GUID folders in <user dir>\\Application Data

[Bob Lawblaw]

I recently noticed that there are 10-15 InstallAware cache folders in C:\\Documents and Settings\\All Users\\Application Data. I understand the GUID folders are part of the web-install process, and are not "temporary" folders like the mia folders in %temp%.

My Questions:
1. After uninstalling, should one expect to still find these GUID folders left behind?
2. If so, is it possible for a web install to incorrectly use an older, previously downloaded and cached web media archive?
3. If so, how can this be prevented?
4. Would you please confirm that after decrypting/uncompressing web media archives, the resultant files are not verified?

And now here's the the detailed background into the issue we are having which prompts these questions:

In our beta program, we password-protect our install projects. Each build gets a new, random password. In some cases, there are (unreported) decryption errors. It looks like this is happening:

1. User downloads & installs version A, encrypted with Password A, from the web. The installer downloads several web media components.
2. User downloads version B, encrypted with password B, and runs the B installer.
3. B's installer uninstalls A in the prerequisites stage.
4. B's installer continues installation, but installs 0-length files.

Note that when we use 7zip.exe to uncompress an encrypted archive with an in correct password, the result is 0-length files. Therefore I suspect that installer B finds cached web components from version A, and therefore does not use the version B components (even if downloaded and placed in the same folder as Setup_B.exe). At some point, password B is used to decrypt older "A" web media blocks, resulting in 0-length files.

Regardless of how this happens, I'm concerned that users had no warning from the install system of the failure to decrypt the web media components. This would indicate that no check is made post-decrypt/decompress on the resulting files.

Thanks for your response

[MichaelNesmith]

1. No
2. No
3. No
4. No

The zero byte file issue is part of the built in protection system to prevent circumventing passwords used in web media blocks.

As to why you are having users with older setups finding newer web media blocks...that could be caused by a lot of different things. Make sure your setup re-generates its revision GUIDs every time you do a build, and this problem will go away. This is the default setting on projects anyway.

I am unable to provide further information due to security reasons.

[Bob Lawblaw]

Thank you for the quick response. Our build is automated, and uses miabuild.exe with /r for "Generate new revision code." In light of your answers, I'll focus on our uninstall / update process, to see how we might be disrupting this final clean-up step.