Windows installer service

I tried to install a program in a sandbox, but I get a message that the Windows Installer Service cannot be accessed and the installation fails. Is there a way to go around this?

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  • Is there a more technical explanation why MSI installers stopped working? Did something change in Windows? The MSI installers that used to work (half a year ago) now do not work anymore.

  • Any chance for a fix ?

    Simply telling that there is an issue is not sufficient.  And being able to install a program in the sandbox is of course VERY important, since Sandboxie is made especially for testing potentially dangerous programs.

    Also, there is no problem at all with MSI installations with Sandboxie under my old Windows 7, so this MUST be possible under Windows 10.

  • rol rol said:
    And being able to install a program in the sandbox is of course VERY important, since Sandboxie is made especially for testing potentially dangerous programs.

    source ?

  • OK, I reformulate: Sandboxie is made especially for running potentially dangerous programs.

     

    Differemce ?

  • So, Sandboxie is definitely abandoned ?  Pity !  It was a very useful tool.

  • rol rol said:

    OK, I reformulate: Sandboxie is made especially for running potentially dangerous programs.

    "Sandboxie was not designed to be used as an analyzer of behavior. Since Sandboxie is an application sandbox (and Not an analyzer), the behavior we see in programs when they run in the sandbox should not be used as a guide for telling whether programs are good or bad/malicious. We should not install programs outside the sandbox based on their behaviour in the sandbox. Doing so is wrong and can hurt you when a malicious program fools you into thinking that it is clean and you install it outside the sandbox and become infected."
      source: https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/installing-a-game-within-a-sandbox.419656/#post-2846881

    "Sandboxie doesn’t allow drivers or services to be installed in the sandbox."
      source: win10.guru/.../

    Maybe, share your concerns on Wilders.
    https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/sandboxie-acquired-by-invincea.357312/

    www.wilderssecurity.com/.../

    Regards w Respect

  • You are free to quote an user that said what YOU want to think, but I am free to disagree, especially because the quoted user is not the programmer or the editor.  I have developed a few tools to analyse the content of the sandbox (modified or created registry keys and files) and I use it often to check for bad behaviour of programs, web sites AND INSTALLERS.  And even if Sandboxie is not specifically made for that usage, IT IS MADE to protect you from malicious behaviours.  If you cannot install a program in a sandbox, it looses its interest almost completely.

    "Sandboxie doesn’t allow drivers or services to be installed in the sandbox."

    Correct.  I just want to install a PROGRAM, not a driver or a service.  But that's not possible any more, at least under Win 10 when the installer is a MSI file.  The problem is that Sandboxie fails immediately when it tries to open the MSI, BEFORE having a chance to discover if the installer wants to install a driver of service.  Therefore, your remark is not applicable in this specific case.  I want to test an open source image editor, not a complex thing, and in this case, I know for sure that it is not infected by a virus.  Therefore, I want only to INSTALL A PROGRAM, and be able to uninstall it without leaving useless traces in my PC if it is not what I am looking for.  Sandboxie is (was!) perfect for that kind of test.  Unfortunately, the nasty install bug prevents to use it any more for such a simple task.

    If for any obscure reason, the programmers want to prohibit to install a program in a sandbox, why is it still possible to do it under Win 7, and why was it possible to do it with previous versions of Win 10, and why is it still possible to run an installer when it's a regular EXE file ?  Obviously, that doesn't make sense.  The real reason is that there is a bug related to MSI files (probably caused by an incompatibility with a relatively recent Win 10 update) that Sophos has not fixed yet.  I just wanted to add my vote to this thread, in the hope that someone will want to fix the bug.  Given the aggressiveness of the replies, I must abandon the idea that Sandboxie is still actively developed, and I can only repeat that it's a pity.  I suppose I will have to use an alternative.  Again, it's a pity.

  • rol rol said:

    [..]I just want to install a PROGRAM, not a driver or a service.  But that's not possible any more, at least under Win 10 when the installer is a MSI file.  [...] Given the aggressiveness of the replies, I must abandon the idea that Sandboxie is still actively developed, and I can only repeat that it's a pity.  I suppose I will have to use an alternative.  Again, it's a pity.



    Yes, I'm aware re MSI installer.
    Yes, it's a pitty that Sandboxie is not actively supported, at this time. 

    I disagree that Sandboxie is made especially for running potentially dangerous programs.

    You may reach a wider audience re your concerns on Wilders.

    Is it true that Sandboxie doesn't work well with Windows 10?
    www.wilderssecurity.com/.../

    Thanks

  • "I disagree that Sandboxie is made especially for running potentially dangerous programs."

    So, what is its usage ?  Just run normal programs in a very complicated way, more slowly and with a lot of limitations ?

    I'm a long time registered Sandboxie user, and I remember perfectly the diagram explaining how the sandbox can protect the PC from damage caused by malicious programs.  It has been made ONLY for that.  It's a fact.  If you use it for something else, I am curious to know what !

    In my previous post, I have explained that I use it also to test a program and remove all traces it can leave on the system.  It's also a creative way to use it, and I have no problem with other usages.  But you cannot simply disagree that it is made for running potentially dangerous programs, as it's its main purpose.

    Thanks for the Winders link, but I don't want to just complain that it doesn't work well under Win 10.  I want to report a serious bug.  IMO, it is probably better to report it here, although I'm not sure.  If there is a bug tracker for Sandboxie somewhere, please let me know.

    Anyway, you have confirmed that Sandboxie is dead.  I will probably uninstall it...