> I'm talking about the bootstrapper, not the installer. Correct me if I'm > wrong: > If the bootstrapper A runs as admin, then the installer B (as a child process) > will run as admin. > If the installer B runs as admin, then it won't be able to launch my > application C as non-admin. > So I want to run A as the current user to make sure that C runs as the current > user. > Does that make sense?
I think you are confusing privileges with accounts. I can be logged on my machine as UserX. When I run the installer (bootstrapper/what-have-you) it will execute as UserX. Any processes that the installer launches can be made to impersonate UserX. If the installer needs admin privileges (say to install files in ProgramFiles and create registry keys in HKLM:\SOFTWARE\What-Have-You) then we need to author the installer to be per-machine. That will make the Windows Installer engine elevate *at the right time* so the system can be appropriately modified. If UserX does NOT have admin privileges (is not part of the Administrators group) then Windows Installer will prompt for credentials for a user that does have admin privileges (again, at the right time). If UserX DOES have admin privileges (is part of the Administrators group) then Windows Installer will prompt for elevation at the right time (without asking for credentials) because all users run in least privilege mode by default. The key to all of this is that we can ignore admin privileges when you are trying to answer the question of whether you can launch a process as UserX. The answer to that question is yes. If UserX happens to have admin privileges then that's great but irrelevant for the question at hand. Edwin G. Castro Software Developer - Staff Electronic Banking Services Fiserv Office: 503-746-0643 Fax: 503-617-0291 www.fiserv.com Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ThinkGeek and WIRED's GeekDad team up for the Ultimate GeekDad Father's Day Giveaway. ONE MASSIVE PRIZE to the lucky parental unit. See the prize list and enter to win: http://p.sf.net/sfu/thinkgeek-promo _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
