How to Install Windows Live Wave 3 Beta Programs (include Messenger) on Unsupported x86 and x64 of Windows Server 2003 or 2008

For Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 users who download and try to install any of the Windows Live Wave 3 beta programs such as Windows Live (MSN) Messenger, Windows Live Writer, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Movie Maker, etc. would have been disappointed and frustrated.

The integrated and unified installer for Windows Live Wave 3 beta programs, namely wlsetup-web.exe or wlsetup-all.exe, does not allow nor permit installation on Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 or other server based operating system, affecting both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) platform, which is unsupported operating system.

And it’s also (almost) impossible to uncompress and extract the individual standalone installer for the programs contained inside the package (as there is trick to retrieve the standalone individual silent setup installer for each Windows Live programs), which does not contain check on operating system and can be used to install on non-supported OS such as Windows Server.

In order to make the Windows Live Installer works to install on unsupported operating system (only Windows XP SP2/SP3 and Windows Vista is supported), use the hack below to remove the OS check from the unified Windows Live Installer executable so that it will “support” installation on unsupported OS:

1. Download Resource Hacker or XN Resource Editor
   .
2. Run the Resource Hacker or XN Resource Editor.
3. Open the Windows Live Installer executable (WLSetup-All.exe or WLSetup-Web.exe).
4. Locate CONFIG -> CONFIG0 -> 0.
5. Delete and remove the following XML code, and leaving the rest of the text intact:

   <rule name=”IsValidOs” logic=”or”><group logic=”and” name=”vista+”><os version=”vista” condition=”greaterthanorequal” /><os productType=”workstation” /></group><group logic=”and” name=”xpsp2″><os version=”xp” servicePack=”2″ condition=”greaterthanorequal” /><os version=”vista” condition=”lessthan” /><os productType=”workstation” /><os cpu=”i386″ /><fileVersion path=”CSIDL_SYSTEM” file=”msi.dll” version=”3.1.0.0″ condition=”greaterthanorequal” /></group></rule>

6. Compile the script and save the modified executable.
7. Run the modified executable, and the Windows Live beta wave 3 software applications can be installed anywhere on any OS and operating system check is now removed.

For user who no need to install the app in workstation environment, there is another hack. The hack is similar to the trick above, using exactly the same steps, except that on the OS validity check XML code above, don’t remove the text. Instead, change and replace the workstation value of the “os productType” to server. After saving the binary, voila, the full or web installer can now works on a server OS.