You can create a log file by either using the “/L” command line option or using the logging policy. Select the method that is best for your installation.
Create Verbose Output Log File when Installing .MSI or .EXE
Content Summary
To use the /L command line option with Msiexec.exe
To use the logging policy
To use the /L command line option with Msiexec.exe
The following list of command line options relating to the log file is from the Microsoft Windows Installer SDK.
/L [i|w|e|a|r|u|c|m|o|p|v|+|!]
Writes logging information into a log file at the specified path. Flags indicate which information to log. If no flags are specified, the default is ‘iwearmo.’
i – Status messages
w – Non-fatal warnings
e – All error messages
a – Action start-up
r – Action-specific records
u – User requests
c – Initial UI parameters
m – Out-of-memory or fatal exit information
o – Out-of-disk-space messages
p – Terminal properties
v – Verbose output
+ – Append to existing file
! – Flush each line to the log
“*” – Wildcard, log all information except for the v option. To include the v option, specify “/L*v”
Example for an .MSI file: MSIEXEC /I “C:\Program Files\My MSI.msi” /L*v “C:\Program Files\InstallLog.txt”
Example for an .EXE file: “C:\Program Files\My EXE.exe” /L*v “C:\Program Files\InstallLog.txt” /I
If you are creating a log file for an .EXE, you must have a /I at the end of the command line.
To use the logging policy
This policy is used only if logging has not been enabled by the “/L” command line option. With the policy set, a log file is created in the Temp directory with a random name: MSI*.LOG. Specify the logging mode by setting the policy value to a string of characters.
Set the following registry key to define the log file policy on the computer:
Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer
String Registry Value: Logging
Registry Value Data: This data can by any of the following letters or any combination of them.
i – Status messages
w – Non-fatal warnings
e – All error messages
a – Action start-up
r – Action-specific records
u – User requests
c – Initial UI parameters
m – Out-of-memory or fatal exit information
o – Out-of-disk-space messages
p – Terminal properties
v – Verbose output
! – Flush each line to the log
Note that you cannot use “+” and “*” for the policy.
Source: Symantec Support
