RedLars said:
How can I log all actions that a setup.exe performs during
installation? I would like to know which registry settings and files
that are added\modifued\deleted.
If an application is installed from an MSI file, using the Windows
Installer, then you can specify logging on the command line; eg:
C:\Foo>msiexec /i Myapp.msi /lvx!* mysetup.log
.... will install "MyApp" and create a detailed log file "mtsetup.log" with
all file and registry operations.
Unfortunately, many applications - including many from Microsoft itself -
are distributed in some form *other* than an MSI file; often a SETUP.EXE
program plus a collection of CAB files. There are several different forms of
SETUP.EXE programs and no real consistency in how they work internally. Some
provide logging facilities, and some don't. When a software vendor creates a
setup.exe using a product like InstallShield, they can elect to enable
logging, but there's no obligation for them to do so (sadly).
As Dylan suggests, you can use RegMon and FileMon, available from the
Microsoft SysInternals website, to collect similar data (albeit, not in
quite as easy to use form as a msiexec log). Process Monitor from the same
site collects both the Registry and File data in a single log, so that's
generally recommended over the 2 separate utilities these days.
Hope it helps,
Andrew
