Weird Problem: Installshield (or msi) always running in silent install mode?

[mouser]

I think I finally figured out the proximal cause of a crazy problem a friend of mine is having.  Some installers she runs just seem to disapear when launched.  After much confusion it looks like the damn installers are running silently!

In other words, the program is actually being installed quietly/silently, without asking for any options, as if they had been run specifically in silent mode (silent mode is designed for installation on clients when you dont want any interaction).

I think the common denominator here is Installshield (or MSI+Installshield combo?).

Now, the question i have is, is there something about her PC that might be confusing installshield (MSI) to run always in silent mode?

Any help is appreciated.

[AbteriX]

Installer should only run silent if they are started with the right switch (setup.exe /?)
But i think  one can build packets which run silent by default <?>

Are this always the same install packets who have this silly behaviour?

May i give you an hint to an nice community about this topic?  ===>  http://www.appdeploy.com/msierrors/
I think they have some more answers than I .... since I have only  a few.

[tinjaw]

Do you see the installer process continue to run, and the product fully installs, and the installer process terminates? Otherwise it just sound like the installers are crashing without any warning.

I would suggest ripping out any installer infrastructure and go grab the latest installer runtimes from Microsoft, et. al., and install them manually. If those have problems installing, then I don't know what to try next, outside of building a small diagnostic app that runs as part of an install package that you make.