Convert Older IA project to 32/64 hybrid?

[Steve]

Hello,
I've been putting off building a hybrid 32 /64 bit install, because my previous attempts ended in frustration. I've was hoping that some 32 vs 64bit intelligence would be added into InstallAware v12, that would automatically determine if a 32bit or wow64 bit install is required at runtime, but sadly it seems that still is not the case. So that being said, I guess the 'jig is up' and I'm 'gonna have to find a way to get this working.

Some background and clarification about what I need:
All of our applications are written in 32bit, so the only way the they will work on Win7 64bit is to properly install certain components into the wow64 and Program Files x86 folders. As such I do not need to create an installer that installs a 64 bit application... since none of my components are true 64bit. What I need is to create an installer that will install a 32 bit application on a 64bit Window's OS.

So, here are the questions:
I notice that if I create a new 64bit install using InstallAware's 'Win64 Setup' template, InstallAware automatically creates 'Files' folders which contain both x86 and wow64 (which are 32bit folders) and 64bit folders (folder names without an x86 or wow64 in the name).

Can you please tell me a couple of things:
1) Is InstallAware's 'Win64 Setup' template the right template to use in order to create an installer that will install a 32 bit application on a Win7 64bit OS?

2) Is it possible to somehow convert my existing InstallAware installation projects so that they will now include both the 32bit folders (ex; $PROGRAMFILES_x86$ and $SYSWOW64$) and the 64bit folders (ex; $PROGRAMFILES$) folders. I notice that those folders cannot simply be added to an existing project from the UI. Is it somehow possible to add these folders to an older project or must I recreate the project from scratch using the InstallAware 'Win64 Setup' template?

3) A bit unrelated... sorry...Can anyone recommend the best way to deal with Win7 UAC issues that seem to screw up installs that worked beautifully with WinXP but are a total pain in the butt with Win7? I know that is a rather generic question, but I am hoping that someone might share a few tricks that they have found along the way.

Thanks in advance,
Steve

[giaviv]

1) Nope - its the right one to use if you want to install a Win64 application.

2) I am confused - do you or do you not want to include x64 folders in your setup?

3) Please refer to this thread:
http://www.installaware.com/forum/viewt ... f=2&t=6787

[Steve]

Hi Aviv,
Thanks very much for your reply.
In answer to your question

2) I am confused - do you or do you not want to include x64 folders in your setup?

...
My install needs to install my 32bit application on both 32bit Win7 and 64bit Win7 operating systems. It also needs to install SQL2008 Express (which has different installs for 32bit or 64bit OS support). This is the reason that I thought that InstallAware's 'Win64 Setup' template might be the best one to use. Ultimately, my hope is that I can create a single install package that will work on either 32 or 64 Windows 7 installs.

If this is not the correct template to use, which template would you recommend that would permit me to correctly specify that my 32bit application files need to be placed into the x86 folders? I ask this because I realise that the 'standard' template from which I have always built my projects does not provide a choice between x86 folders and 64bit folders in the file list. Based on this, I would assume that if I ran my existing IA projects on a Win7 64bit machine, my application components would end up being placed into 64bit OS folders (like 'Program Files' instead of the correct 'Program Files x86') Perhaps this is an incorrect assumption. Maybe what I should be asking it how does InstallAware decide where to install 32bit files on a 64bit OS...

[giaviv]

Hi,

Yes - that is actually an incorrect assumption. When you run a 32bit installer (such as one created with the Basic Setup template) on a 64bit machine, the installer will use the x86 sections of Windows (such as Program File (x86) and the Wow6432 registry node).
If you were to install a 64bit application, you would have to use the Set 64 Bit Mode command in order to use the 64bit portions of the OS.