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What
is the Windows Installer?
The Windows
Installer service is an operating system component from Microsoft. It is included in Windows 2000 and will also be provided
as a service pack for the Windows 95, Windows 98, and
Windows NT 4.0 operating systems. With the Windows Installer, the operating system has greater
control over the installations of software programs. HiSoftware
is including the Windows Installer on new installs.
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Why
is HiSoftware converting all the installations over to the Windows
Installer when the old setups worked fine?
The Windows Installer Service is the new
standard from Microsoft. In
order to receive the Designed for Windows 2000 logo
certification, Microsoft is requiring that installations be developed
with the Windows Installer. After
further investigation by HiSoftware, our engineers believe that the
Windows Installer represents a positive step forward.
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The
new software installations seem to install to the PROGRAM FILES
directory by default. Can
I change this?
Microsoft Designed for Windows 2000 logo
certification requires that software installations install to the
Program Files directory by default. During installation, you can change this path by selecting the Custom
option during installation.
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HiSoftware
used to include more shortcuts in the start menu such as a link to the
HiSoftware web site, a link to the User’s Guide and program help. How come those links are no longer there?
In order to meet Microsoft Designed for
Windows 2000 logo requirements, those shortcuts are no longer
allowed.
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I
have heard that the Windows Installer allows you to repair an
application. How can I do
that with the Windows Installer?
Select the Add/Remove Programs icon from
Windows Control Panel. Select
the software component in the list and double click on it. If the program was designed with the Windows Installer, a
dialog box will appear with the options of Repair, Modify or
Remove.
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Do
I need to save the installation files I downloaded from the web?
Yes, in order to Repair, modify or remove
the program, the Windows Installer needs access to the MSI file
included in the installation files. Repairing or modifying the programs also requires the data
files.
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Help,
I have deleted the installation files and I am trying to remove the
program and the Windows Installer is prompting me for the location of
the MSI file.
A
cached copy of the MSI file is stored in the Windows\Installer
directory (or Winnt\Installer). Point the installer to that directory. You will not be able to modify or repair the installation
without the data files but you will be able to remove the
installation.
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Will
the size of the downloaded installs increase?
Yes, the size of the installs will increase
by about 1 MB. This is
because the latest version of the Windows Installer for Windows 95/98
and Windows NT 4 is included with every HiSoftware install per
Microsoft’s recommendation.
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Will
the new HiSoftware installs require a reboot?
Usually not. The new HiSoftware installs include version 1.1 of the Windows
Installer. If the user’s
system does not have the latest version of the installer (e.g. Windows
95/98 and Windows NT 4) then the installation installs the Windows
Installer and then continues the installation of the HiSoftware
product. If the user’s
system has version 1.0 of the Windows Installer, then the installation
will prompt for a reboot to complete the upgrade of the Windows
Installer and the installation of the HiSoftware product will continue
upon restart of the system.
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Why
is there an extra PDF file in the installation directory that cannot
viewed in Adobe Acrobat?
The extra PDF file is a package definition file
that is used by Microsoft SMS Server. Though the extension is the same as an Acrobat file, this PDF
file is not a viewable text style document.
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Where
can I learn more about the Windows Installer?
You can learn more about the
Windows
Installer from Microsoft’s web site. and from InstallShield