How the Windows Installer Source Location Manager feature modifies the registry in Systems Management Server 2003

This article describes an example of how the Windows Installer Source Location Manager feature modifies the registry in Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003. This example shows how the registry is modified for a per-computer installation.

The follow example shows how the Windows Installer Source Location Manager modifies the registry when you use a custom tranform file to install Microsoft Office 2003 on SMS client computers.

1. You create a custom transform file (.mst) to install Office 2003. You add source locations, such as R:\Office and \\SERVER1\SHARE1\OFFICE, to the file.
2. You run the custom transform file to manually install Office 2003 on SMS 2003 client computers from the \\SERVER2\SHARE2\OFFICE share.
3. After Office 2003 is installed, the LastUsedSource registry entry contains the \\SERVER2\SHARE2\OFFICE registry value. The LastUsedSource registry entry is located under the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\<product id>\SourceList
   Multiple registry entries are denoted by numbers that are located under the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\<product id>\SourceList\Net
   For example, the following registry values are assigned to these entries:
   • \\SERVER2\SHARE2\OFFICE
   • R:\Office
   • \\SERVER1\SHARE1\OFFICE
4. Configure the Windows Installer tab in the ProgramName Program Properties dialog box in SMS Administrator Console. This configuration determines how you distribute Office 2003.
5. Distribute Office 2003.
6. When the Windows Installer source list update cycle occurs on the SMS 2003 client computers, the following registry changes are made:
   • The LastUsedSource registry entry is removed from the following registry subkey:
     HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\<product id>\SourceList
   • These following registry values are modifed. (These values are located under the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\<product id>\SourceList\Net subkey.)
     • \\SERVER2\SHARE2\OFFICE
     • \\SMS-SERVER\SMSPKGx$\sms_pkg_id

Note In this example, the registry is modified for a per-computer installation. For a per-user installation, the same modifications are made under the following registry subkey:For more information about the Windows Installer Source Location Manager feature, visit the following Microsoft Web site: