Problem with Windows 2000

[cmwright]

Two of the files in my setup are installed in the Windows folder. One is an INF file for a USB device, which I install into "%WinDir%\Inf". The other is a USB device driver (.sys file), which I install into "%WinDir%\System32\Drivers".

Both of these files are installed successfully on Windows 98, but on 2000 the log file always says that they were skipped. I am definitely logged into 2000 as Administrator, by the way.

Is there some feature of 2000 which prevents files being installed in to these special folders, or is this a bug in Setup Factory? I'm using the latest version (5.0.1.4).

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Chris Wright

[Mark]

Re: Problem with Windows 2000

Hi,
Do the two files already exist on the hard drive, in those locations? If they already exists in those locations are they "newer", or as "new" as the files that you are installing?
What do you have the "If File Already Exists" setting set to, on the General Tab of the File Properties Dialog? Try setting this to: "Always Overwrite Existing File" and see if this solves the problem.
What is your "After Installation has been completed" setting set to? (SETTINGS -> GENERAL DESIGN) Is it "Automatic (Decide for me)"?

mark.

[cmwright]

Re: Problem with Windows 2000

The files definitely don't already exist in those locations. The "If File Already Exists" settings are both "Overwrite if existing file is same or older". I don't really want to make it always overwrite the existing files, and anyway if the files don't exist then surely it doesn't matter what it's set to?

The "After installation has been completed" setting is "Exit setup" because the setup is run as part of a sequence of setups. The computer is then restarted at the end of the sequence.

Both files are configured as Shared/System files and set to install under Windows 98, ME and 2000 only, and if a variable called %IngestType% is set to 0. This variable is set by the user choosing between two radio buttons at the start of the setup.

As I said, the setup works fine with Windows 98, but not with 2000.

Do you have any more suggestions? Would it help if I e-mailed you the report file for my project?

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Chris Wright

[Mark]

Re: Problem with Windows 2000

Hi,
Yes if you send me your report file I might be able to find something. You can send your report file to: [email protected] Please remember to include a brief explanation of what is going on, or direct me to this post.

mark.

[cmwright]

Re: Problem with Windows 2000

I've discovered what's happening. If the platform is Win2000, I skip the radio buttons screen which lets the user choose which ingest hardware they have (because only the USB hardware will work with this platform).

This means that the %IngestType% variable is not set. However, I would have thought that Setup Factory should still set it to zero by default, which would then allow the .inf and .sys files to be installed, because they rely on %IngestType% being 0.

Are variables only initialised the first time they are assigned a value? Shouldn't they be 0 by default? What are they set to if they haven't been assigned a value?

To get around this problem for now, I've added a Registry Variable called %IngestType%, with a default value of 0, which looks for a non-existant key, and is therefore assigned the default value.

Is this problem an intentional "feature" or a bug?

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Chris Wright

[Mark]

Re: Problem with Windows 2000

Hi,
Variables are treated as "undefined" until they have a value assigned to them. Which basically means that unless a value is assigned to a variable it will be treated as though it was plain text.
What you have to do in your case is assign an initial value to your variable. You can do this by using a non-existent registry key (as you already have), or by displaying a separate screen for WIN 2000 users which forces them to select a certain radio button, which would set the variable to 0.

mark.