Multiuser .exe file overwrite issue

[Trygve Lorentzen]

Hi,

we are in these days deploying a .NET windows app. The exe file is meant to
be self-updating (custom built logic) by downloading newer versions when a
new version is built. There is a problem however in cases where multiple
users are running of the same .exe file, like in a terminal server
environment.

I have looked into using mutexes
(http://www.jrsoftware.org/iskb.php?mutexsessions), but I don't think this
is such a good idea. I don't think sending a message to all users that they
have to close the program down is a good way to do this and neither do I
want to close all sessions down by force (possibly causing loss of data).

The program is not really meant to be run off the same exe file, perhaps
there is a way to tell the users that another user has already started the
application and that they should run it off their "home" area. Or could I do
something similar than Java where instead of an exe file I start up the
program by running the java interpreter on a startup class?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Trygve Lorentzen
Software Developer
ProTeria as

 

[Ignacio Machin \( .NET/ C# MVP \)]

Hi,


Maybe a better option ( at least less intrussive ) is placing a script in
the Run|RunOnce section in the registry, in this way you will wait until the
next reset to update your application, it will be performed BEFORE anybody
logs in so there would be no problem with that.

cheers,

 

[Sylvain Lafontaine]

You should make it mandatory that each user run it off their home area
*every* time.

S. L.