Does Install Aware support very large installations ?

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wtdedula
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Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:12 am

Does Install Aware support very large installations ?

Postby wtdedula » Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:56 am

Hello All;
Assuming I get past my first hurdle of actually adding files and shortcuts to an installation (See message posted earlier today), I have anothe question.

I would like to know if it's possible with Install Aware to author a very large installation. Below are the specs ...

Size on Disk of source: 2.57GB
# of files included in source: 157,196

If so, what special needs to be set ? In previous installers I've evaluate4d I've had to set the installer to break the installation into 3 or 4 directories. Will Install Aware do this ?

Tim

CandiceJones
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Postby CandiceJones » Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:02 am

Yes, you should be fine. Just don't add files individually and add them using wildcards instead - this should work well.
Candice Jones
InstallAware
Home of The Next Generation MSI Installer
Get your free copy today - http://www.installaware.com/

wtdedula
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:12 am

Postby wtdedula » Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:14 am

Hi Candis;
I created an installer test Saturday evening and it ran all night. When I tried the install, it didn't work. It started and I thought it was going to work but then got an error in the middle of the installation. I forgot the exact error I got but it had to do with being unable to copy a file.

I think I'm having the same problem I have with all of the other installers I've tried. I think Installaware needs to break up my installation up into Multiple Cabs each with no more than 64,000 files in each. Is there any way to do this ?

I hear a lots of talk about Web Media Blocks. Is this a way? if this is a way can I utilize them by pointing and clicking or do I need to write a script ? Can I utilize web media blocks on a disk, rather than a server ? Is there some guidance on how to do this ? Thanks.

Tim

CandiceJones
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Postby CandiceJones » Mon Oct 01, 2007 11:10 am

Sorry, its hard for us to help you without you letting us know what error message you got!

Also, this thread might be better handled in the technical support forum. Please make a new post there describing the situation in detail, so we can actually find out what's going on.

For the record, InstallAware doesn't use CAB files, so no - that doesn't explain the failure. We use better forms of compression that Windows Installer doesn't natively support.
Candice Jones

InstallAware

Home of The Next Generation MSI Installer

Get your free copy today - http://www.installaware.com/

wtdedula
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:12 am

Postby wtdedula » Mon Oct 01, 2007 12:11 pm

Thanks, Candice;
I'll run the install again and get the exact error then I'll repost a full explanation in the technical support section shortly (today).

Thanks so much. I really like your package after reading the specs. and really also like the ability to customize the dialogues in the studio version so I hope we can track down the reason for my difficulty.

Tim

wtdedula
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:12 am

Postby wtdedula » Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:38 pm

Candice;
I tried running the Install today after copying to DVD and I don't receie the error I got a few days ago. In fact, I tried it on two different machines and don't get the error on either.

I do get an error "This system requires Windows Vista" though and I checked the prerequisites in my project file and found out that I inadvertently set Windows Vista as the min. Requirement. So I will change that to Win XP tonite and recreate the install. I'm sure it will run all night with my 2 GB total size and 150,000 files. I am hopeful that things will work fine. I'll report tomorrow if things work.

Tim

Edhy
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Location: New York, USA

Postby Edhy » Wed Oct 03, 2007 10:49 pm

Hi Tim,

You build a small test installer with the features you need and then when you sure it runs fine then add all the files you have with the wildcard.

Also, for a speedy test, you may want to disable the compression first. This will help you build a fast (and bigger) setup just for testing.

I don't have experience dealing with that many files, but there are so many features in IA that may help you out distributing updates, like the once click Patch, which may be very helpful for future updates of such a large amount of source files.
Edhy Rijo
Thom Child and Family Services

nanashi16
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:32 pm

Re: Does Install Aware support very large installations ?

Postby nanashi16 » Fri Oct 24, 2008 10:46 am

I have an extremely large installation like you, It normally runs fine with install aware but I do fine it runs a little faster when you break up the files with web media blocks, but in uncompressed mode it still works.

I will warn you, it makes for long installs.

Steven


wtdedula wrote:Hello All;
Assuming I get past my first hurdle of actually adding files and shortcuts to an installation (See message posted earlier today), I have anothe question.

I would like to know if it's possible with Install Aware to author a very large installation. Below are the specs ...

Size on Disk of source: 2.57GB
# of files included in source: 157,196

If so, what special needs to be set ? In previous installers I've evaluate4d I've had to set the installer to break the installation into 3 or 4 directories. Will Install Aware do this ?

Tim

CandiceJones
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Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:03 pm
Contact:

Postby CandiceJones » Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:09 pm

This has been dramatically optimized in InstallAware 7 R2 and InstallAware 8. The new MSI Compiler Optimizations generate more efficient MSI files and will dramatically speed up your installations. The old settings are still available in case you want to maintain backwards compatibility with older projects for patching and the like.
Candice Jones

InstallAware

Home of The Next Generation MSI Installer

Get your free copy today - http://www.installaware.com/


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