Two copies of msiexec is always running

Question

When I try to install my package , I see two msiexec running in process explorer. AFter some time one of the msiexec goes away but one still keep running

Anyone has idea why this happening ?

Answer 1

One process is running the UI sequence, and writing the script (the list of changes to be made to the target system). It then passes the script to the other process, which actually makes the changes.

The process running the UI sequence is created when you run an install, running in your user context. When the install finishes, the process exits.

The process that's making changes is a service, running as localsystem.

Here's what MSDN has to say about it

Answer 2

This msiexec is Microsoft Installer Service. Installer starts this service, but after installation it does not shut down this service; hence you can see it running.

You can stop Windows Installer service from Services(run services.msc), but I would not recommend it, because if there is some background(Non UI) setup running, it might go in unstable state.

You may see many more msiexec running simultaneously while installing big setups like Autocad ;) but in the end there will remain only one...