'Installation Folder' puzzles

[Terry Pinnell]

I've just installed a program that lists installed programs and shows
a lot more information than the built-in Add/remove Programs, such as
the install date, which is what prompted me to get it. Another column
is 'Installation Folder', which has got me puzzled.

My list of 395 'programs' includes a few with an Installation Folder
of E:\WINDOWS. Yet E: is a partition I don't use, containing a very
old copy of my system partition C. On closer examination of one of
those 5, 'Adobe Acrobat 5.0', I found that it is installed in the
usual place, C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 5.0\Reader, not in
E:\WINDOWS. (That got me wondering where the program gets its data, so
I've emailed its author.) But meanwhile I used its feature R-click>
Open Entry in RegEdit, which took me here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Adobe
Acrobat 5.0

The data for that key is:
E:\WINDOWS\IsUninst.exe -f"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat
5.0\NT\Uninst.isu" -c"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat
5.0\NT\Uninst.dll"

That in turn raises more puzzles! For a start, it appears to be
showing the location of the *uninstall* program, which I'd have
thought was not strictly the same as 'Installation Folder'. Am I
right? Also, why in the above example is the data is such a strange
mix of those drives and folders?

Finally why would so many entries not *have* an Installation Folder at
all?

 

[Wesley Vogel]

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
The above key contains a key for every application that *can* be
uninstalled.
-----

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
Adobe Acrobat 5.0

That reg key is showing the Value Name UninstallPath or the Value Name
UninstallString.

IsUninst.exe is InstallShield® unInstaller

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat 5.0\NT\
Uninst.dll is Custom uninstall DLL for use with Adobe products
-----

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Uninstall\Adobe Acrobat 5.0\
DisplayName is the name shown in Add or Remove Programs.
I.e. Adobe Acrobat 5.0

InstallLocation shows in what folder the program is installed in.
I.e. C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 5.0

InstallSource shows where the program was installed from.
I.e. C:\Documents and Settings\WESLEY~1~VOG\LOCALS~1\Temp\pft5~tmp\

UninstallPath shows the path to uninstall the program.
I.e. C:\WINDOWS\ISUNINST.EXE -f"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat
5.0\NT\Uninst.isu" -c"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat
5.0\NT\Uninst.dll"

UninstallString is the program used to uninstall the application.
I.e. C:\WINDOWS\ISUNINST.EXE -f"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat
5.0\NT\Uninst.isu" -c"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat
5.0\NT\Uninst.dll"

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Terry Pinnell]

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
The above key contains a key for every application that *can* be
uninstalled.
-----

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
Adobe Acrobat 5.0

That reg key is showing the Value Name UninstallPath or the Value Name
UninstallString.

IsUninst.exe is InstallShield® unInstaller

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat 5.0\NT\
Uninst.dll is Custom uninstall DLL for use with Adobe products
-----

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Uninstall\Adobe Acrobat 5.0\
DisplayName is the name shown in Add or Remove Programs.
I.e. Adobe Acrobat 5.0

InstallLocation shows in what folder the program is installed in.
I.e. C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 5.0

InstallSource shows where the program was installed from.
I.e. C:\Documents and Settings\WESLEY~1~VOG\LOCALS~1\Temp\pft5~tmp\

UninstallPath shows the path to uninstall the program.
I.e. C:\WINDOWS\ISUNINST.EXE -f"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat
5.0\NT\Uninst.isu" -c"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat
5.0\NT\Uninst.dll"

UninstallString is the program used to uninstall the application.
I.e. C:\WINDOWS\ISUNINST.EXE -f"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat
5.0\NT\Uninst.isu" -c"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat
5.0\NT\Uninst.dll"

Thanks, Wes, that's very helpful. But the only point you haven't
covered is that entry about E:\WINDOWS ?

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Terry,

I don't have a clue.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In