wine will not open Microsoft .msi installer files

[Barry Drake]

Ubuntu Vivid - and versions back as far as before 14.04. Wine will not open any .msi files any more. THIS IS NOT A WINE BUG but I don't know where else to report it. I am currently running Mint with wine 1.6.2. It was installed within Mint using apt-get and it is the identical package which Mint downloaded from the Ubuntu repo. Under Mint, this same package opens .msi files simply by asking it to use wine to open the file.

Here is what happend if I try to open an .msi with wine under Ubuntu:
$ wine ActivePython-2.7.8.10-win32-x86.msi
wine: Bad EXE format for Z:\home\barry\Downloads\ActivePython-2.7.8.10-win32-x86.msi.

$ wine msiexec -i ActivePython-2.7.8.10-win32-x86.msi
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
fixme:storage:create_storagefile Storage share mode not implemented.
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range

If you need any more information or tests, please ask. I was discussing the problem with folk on a forum where I discovered that it is just about peculiar to Ubuntu - hence my using Mint at the moment. No one could remember how far back it was wnen the problem was first seen. It could have been as far back as Natty.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 15.04
Package: wine 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu6
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.18.0-9.10-generic 3.18.2
Uname: Linux 3.18.0-9-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.15.1-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Tue Jan 27 11:00:03 2015
InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-11-05 (82 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 15.04 "Vivid Vervet" - Alpha amd64 (20141103)
SourcePackage: wine1.6
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Barry Drake (b-drake)]

I raised very little interest when I asked about this on the ubuntu-uk list, so I hope someone will take the trouble to confirm it. It is emininently repeatable!

[jre (jre-phoenix)]

I agree to your comment in https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/wine1.6/+bug/1383214 that this is most probably a dupe.

Did you actually verify yourself that the problem also exists in 14.04 and earlier versions and is really the same (at least the same "err:msidb:get_tablecolumns" lines)?

Based on my post https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/wine1.6/+bug/1383214/comments/4 I strongly assume that something else is the problem there. Also you might check with which GCC Mint compiled the working Wine version. If it was not 4.9 that would explain why it is working there.

Or another way to go: apply the patch from my post to the wine sources, compile and test.

[Barry Drake (b-drake)]

No - I'm passing on what I was told on a forum about the experience of someone else with about eariler versions. That person has little technical ability, so I won't get any information from there. I've only encountered it in 14.10 and 15.04.

Please - Mint did NOT compile the working wine version. Mint uses the Ubuntu repo, and I have checked - the package seems to be the same one. This is why I'm saying that this is an upsteam bug in a non-wine package. The following are the wine packages in Mint. They were installe using apt-get from inside Mint:
wine1.6_1%3a1.6.2-0ubuntu4_amd64.deb wine1.6-amd64_1%3a1.6.2-0ubuntu4_amd64.deb wine1.6-i386_1%3a1.6.2-0ubuntu4_i386.deb wine_1%3a1.6.2-0ubuntu4_amd64.deb and wine-mono0.0.8_0.0.8-0ubuntu1_all.deb

[Barry Drake (b-drake)]

Sorry - there is a difference I hadn't spotted. The following is from Mint:
barry@mint ~ $ apt-cache policy wine
wine:
  Installed: 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu4
  Candidate: 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu4
  Version table:
 *** 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu4 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

And this is from Ubuntu:
barry@vivid:~$ apt-cache policy wine
wine:
  Installed: 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu6
  Candidate: 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu6
  Version table:
 *** 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu6 0
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ vivid/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

I haven't yet had chance to see if the ubuntu4 packages will install under Ubuntu ....

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Berthold Stoeger (bstoeger-a)]

Happens on two Kubuntu machines of mine when I try to install Jana2006 latest, available from http://www-xray.fzu.cz/jana/download/latest2006/janainst.msi

bs@fatty:~$ apt-cache policy wine
wine:
  Installed: 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu6
  Candidate: 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu6
  Version table:
 *** 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu6 0
        500 http://at.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ utopic/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
bs@fatty:~$ wine --version
wine-1.6.2
bs@fatty:~/Downloads$ msiexec /i janainst.msi
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
fixme:storage:create_storagefile Storage share mode not implemented.
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 1 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 2 out of range
err:msidb:get_tablecolumns column 3 out of range

Very inconvenient, since I am depending on this program. :(

[Vincenzo Ampolo (vincenzo-ampolo)]

Just bumped on this today on a Ubuntu 14.10.

Seems that also archLinux had the same problem and it is related in compiling wine with gcc 4.9 https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=181490