What do you do when an MSI install is interrupted by a Restart Manager prompt?  This is where you see something like this: “Close x program to complete install, or restart is needed”

This is an issue, because by default with a /qb /qn or any silent switch, the default UI option is to close the application. This is especially problematic when it tries to close Windows Explorer, so the user will see a blank black screen with no icons, and the only way to get explorer back is to call Task Manager and create a new Explorer process.

Editing the MSI, or creating a transform that sets the MSIRESTARTMANAGERCONTROL property to Disable, Disableshutdown, 0 etc… will usually work. This should eliminate the restart / or close application option from being presented, and you can handle the reboot in your deployment by SCCM.

However….. I came across an MSI that need to be beaten into submission. The MSIRESTARTMANAGERCONTROL modifications are ignored by the Nuance PDF Converter 8.2, for Windows 7. Solution was to remove the RMFilesinuse dialogue in the MST, using Installshield (or orca). Now the MSI/MST runs with a silent switch with no interruptions by the Restart Manager prompt.