Those Pesky Installers

Wing_Z

Wing_Z

Charter Member 2011
I really, really dislike installers, and always point them to a dummy folder to see what it is they are creating.
Often they will make a folder outside the "normal" FS structure, or install an aircraft that you cannot subsequently find, because its titled "Top Dog's Mighty MkVI" or somesuch.
Not having an aircraft.cfg to look at prior can make this a little tedious.
But sometimes it can even get a little sinister...
I found an ISD Project scenery for Genoa that I didn't have and thought it would nicely complement other Italian sceneries that also have AES.
I ran the installer:
HJCAP634.jpg

and listened to a great deal of frenzied disk activity before I thought to start trusty filemon to see what it was doing.
Luckily I have a humungous FS install which takes a while to scan.
I caught it at the end of the \aircraft folder, and then....
it went off to take a look at my cookies folder!
At which point I pulled the power plug on the computer, and later restored it to a previous time.

I wonder what that installer found, what it sent home...and why?
 
Interesting... NEVER had a problem with an msi installer... (whereas exe's cause headaches frequently...)
 
Just had to check this out.

I'd be surprised if a file that has been on Avsim for over 5 years has anything suspicious about it.

So I installed it to a temporary folder. It does take a while, but then the 6Mb msi file is being uncompressed to 34Mb. I can't find any associated cookies or entries in the \aircraft folder.

Filemon monitors all file activity so might it have been something running in the background that was accessing those other areas?
 
ianhind said:
...It does take a while, but then the 6Mb msi file is being uncompressed to 34Mb. I can't find any associated cookies or entries in the \aircraft folder....
Click to expand...
Did you monitor what files were being accessed during the process?
The reason I went looking is it was taking about the amount of time it would take to fully scan my FS installation.
I know roughly what this is because I foolishly did a file search from the FS root folder recently - we are talking several minutes, which is not what it takes to decompress 34Mb.
If the installer were involved in nefarious phone home activity, it sure as erm, cookies, would not leave stuff for you to find in the aircraft folder...
 
never, EVER trust auto installers. always install to a dummy folder and do it yourself. you'll be so glad you did, when you see your buddy post the hell he is going through because of some add-on or other that you installed manually and he didn't.
 
cheezyflier said:
never, EVER trust auto installers. always install to a dummy folder and do it yourself.
Click to expand...

That's why I quit messing with Shockwave/A2A products. Their installers won't let you install to a folder different than your FS installation without having to resort to subterfuge. Not worth the hassle in my book.
 
Willy said:
That's why I quit messing with Shockwave/A2A products. Their installers won't let you install to a folder different than your FS installation without having to resort to subterfuge. Not worth the hassle in my book.
Click to expand...

for any auto-installers which refuse to install into anything but the FS9 folder, you can often "trick" it by placing the FS9.exe into the dummy folder. If that doesn't work, make some empty dummy folders inside it, such as Aircraft, Effects, Gauges, Texture, and Sound. This will usually fool most installers.

Before i run any installer, i also rename my FS9 directory. Some installers are very annoying, in that even if you direct them to install into a dummy folder, it'll still place certain files into your FS9 directory.

one more trick you can do. Rename your FS9 folder from Flight Simulator 9 to Flight Simulator 9xxx. Now in the same root, make a new folder called Flight Simulator 9. Drop a copy of the FS9.exe into there. Most installers will always get fooled by this, because it matches the registry entries. After you have finished, just reverse the names.

-feng
 
FengZ said:
for any auto-installers which refuse to install into anything but the FS9 folder, you can often "trick" it by placing the FS9.exe into the dummy folder. If that doesn't work, make some empty dummy folders inside it, such as Aircraft, Effects, Gauges, Texture, and Sound. This will usually fool most installers.

Before i run any installer, i also rename my FS9 directory. Some installers are very annoying, in that even if you direct them to install into a dummy folder, it'll still place certain files into your FS9 directory.

one more trick you can do. Rename your FS9 folder from Flight Simulator 9 to Flight Simulator 9xxx. Now in the same root, make a new folder called Flight Simulator 9. Drop a copy of the FS9.exe into there. Most installers will always get fooled by this, because it matches the registry entries. After you have finished, just reverse the names.

-feng
Click to expand...

Thanks for those tips they are very helpful indeed, they are going straight into my "Tips&Tricks" docs folder :ernae:
 
There's nothing wrong with most installers; the problem comes from those develolpers who don't know how to set up the installer and test it properly under many conditions prior to release...

Be aware that some payware must be installed from the installer in order to function properly, or more to the point, even get loaded properly.
 
n4gix said:
There's nothing wrong with most installers; the problem comes from those develolpers who don't know how to set up the installer and test it properly under many conditions prior to release...
Be aware that some payware must be installed from the installer in order to function properly, or more to the point, even get loaded properly.
Click to expand...
I have long realized by reading various forums, that many folks dislike the autoinstaller because it supposedly has some evil lurking within. On occassion that might be so, but generally speaking, I've used an autoinstaller whenever possible just to cut down on the time it might take me to mess with moving everything. . . .or, as n4gix mentions, just to be sure it get's loaded properly.

I'm not going to change the minds of those who see the evil in autoinstallers and, in turn, they won't change my opinion either, but after having used them for as long as I can remember and never having a problem, I would simply say, "it ain't necessarilly so".
 
falcon409 said:
I have long realized by reading various forums, that many folks dislike the autoinstaller because it supposedly has some evil lurking within. On occassion that might be so, but generally speaking, I've used an autoinstaller whenever possible just to cut down on the time it might take me to mess with moving everything. . . .or, as n4gix mentions, just to be sure it get's loaded properly.

I'm not going to change the minds of those who see the evil in autoinstallers and, in turn, they won't change my opinion either, but after having used them for as long as I can remember and never having a problem, I would simply say, "it ain't necessarilly so".
Click to expand...


Fortunately the paranoid autoinstaller haters are just a minority of - usually - experienced FS users who grew up in the times that you needed to be a wizzard yourself in order to get any - freeware - product working on your FS installation.
I know.

I was one of them.

:ernae:


Fact is that in today's real world out there most people hardly know how to turn on their PC themselves, let alone understand anything about folders, files, programs and installing anything that goes beyond 'please click here' once and be done with it.

So to sell ANYTHING and not having to spend the rest of one's working week supporting goof-ups one needs to provide one-click installers. Period.


I think all of the 'better' publishers take great care in setting up these (often complex!) programs and test them as much as possible, before throwing them out into the world. Again... support is EXPENSIVE !

So in short, it probably also 'pays' to buy from the wellknown publishers and be maybe a little wary of the one-day butterflies out there?

Mind you, when in doubt, install on a temp folder. That's what I do too.... :wavey:
 
I agree that most users today don't know how to properly install an aircraft. What I really object to with Shockwave/A2A is the installation of things I do not want such as their splashscreen.
 
I also prefer to direct an auto-installer to a Temp folder, that way the Temp folder serves as a box and I can open it up and see what I'm getting with the download.
 
That is the way I do it now because of the mixed expertise.

The only reason I use the installer is because the compression is so much better than a zip. The Grizzly was a prime example.

EDIT: LOL I just noticed I spelled "Temperary" wrong! LOL
 
I used to just let the auto installer do it's thing. Then about a year ago I installed a scenery from somewhere in Europe and it put stuff in the wrong places. Had the devil of a time straightening it out and never did figure out what all files it installed and where. Finally had to do a complete reinstall to get it right. Now I use a dummy folder or I don't use that scenery. With a couple of exceptions. Mostly payware from flight1.

It always works fine until you have a problem.
 
i first used an auto installer with Milton-s Howard 500..i can remember saying ..i wish everyone did this..but now being a little more experienced i use the temp folders method mostly..

rgds
t.creed
 
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