Cannot uninstall and cannot patch?

[MarkLFT]

I have created an installer. It is packaged as a single .exe for simplicity. Today I updated the application, and created a patch as only two files were modified. IA seemed to create the patch correctly when I added the previous .exe as a patch source.

However, when I try to install the patch on a users computer, it asks for the source. I point it at the .exe that was used to install the program, but it will not accept this. What do I need to do to get this patch to install?

Also, as I could not patch this computer I tried to uninstall the application, again it asks me for the source, so I point it at the original setup exe file, but again it will not accept it.

So now I have an old version of the program that I cannot patch or uninstall, not a good situation to be in, and it currently looks like re-installing Windows is the only option.

Can anyone tell me where I went wrong?

[mills]

It would be helpful for you to explain how you created your project. Was it based on a "basic setup"?

Can you not uninstall from both the setup and from Add/Remove programs?

It's worth pointing you to your project settings->Build... Only web builds cache their setups by default (which prevents the prompt you're seeing)

It might be worth posting your script for examination...

[MarkLFT]

Thanks for the prompt reply, to answer your questions....

Yes, it was based on a basic project.

Correct, I cannot install from either the setup exe program or from Add/Remove programs.

To test this, I created a new test computer, installed the original set-up, tried to uninstall, cannot, tried to install the patch, cannot.

Whilst I understand the web install caches the install files, by my understanding, the exe installs should be able to be uninstalled and patched without problem. I have previously used IS, and I never had a problem with them when I was using an exe type install.

I have attached a zip file that contains the project files. Perhaps this will help you.

[mills]

I created a similar project and tried adding a Create Folder $targetdir$ (which shouldn't be necessary). That didn't cause the problem. But, try removing them yourself.

These probably aren't necessary, either:

Delete Files $SHORTCUTFILES$\Little Fish Technologies\ (when uninstalling)
Delete Files $SHORTCUTFILES$\Little Fish Technologies\Resort Manager Cashier\\ (when uninstalling)

(but though I doubt they're causing the problem, they could be).

I also tried copying a couple of your Delete Native Images commands into my project that had no effect on it.

All in all, your project is pretty small right now, so it should be easy to troubleshoot.

My recommendation at this point is to start again from scratch. Do all that you can from the designer, but take it one step at a time. Add the files you want to install. Make sure it installs/uninstalls properly. Then add the registry writes. Test again. Then, add the assemblies. Test. Then add the Native Images commands. Test...

It could be helpful for us to know what caused this problem. It'll be easier for you to isolate.

[MarkLFT]

As you quite rightly commented, this installer is very simple just a few files and some registry settings. So I really do not understand why I am having these problems. I made an identical project in IS, and it worked perfectly, first time, with out me having to do lots trial and error fault finding. I must admit I would expect a product like IA to just work also for such a simple project.

With regard to the "errors' in the script, if there are errors there, the are caused by the IA program, because I have never been into the script page. Everything in this project was added through the Designer GUI.

[mills]

It's helpful to know you only used the designer. Is it possible for you to create a new project and see if you can recreate the issue?