For .net 3.5 SP1, Microsoft have the new client profile which installs only a subset of .net 3.5 SP1 on to Windows XP user's machines.
I'm aware of how to make my assemblies client-profile ready. And I've read the articles on how to implement an installer for ClickOnce or MSI.
But I've been using Inno Setup for my project so far and I'd like to continue to use it (as an Express user, I can't easily make MSIs), I need to know how to use the client-profile installer in a custom environment.
There is an article on a Deployment.xml schema, but no indication of how to write one, package it or anything else. Can someone explain this process? Finding the articles I linked to alone was a painful search experience.
Microsoft has now shipped the Client Profile Configuration Designer (Beta).
This designer lets you edit the XML files with some limitations, this isn't a 'Google beta' by any means.
Information and download
Can you clarify: Are you trying to write an installer for your app, which depends on the Client-Profile, or are you trying to write a custom installer for the client-profile?
I haven't used it personally, but if it's anything like the dotnetfx 1 and 2 msi's, you basically have to just invoke it's executable yourself from your own .exe file, or from an Msi BEFORE the InstallExecuteSequence starts up - you can't "embed" those in your own app, MS go out of their way to tell you not to do that due to suckage of MSI.
Client profile works only on clean XP. If your user as .Net 1 or 2 installed, client profile wont install...
You have an offline version (integrating Full .Net3.5 Install in case Client Wont install) 200 to 300Mo don't remember
Online version will get required files.
You can call a silent install from the first steps of your install.
Related
Is it possible to install third-party application alongside my application on my own application setup?
Let's say I were to sell some of my application, and in order to run my application on client's computer I would also need to run PostgreSQL. Is it possible to install it beside my application in my setup?
I am such rookie on that subject and don't really know where to start.
(I should mention that I am particularly interested on deploying Windows applications)
All commercial software will feature ways to help you achieve this as a built-in feature. Essentially you wrap it all in a setup.exe launcher / bootstrapper / downloader and this executable will install your prerequisite components before your own install is run, if they need to be installed.
Please see these answers for some further information on deployment tools and their features:
How to create windows installer
Simple List View of Deployment Tools
What installation product to use? InstallShield, WiX, Wise, Advanced Installer, etc
The open source WiX toolkit features a component called Burn to create such setup.exe launchers / downloaders / bootstrappers. Writing WiX XML markup code is necessary to use this Burn feature. Commercial tools Installshield and Advanced Installer provide GUI to build such setup.exe files.
I have written an application that I deploy via Clickonce, but I want to deploy it via Installshield, so I am experimenting with it. I found and downloaded dotnetfx45_full_x86_x64.exe, the redistributable for .NET Framework 4.5, and made a Installshield prerequisite from it. I wrote a simple application that has a RDLC report that just says “Hello World”, and it needs .NET Framework 4.5, and used Installshield to deploy it. The Reportviewer needs Microsoft SQLClrTypes_x86.msi and SQLClrTypes_x64.msi, and ReportViewer.msi, so I got those and made Installshield prerequisites from them. For the ReportViewer.prq, I specified SQLClrTypes_x86.prq and SQLClrTypes_x64.prq, as dependencies, and for SQLClrTypes_x86.prq and SQLClrTypes_x64.prq I specified dotnetfx45_full_x86_x64.prq as a dependency.
When I installed my little application on my test computer (running Windows 7), it installed the 4.5 framework, said it needed to reboot, and asked if I wanted to reboot now, and I clicked Yes. I was thinking it would reboot and continue the installation, but when it rebooted, that was the end of the installation. I ran setup again, it asked if I wanted to install the 4.5 Framework (it asked me the first time, too), so I clicked No. After clicking No, it installed the rest of my program, and it ran perfectly.
How can I get the installation to continue after it reboots from installing the .NET Framework 4.5?
Thanks
Here's a blog I wrote about 9 years ago:
Using InstallShield 12 to Install .NET Framework 3.0
It hasn't changed much. You want to use the prereq editor to change the reboot behavior to Note it, fail to resume if the machine is rebooted, and reboot after the installation.
Also please note that InstallShield consumes it's PRQ files from the ISProductFolder (C:\Program Files (x86)\InstallShield.... ) I don't care for this from a CM perspective. I recommend isolating the file and file references to relative paths based on ISProjectFolder and keeping all of these files in your source control tool.
Behavior Tab
I have a WinForm Application done in Visual Studio 2012, Framework 4.5. I made the Setup Project with InstallShield. I need to install this App on PC that may not have Framework 4.5 installed, so I add Framework 4.5 as a PreRequisite. So far So good.
What I want is to Install the PreRequisite automatically, without asking my clients when they Runs the Setup.
Is that Possible?
Thanks
Edit your PRQ to always install .net45 with no input. Here is a .net40 PRQ we use locally.
/passive has it show a progress bar, but you could just as easily do /q (no UI at all). The only problem would be a very long startup delay to your install which the user would probably interpret as "something is wrong" so I'd recommend keeping /passive.
InstallShield doesn't support this feature. The closest is to make the prerequisite mandatory. Another possibility would be to associate the PRQ to a feature to make it a "feature prereq" instead of a "setup prereq". This would cause Setup.exe to go right into your MSI and then defer the installation until after user interview.
I have created an application in C# that relies on a specific driver (a custom virtual hid driver based on VMulti).
Currently, I have everything working and I want to combine both the application and driver into one installation package. As of right now, my application part has a .exe file and a .dll file. My driver has an .inf and .sys file, hidkmdf.sys, and WdfCoInstaller01009.dll (this dll is from the WDK). I am not able to install the driver through the traditional method of right-clicking the inf and clicking install. Instead, I use devcon to install it (command is "install inffile.inf hardwareid")
I tried using InstallShield LE, but I am only able to install the application, not the driver. After doing some searching, I found people using DIFxAPP to create the installation framework for drivers, however, I am not sure if this can be integrated into InstallShield so that the driver is installed during the application installation process.
So my main question is: What is the best and simplest method for combining application and driver installation into one package (meaning the setup.exe will install both the driver and the application)?
I am very new to driver development and application deployment, so any suggestions are welcome.
Thank You
EDIT: It is preferred that the solution does not require any paid tools.
Acctually, exists a many ways to implement this which depends on your Windows Installers skills.
You didn't specify target OSes for your application, that's why can I give you some ways:
PnpUtil.exe internal Windows 7 utility (only for Windows 7)
DPInst.exe included to WDK
DifXAPI merge module.
You can install drivers with help of all these utils via Custom Actions.
NOTE: That your driver SHOULD BE signed, otherwise you will receive error during silent installation.
I am currently using the Visual Studio 2010 Setup Project to deploy my application to an MSI installer file, which includes a Windows Service and a Windows Forms application. But I am disappointed with the performance and compatibility of this form of packaging.
My application is compatible with Windows XP and upwards, but several older XP user-testing boxes simply don't have the right version of the Windows Installer or the necessary service pack installed. (Un)installation can take dreadfully long for a program under 1MB in size and many systems do not support it. InstallState errors can crop up and ruin the (un)installation if the service has been deleted or already installed, or if any program files are missing (for uninstall).
What I need from an (un)installer:
Manage .NET dependencies.
Copy/remove my application files to a folder.
Add/remove menu and shortcuts to the desktop and Start menu.
(Un)install a Windows service, though I can also do this from my application. The stop and uninstall part is important.
Run my application when it's done.
This question's answers recommend NSIS (which I have used with good results) and WiX. Ironically there is no easy link to simple installer for WiX on their website.
Am I missing something with VS2010's setup project? It is optimized for speed, but it's just too slow.
You should run the installer/uninstaller explicitly with
msiexec /x thefile.msi /l*v thefile.log
(/i for install). Then inspect the log file; it will have time stamps telling you what action took what amount of time. Of course, the logging will affect that, but you should get an idea what makes it take so long.