XP Configuration Error

[CMS Software]

I have built an install that runs great on Win7 and up. On WinXP I get the error "This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.".

I NEVER see this error on Win7 and higher and I ALWAYS see this error message on win XP.

On file installs I have set the conditions to XP and all versions above it.

Any ideas?

-O. D.-

[linder]

Hello,

Assuming that you are using SetupBuilder 8.x and that you do not call into your own custom DLLs (which require dependency files) from the setup. If you see this message when you start setup.exe then you have a corrupt install. Code-sign your setup.exe to check this.

BTW, it is not caused by your conditions (the message is displayed from the OS before the setup.exe is executed; in other words, not a single piece of code from your setup runs when you see it). Just for fun, run our SetupBuilder install image on your XP machine and I am sure it works ;)

HTH,
Friedrich

[CMS Software]

Good suggestion! I will try installing SetupBuilder on the XP test machine. I am continuing to check to see if any Windows settings on that machine might be causing a problem. The install is built with the latest SB 8 version. Additional info: 1)SetupBuilder is running on a 64 bit Windows machine. 2)The "Type Of Install" setting is 32 bit. 3)The install that fails on XP is a "single file" type install. 4)We also produced a Web Install version, loaded the required files to our web server, and placed the 244K EXE file on the same XP machine. It ran perfectly. Only the "Single EXE file" type install produces the error.

I will report back after implementing your suggestion.

[CMS Software]

Further info. SB8 does install and run on the XP machines. I have not had time to move all the source files and SB scripts to the XP machine to see if the same install created on an XP machine fixes the problem.

Update: I checked the web for solutions and found a Microsoft help page that says this error happens on computers which do not have Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 installed.

I was getting the same "side-by-side configuration" error on a Virtualized copy of Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit.

Downloaded the MS VC++2008 package and ran the install. The program offered to "repair" the existing installation of VC++ and I took that option.

Additional Info is available at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2525435

The Win7 virtual machine is now installing #1 of 59 updates so I will not have another update until tomorrow.

-O. D.-

[linder]

IMO, it is not caused by a corrupt (or missing) VC++ 2008 redistributable package. SetupBuilder installers even run on Windows 95 and the core component does not depend on any VC runtime !!! The fact that your Web version (one small executable and one or more cluster files) works fine on this machine tells us that there must be another reason for it. From the technical point of view, there is absolutely no difference between the single-file and multiple-cluster web setup. I would suggest to code-sign your install to make sure that you are not trying to run a tampered version of your (single-file) setup.exe.

And btw, it doesn't make any difference whether you build the setup.exe on Windows 95, Windows XP, or Windows 8.1. It always generates the same code.

Do you have the setup.exe that fails on your XP available online? If you are interested, we can download and run it on some of our test machines. I think something happened to your setup.exe after you have created it.

Friedrich

[CMS Software]

Do you have the setup.exe that fails on your XP available online? If you are interested, we can download and run it on some of our test machines. I think something happened to your setup.exe after you have created it.
Friedrich

Thanks for the offer. I would be delighted to have you look at it. By the way, the EXE files are code signed and show no errors there.

It will be online in about 1 to 2 hours. I can send you the download link so that you can test it. I'm not sure how to send you a private message with the download link.

[linder]

Just send the link to support [at] lindersoft [dot] com and we'll download and test your setup.

Friedrich

[CMS Software]

Sorry I have not replied sooner with an update. In SB8 we added two "Core PreRequisites", VC++2010 and .net Framework 4.5. The Amazing SB installer offered to intall VC++2010 on each machine that was giving the "side by side" configuration error and now the error is gone!

I understand that SB8 does not require the VC++2010 Redistributables, but allowing SB8 to add them solved the problem 100% on all our test environments from XP to Win7 Ultimate in both X86 and X64 versions. None of the X64 versions ever gave the "side by side configuration" error, but some of the X86 versions did. Not anymore. Setup Builder is truly an amazing "all in one" development tool!:)

-O. D.-

[linder]

Very interesting information :)

And thank you so much for your kind words !!!

Friedrich

[andrelernhart]

Hi all,

I run into the same problem with the side-by-side configuration error (on Win8.1, Win7, Windows VISTA) after adding a manifest (using SB) to my .exe (which run fine w/o manifest, except the UAC nightmare issues).
After some research I found a very old post in this forum (from 2005) which gave me the hint: Microsoft is still English-Only...
I should have found the reason by myself since I'm frequently develope for German and Latin American costumers. Some bells are ringing?
In my manifest, I set for Program Description "Arancel y Legislación Aduanera Sistematizada". Note the "ó".
After changing the description to something else (without tilde, Umlaut, ñ and the like), it worked like a charm.

Hope it helps somebody to save some time and grey hair,
regards André

[linder]

Thanks for sharing this information, André !!!

Friedrich

[andrelernhart]

Hi Friedrich,

always very welcome!
Sharing findings is the essence of a forum - you spend a lot of time in explaing again and again, and sometimes its understandable when a newbie is so new to the topic that he cannot find the posts due to lack of the key terms to search for. But I definitely think that once you are up-and-running with SB, you may share your knowledge, giving back something to the community (and especially to you!).

SB is a really great product with a terrific support.

I use installers since... can't remember, but at least for 20 years or so (yes, I'm an IT dino).
Last year, I evaluated a replacment for an outdated WISE InstallMaster (?) which we used since 1995. A former business friend of mine in Colombia (South America, I lived there for some 15 years) runs a customs information business; in 1995, wrote a quite big app (Delphi, of coursre, not Clarion :-) for him and still supports him. He's a crack in customs affairs, but a nerd in IT. Thus, I needed a reliable product for him, covering the raising issues with the newer operatings systems (in Colombia, they are still using Windows 3.1, NT and 95... but up to 8.1 and 2012), but still managable for a nerd (once set up). To cover this callenge, it took me months to evaluate - somewhere there are still a dozand or more VM's with trials and tests with different products.
Can't remember how (but very, very, but really late in my investigation) I found SB, matching all my criterias and kicked out w/o any doubt and instantly all of the competitors: functionality, user experience (usability), flexibility, support (I always check the forums), documentation (great greetings to Jane, this lady is a great technical writer! [I know what I say, this is part of my doing]), and finally: price. "Kaufkraft" (purchase power?) in Colombia is quite different compared to our countries (I'm Swiss, living currently there). Spending some 2000$ in an utility which is "just needed" w/o bringing money kills a business in those countries. Buying a lincense which costs 2-5 monthly salaries of a professional is a No-Go (since it's cheaper to hire a guy who installs the stuff manually).
Of course, you and I know that the installer is one of the killer key factors for every app...
In short: I'm glad having found SB (I recommend to make it easier to find you... I was really looking hard, for a long time and seriously).

But this weeks is not a marketing urgency, this week is celebration!

Congratulations to you and your team with deepest respect: the 25'000 members mark is just really great and well merited!

With wamrest regards, André

[linder]

Thanks SO MUCH for your very kind words, André.

Friedrich