Process completed with exit code -1073741819

[Obishawn]

We have a build process (using Visual Build Pro) that has magically developed a problem. When building one of our installers (using the InstallShield project step) it fails with the message "Process completed with exit code -1073741819". However, there is no error actual thrown during the building of the installer by InstallShield.

I have set the step to log the command line being executed and have manually run that exact command line in a command prompt. This completes with no problems. The project also compiles no problem with the InstallShield GUI, so there should really be no problem compiling it with the command line.

So the next thing I did was to use a Call Program step and pasted that same command line call into it. Same error message as the InstallShield project step that I mentioned above.

Then I tried modifying that Call Program step and made it call: %DOSCMD% call "C:\Program Files... so that it would actually pass it to a command prompt for execution. This works. So I found a work around.

I Googled this error number in correspondance with Visual Build and InstallShield but found nothing helpful. The only thing I did find talked about handling the step finished event and overriding that error number as a successful step. However, the project hasn't fully finished building at this point, so it really wasn't successful. We need it to actually build the installer.

We have also determined that this is NOT a problem with any changes made to the installer project or build file as we reran a previous build that had succeeded and now also gets that same error message.

The only change that I am aware of that was done to that machine was that it was rebooted since the last successful build (which was yesterday morning). So unless a Microsoft patch was installed that I was unaware of or someone else installed something (unlikely since I am really one of only two people who uses that box and the other guy didn't install anything on it), nothing has been installed/uninstalled from it.

I do not believe this is specifically an InstallShield problem as it builds fine using the exact command line that the step is trying to execute. I think Visual Build is picking up a return code from the InstallShield output that it shouldn't be.

Has anyone else experienced this or knows the fix for it?

Visual Build Pro v6.1
InstallShield v11.5

One more note: we did experience this same error message about a month or so ago as well. At that time we had InstallShield 10.5 as well as 11.5 on the box. Uninstalling 10.5 fixed the problem at that time. As stated above, I am not aware of anything being installed to or uninstalled from the box since yesterday morning.