My Client's Files Were Not Being Updated

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I have had a user complain today that several program updates I send them are not
working.

Turns out they had moved their program from an XP or similar old PC, to a new 64bit
Windows PC.

Their "smart" tech support person had simply copied the subfolders from C:\Program
Files on their old PCs to the new PC at C:\Program Files.

Duh. They should have gone to C:\Program Files (x86)

And maybe if I checked the location in the SB script before continuing the updates,
that may have found the problem a lot sooner.

But now all sorted, by moving the expected folder back to Program Files (x86) via
TeamViewer. TV, I love it.

JohnG

[NewsArchive]

Hi John,

To be on the safe side, what you can do is to check if a specific "core
file" does exist before you continue with the update process.

And I am sure that the "smart" admin did the following:

1. He moved the files to the wrong folder tree ("Program Files" instead of
"Program Files (x86)").

2. He moved the required Windows registry entries into the 64-bit registry
branch instead of the 32-bit one.

3. He did not move the Shortcuts into the correct location.

Friedrich

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Thanks Friedrich

I am not sure what the "smart" did in total, but he did move the folder across
naturally with no thought of the (x86) difference.

Yes, I know I should check before installing fresh stuff. But who knew they were on a
new PC? I will do so in future as this will surely happen again.
No Registry keys involved, so what happened there is a guess.

John

[NewsArchive]

John,

What about the registry entries that make wupdate.exe work? I bet that
was missed too.

--

Russ Eggen
RADFusion International, LLC

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I'll bet they did.. we have people do that all the time... no problem
where the put the program, but it kills the updates... almost like a bit
of copy protection. So we end up finding out about it. We just end up
reinstalling the software so the registry gets the correct entry,
shortcuts are updated, etc.

Ray

[NewsArchive]

I've run across a few of those too. I just sent out a new full install.
I've caught clients actually deleting wupdate.exe! And yes, copying
an install despite the fact I've told them that if they do so, the
updates will always fail - use the installer!

I mean Friedrich can only perform so many miracles a day! <g>

--

Russ Eggen
RADFusion International, LLC

[NewsArchive]

What would be great is a little install a person could make that would
simply create the shortcuts.. that's easy.. and it would also create the
registry entry... but not install anything. It could be shipped with the
program then run in case of a copying situation like this.

One of the problems I have with the updates is if a computer goes bad,
my data has been upgraded to say version 2 but my main program or the
one I send them is version 1... so if they install version 1 and restore
their data it will fail, unless they update the program first... and of
course if they copy, they can't.. catch 22.

The only way to avoid this would be to create the above pseudo
install... or of course create a complete install everytime I do an
update so they could download it... which for me is a bad idea as the
program shuts off updates after a period of time... plus I'd have to
create a new (complete) install every time I did an update.

I would like to make it so my customers are safe so if I am not
available, they can get the program to a new computer, restore their
data and be done... which works great unless I do an update.

Ray

[NewsArchive]

G'day Russ

I don't use wupdate. I like to keep things more simple. <g>

John

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In my case, running the full install on the problem machine is easier.
After that, updates are possible again.

--

Russ Eggen
RADFusion International, LLC

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wcheck then <g>

--

Russ Eggen
RADFusion International, LLC

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That's what I'm doing now too. I just want to figure a way so the client
can do it in case I'm not available... I can't just let them at the full
install as people could update their software with that and not pay our
upgrade fees. Of course if I'm doing it myself it's not a problem as I
qualify them first.

I think I will go ahead and build an install that updates the shortcuts
and the system registry.. I just have to find the line that does the
registry in my normal install... copy the normal install and delete
everything else... I think.

I'll let you know if it works.

Ray

[NewsArchive]

I update my full install about once a year. I tell them to install it
(which WILL be out of date). The program detects a new version (thanks
to the install) and then downloads it and they are then current in one go.

The way to build a "repair" install is ensure your installer's GUID is
*exactly* the same as your main install. That may not be a bad idea
since broken installs does seem to happen frequently. IT departments
think that copying a working installation is all they need to do.

--

Russ Eggen
RADFusion International, LLC