Inno Setup and VC Redistributable and handling exit code 3010 gracefully

In my CurStepChanged procedure I have some code that installs the Visual Studio Redistributable (if required). Code snippet:

if (bVcRedist64BitNeeded) then
begin
    if Exec(ExpandConstant(vcRedist64BitPath), '/install /passive /norestart', '',
            SW_SHOW, ewWaitUntilTerminated, ResultCode) then begin
        { handle success if necessary; ResultCode contains the exit code }
        Log('VS Redist (64 bit) installer exit code = ' + IntToStr(ResultCode));
        if not (ResultCode = 0) then begin
            MsgBox(ExpandConstant('{cm:InstallFailed,Visual Studio x64 Redistributable}'), mbInformation, MB_OK);
            Abort();
        end;
    end
    else begin
        { The execution failed for some reason }
        Log('VS Redist (64 bit) installer exit code = ' + IntToStr(ResultCode));
        MsgBox(SysErrorMessage(ResultCode), mbInformation, MB_OK);
        Abort();
    end;
end;

I had a user saying that the installer for my software was failing so I asked them to send me their logs. At the end of all the logs it had similar to this:

2020-09-05 14:37:48.034   VS Redist (64 bit) installer exit code = 3010
2020-09-05 14:37:48.035   Message box (OK):
                          The installation of Visual Studio x64 Redistributable failed. The Meeting Schedule Assistant installation will be aborted.
2020-09-05 14:38:38.352   User chose OK.
2020-09-05 14:38:38.352   CurStepChanged raised an exception.
2020-09-05 14:38:38.353   Need to restart Windows? No
2020-09-05 14:38:38.373   Exception message:
2020-09-05 14:38:38.374   Message box (OK):
                          Internal error: Expression error 'Runtime error (at 191:1960):
                          
                          Exception: Operation aborted.'
2020-09-05 14:38:40.747   User chose OK.
2020-09-05 14:38:40.747   Exception message:
2020-09-05 14:38:40.747   Message box (OK):
                          Internal error: Expression error 'Runtime error (at 191:1960):
                          
                          Exception: Operation aborted.'
2020-09-05 14:38:42.082   User chose OK.
2020-09-05 14:38:42.103   Exception message:
2020-09-05 14:38:42.104   Message box (OK):
                          Out Of Range.
2020-09-05 14:38:44.052   User chose OK.
2020-09-05 14:38:51.259   -- Run entry --
2020-09-05 14:38:51.259   Run as: Original user
2020-09-05 14:38:51.259   Type: Exec
2020-09-05 14:38:51.260   Filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Meeting Schedule Assistant\MeetSchedAssist.exe

I noticed that the redist setup was exiting with a result of 3010. I can't find any official documentation about the redist exit codes but it seems to be a soft reboot. Anyway, today they then tried my installer and it worked (since they had switched their PC of last night):

2020-09-06 13:08:38.707   VS Redist (64 bit) installer exit code = 0
2020-09-06 13:09:33.070   VS Redist (32 bit) installer exit code = 0
2020-09-06 13:09:33.071   Need to restart Windows? No
2020-09-06 13:10:07.741   -- Run entry --
2020-09-06 13:10:07.741   Run as: Original user
2020-09-06 13:10:07.741   Type: Exec
2020-09-06 13:10:07.741   Filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Meeting Schedule Assistant\MeetSchedAssist.exe

So I am assuming that 3010 does mean soft reboot? And if so, is there a better way we can handle this situation in our Inno Setup installation?

Solution

If I understand correctly, the exit code means that the installer needs to restart the machine.

In that case, you can implement NeedRestart event function to request restart, when the exit code was 3010.

Add NeedRestart event function and NeedsRestart global variable:

var
  NeedsRestart: Boolean;

function NeedRestart(): Boolean;
begin
  Result := NeedsRestart;
end;

And modify your exit code testing logic to:

if ResultCode = 3010 then
begin
  Log('Need restart');
  NeedsRestart := True;
end
  else
if ResultCode <> 0 then
begin
  MsgBox(
    ExpandConstant('{cm:InstallFailed,Visual Studio x64 Redistributable}'),
    mbInformation, MB_OK);
  Abort();
end;