriting this to use an Access database
instead
hi Bradley,
"Bradley M. Small" <BSmall@.XNOSPAMXmjsi.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:ejW7scifEHA.1424@.tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> I am writing an application and wish to distribute MSDE with it.
> I was considering using a batch file to do the install using the line
> setup INSTANCENAME="InstanceName" SAPWD="AStrongSAPwd"
> However, the next step would be to call osql to either script the schema
or
> sp_attach_db the database. Well this raises the issue of once installed
> with a named instance how do I do osql -E -S MACHINENAME\InstanceName
> without knowing it ahead of time? Is there perhaps 1. an easier way or 2.
a
> different syntax to achieving it? I am pretty sure I will run into more
> grief when attempting to set up the ODBC connections also.
> Maybe I'd just be better off rewriting this to use an Access database
> instead
you don't actually need to reference the Machine name... just refer to it as
"(local)" or "."
so, the full instance name will be
(local)\InstanceName
stay this MSDE... you'll love it =;-D
Andrea Montanari (Microsoft MVP - SQL Server)
http://www.asql.biz/DbaMgr.shtmhttp://italy.mvps.org
DbaMgr2k ver 0.8.0 - DbaMgr ver 0.54.0
(my vb6+sql-dmo little try to provide MS MSDE 1.0 and MSDE 2000 a visual
interface)
-- remove DMO to reply
|||"Andrea Montanari" <andrea.sqlDMO@.virgilio.it> wrote in message
news:2npor3F3baroU1@.uni-berlin.de...
> hi Bradley,
> "Bradley M. Small" <BSmall@.XNOSPAMXmjsi.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
> news:ejW7scifEHA.1424@.tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> you don't actually need to reference the Machine name... just refer to it
as
> "(local)" or "."
> so, the full instance name will be
> (local)\InstanceName
> stay this MSDE... you'll love it =;-D
> --
Great!!! Seemed like there had to be a better syntax
Now, all I need to figure out is how to add the odbc connection from a batch
file. Is that even possible?