Compare MSI files

Question

I have an MSI file that I modified in a way that it does no longer work properly. I found a copy of the MSI file which is in a working state.

I certainly made a few useful changes which I want to keep, so I'd now like to compare the two files.

I have tried the "normal" diff and merge tools, but since the MSI file is binary, the result is not useful.

Of course I could go through both files using the Microsoft SDK, but that's a tedious process.

Which tool would be able to compare MSI files and show the difference in a readable way?

Answer 1

SuperOrca can do this. It's free, works on Windows and doesn't even need the Windows SDK installed.

Besides a search functionality, it also has a compare function where you can select two files and it will show only the differences.

I was able to spot the problem easily by looking at the nonsense condition which always returns false.