Wix setup failing with error 1603 - encryption

Question

I have written a .NET 4 desktop application and when trying to run the Setup.exe I am getting the following error in the log file.
I am using Visual Studio 2012 with Wix 3.7.
MSI (s) (E8:1C) [16:51:54:890]: Invoking remote custom action. DLL: C:\windows\Installer\MSIFECD.tmp, Entrypoint: EncryptConfig
SFXCA: Extracting custom action to temporary directory: C:\windows\Installer\MSIFECD.tmp-\
SFXCA: Binding to CLR version v4.0.30319
Calling custom action SecureConfig!SecureConfig.CustomActions.EncryptConfig
EncryptConfig: Begin
An error occurred creating the configuration section handler for security: Could not load file or assembly 'Order.Configuration.Net' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified. (C:\Program Files (x86)\Orbit Order System\Orbit Order System.exe.config line 6)
CustomAction EncryptConfigurationFile returned actual error code 1603 (note this may not be 100% accurate if translation happened inside sandbox)
Action ended 16:51:55: InstallFinalize. Return value 3.
I can confirm that `Order.Configuration.Net.dll' exists in the target folder as does the application config file.
This is the app.config file:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<configuration>
<configSections>
<section name="backup"
type="OrderConfiguration.BackupConfig, Order.Configuration.Net"/>
<section name="general"
type="OrderConfiguration.GeneralConfig, Order.Configuration.Net"/>
<section name="security"
type="OrderConfiguration.SecurityConfig, Order.Configuration.Net"/>
<-- ** THIS IS LINE 6 **
</configSections>
<startup>
<supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.5"/>
</startup>
<backup configSource="config\backup.config"/>
<general configSource="config\general.config"/>
<security configSource="config\security.config"/>
<connectionStrings>
<clear/>
<add name="OrderDb"
connectionString="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=OrbitOrder;
User Id=User;Password=Pass;MultipleActiveResultSets=true;"/>
</connectionStrings>
</configuration>
I also confirm that config\security.config exists in the target folder.
I have spent three hours trying to figure out what the error means as all files actually exist in the target folder. I actually copied the WIX set up from a prior solution that I worked on a year ago and that one works fine without any issues.
The custom action that is failing is trying to encrypt the security configuration section.
I am at a loss to explain why MSI is throwing a 1603 error when there doesn't appear to be anything amiss.

Answer 1

I managed to resolve this after adding the following code to the Wix custom action:
AppDomain.CurrentDomain.AssemblyResolve += ( sender, args ) =>
{
return Assembly.LoadFrom( string.Format( #"{0}Order.Configuration.Net.dll", installFolder ) );
};
This basically says to load the assembly when it encounters a reference that needs resolving.

Answer 2

As per the log, the error is returned by the custom action written by you, so please debug the custom action dll during installation. Easiest method of debugging custom action is to add a message box in the code (begin of custom action) and attach to process in visual studio when the message box is displayed. other way is to use MsiBreak environment variable as described in http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa368264%28v=vs.85%29.aspx