MSI installation issue

[#1]

Hi all
We're trying to create a custom installation of Adobe Reader 9 to deploy to 1800+ users.  We have extracted the MSI and used the Adobe Customisation Wizard to generate a TRANSFORMS (MST) file.  Our Document Management System (Interwoven) is hard-coded to look for AcroRD32.exe in "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader" so we configured the MST to install Adobe Reader 9 to "C:\Program Files\Adobe", instead of the default installation path "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader".  We're just deploying the following command in a batch file for now:-
msiexec /i \\server\share\AdobeReader9\AcroRead.msi TRANSFORMS="\\server\share\AdobeReader9\AcroRead.mst" /qb! /norestart ALLUSERS=1 /l*vx C:\AdobeReader9.log
It appears to install to "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader" as desired fine, we see many files/folders (56 items in total) but just as the MSI Installer finishes, it removes all files and leaves the 11 folders empty (we monitored this throughout the install by pressing F5 to refresh the screen).  When we launch Adobe Reader for the 1st time only the MSI Installer starts up again and reinstates all files into "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader" and the 11 sub-folders, before it opens Adobe Reader.  How odd!  We have re-created the MST from scratch but no joy.  We did noticed that when we create another MST with the default installation path it works fine, in that it copies all files and folders during the installation to "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader" and does not remove them at the end of the installation.  So perhaps it does not like the install path change for some reason?
Does anyone know why this is happening and what we can do to fix it please?     
Thanks
Scott

[#2]

I would give up and have a beer.  Unfortunately you are still operating in the dark ages were people install software which can screw up pc's. This is old hat the modern way is to thininstall application and then simply copy a single exe to each pc no install needed nothing written to the registery so it cant screw anything up.
It depends if you firm can afford it you can get adobe 8 as a thininstall from
http://www.thindownload.com/app-download/41/Adobe-Reader
Thininstall is now owned by vmwarehttp://www.vmware.com/
The second solution to these problems is to use Wise packaging or similar to create your own installs or edit msi
The third is use ghost as you can install an app onto a clean pc and ghost will just pick up that package and deploy it.

whats happening with your install is somewhere you havent changed the path and its doing the install getting to the end finding a fault and rolling back.
I suppose a very simple quick fix a bit down and dirty but if it installs ok to one directory ok do that and then use good old Autoit create a script to run  AcroRD32.exe  compile it to an exe put it in the directory you have hard coded and rename it AcroRD32.exe .
Not elegant I know but would work

[#3]

samuria, as always thanks for your reply.  Time permitting, I will look into each of your suggested options.
In the meantime, I understand the MSI install appears to "rollback" for some reason.  I have checked the verbose logfile and I do see references to "rollback" and have look a few lines before each "rollback" but still not sure why it is happening, if it is at all.  I tried to analyse it using WiLogUtl.exe but got an error to say the logfile is newer than the version of WiLogUtl.exe supports.
I have attached the logfile (change to .ZIP to open).  Could someone point me in the right direction and/or have a look to see where the install is going wrong please?
Thanks
Scott

[#4]

Alternatively, here's a link to the MSI verbose logfile:-
http://senduit.com/f1e068