Installation question

[Richard Steinfeld]

We can download a program from a web site. The download may be an .exe
file. And, let's say, that the desctription of the program doesn't tell
us whether what we've just downloaded is a stand-alone program or that
..exe file is a whole installation routine that puts tentacles into the
registry.

This confusion is very common!

My experience says that it's almost an absolute neccessity to track an
installation with an uninstall program, so that if we want to back out
of the transaction, we can usually reverse the installation better this
way than using whatever uninstaller Windows gives us. But it's foolish
to use an uninstaller when just running a program -- in my own case with
System Suite (commercial utility), my uninstaller cannot delete mistaken
entries, so I want to avoid unneccessary clutter there. That's why it
matters for me to know in advance.

After downloading an .exe program file, is there any way to tell in
advance whether running it will be a simple launch or an installation?
Can we find anything embedded within the code that's a tip-off?

Richard

 

[old jon]

We can download a program from a web site. The download may be an .exe
file. And, let's say, that the desctription of the program doesn't tell us
whether what we've just downloaded is a stand-alone program or that .exe
file is a whole installation routine that puts tentacles into the
registry.

This confusion is very common!

My experience says that it's almost an absolute neccessity to track an
installation with an uninstall program, so that if we want to back out of
the transaction, we can usually reverse the installation better this way
than using whatever uninstaller Windows gives us. But it's foolish to use
an uninstaller when just running a program -- in my own case with System
Suite (commercial utility), my uninstaller cannot delete mistaken entries,
so I want to avoid unneccessary clutter there. That's why it matters for
me to know in advance.

After downloading an .exe program file, is there any way to tell in
advance whether running it will be a simple launch or an installation? Can
we find anything embedded within the code that's a tip-off?

Richard

Hi R. download and install `Winpatrol`. http://www.winpatrol.com/
it constantly monitors your registry, and you can dis\allow writes.
A method I use to view. exe files, is with a hex editor. You have to know a
bit about
exe structures though, to understand what `calls` the program might make.
HTH
best wishes..OJ

 

[tim]

After downloading an .exe program file, is there any way to tell in
advance whether running it will be a simple launch or an installation?
Can we find anything embedded within the code that's a tip-off?

Your favorite file decompressor eg Winzip, Winrar or various freebies
may be able to extract files from an exe that looks like an
installation file. I do this all of the time.

tim

 

[Thorkild Dalsgaard]

After downloading an .exe program file, is there any way to tell in
advance whether running it will be a simple launch or an installation?
Can we find anything embedded within the code that's a tip-off?

Try to rightclick on the .exe file,
if it does *not* contain version info - it probably installs.

If it contains version info it most likely not installs,
but sometimes it does:

- e.g. Adobe Reader install
"ar405eng.exe"
the version tab contains this *Description* info:
PackageForTheWeb Stub
indicating some sort of *installation*.

Another example
"PStart.exe"
*Description* info:
PStart portable start menu
indicates *no* install.


More advanced info is possible using
http://www.dependencywalker.com/
to analyze the .exe file.

Regards
Thorkild Dalsgaard

 

[jb]

Try to rightclick on the .exe file,
if it does *not* contain version info - it probably installs.

If it contains version info it most likely not installs,
but sometimes it does:

- e.g. Adobe Reader install
"ar405eng.exe"
the version tab contains this *Description* info:
PackageForTheWeb Stub
indicating some sort of *installation*.

Another example
"PStart.exe"
*Description* info:
PStart portable start menu
indicates *no* install.

That is a very clever idea

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Thanks.

I went to a file I'd downloaded for a program we'd just discussed here:
Winkey, which is a Windows keyboard command creator that's been recently
withdrawn by its publisher. The downloaded executable is winkey2.exe.

Right-clicking on the filename, then "Properties," revealed only what
the publisher had entered -- which was that it was a program. Hmmm.

Then I checked to see if an unzip was possible on the .exe. Nope:
JustZIPit only offered to zip it up. PowerDesk didn't want to handle it
as a zip file either.

So, I checked up on it in Ziff-Davis' File Snoop. Here, I could display
the file either as hex or as straight text. And this is where I hit the
following pay dirt: embedded within the code was this line:

"G.LInstallShield Launcher SE v2.1 (C) InstallShield Corporation, Inc.
1990-"

So, the mystery execuitable is an installer!
With this knowledge, before clicking on the .exe, I'll start up my
installation-tracking program. Great!

How I found this easily was just by CTRL+F searching for the word "install."

This has been a really useful discussion. Thanks!

Richard

 

[Helen]

Hi R. download and install `Winpatrol`. http://www.winpatrol.com/
it constantly monitors your registry, and you can dis\allow writes.
A method I use to view. exe files, is with a hex editor. You have to know a
bit about
exe structures though, to understand what `calls` the program might make.
HTH
best wishes..OJ

I AGREE! I like 'Scotty'. RRRRRrrrfff! RrrrFFF!

 

[Lefty Mills]

the desctription of the program doesn't tell

us whether what we've just downloaded is a stand-alone program or that
.exe file is a whole installation routine

I highlight the EXE file. Then holding down the control key, I press
the page down key. Sometimes, the EXE file opens up and shows its
component files.

Lefty

 

[ms]

Your favorite file decompressor eg Winzip, Winrar or various
freebies may be able to extract files from an exe that looks like
an installation file. I do this all of the time.

tim

When I see an exe file, any unzipper shows a list of files,
but they
usually have extensions that require the install. I've tried
changing the extension, no luck. Once in awhile, the files are
OK, I
delete the installer and go on.

Can you describe your methods?

Mike Sa

 

[Mike Bourke]

I would assume that any exe file I had not previously run would be an
installer (even if it claimed otherwise on the originating website) until
proven clean. If I double-click the exe and the program immediatly starts,
then its obviously a non-installing executable.

Mike Bourke

 

[SweetAndyLicious]

I have this same problem. I use Total Uninstall, but have been fooled into
thinking an .exe is the install when in fact it's the actual program. If I
am not sure, i.e., the program is not named ...setup.exe or something that
identifies it as an installer, I just run it and see. If it's only a
program, then I copy it to an appropriate 'Program files' folder, otherwise
I start up Total Uninstall and run the install.

Takes a little extra time, but saves you time in the long run.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

To peer inside an .exe file, I tried the two methods that were suggested
here:
- Highlight file name and push CTRL+PG DN (or down arrow)
- Look at it with an unzip utility

Neither of these methods worked for me (I'm running Windows ME)

But we can examine the innards of the file, looking for embedded tipoff
text. We can see this either with a hex viewer or even a text viewer
(both contained in File Snoop and other utilities).

I looked for the string "install."

WHAT SYNONYMS SHOULD WE SEARCH FOR THAT WOULD BE IN AN INSTALLATION .EXE
FILE?

- install
- setup

Add yours here...

Richard