Using Combo Installer on 32-bit Windows

 

Combo Installer is a master tool that can be used directly or as part of your application installer to deploy the SuperPro components—Sentinel System Driver, SuperPro Server, and Monitoring Tool—on your end user's computer. The three-in-one installer offers methods to suit your installation preferences. For example, you can carry out installation of SuperPro components in quiet-mode—installation takes place on its own without seeking any user-intervention—or in a step-by-step manner with required user interaction. 

This section discusses the various installation methods, system requirements, and important points about modification/removal and properties implemented.

Note: Combo Installer is best-suited to developers who use Windows Installer-based packages for installing their protected applications and SuperPro redistributables. Developers not using Windows Installer can instead use the binaries provided in the \Combo Installer\Legacy directory. For more details, click here.

 

What Does the Combo Installer Include?

The Combo Installer directory included in the Sentinel SuperPro CD mainly consists of the following components:

\Legacy Consists of the Sentinel System Driver, SuperPro Server and Monitoring Tool binaries.
\Merge Modules Consists of the Sentinel System Driver, SuperPro Server and Monitoring Tool merge modules.
Setup.exe The setup program.
SuperProNet Combo Installer.msi    The Windows Installer .msi file for Combo installer.
Data1.cab An archive file used by SuperProNet Combo Installer.msi.
\Internet Installer Self-extracting installer.

Warning! The SuperPro server merge module does not include the Novell server. However, its binary is available in the Legacy\SuperPro Servers\novell directory.

 

How to Use Combo Installer in Your Own Installer?

There are five basic methods of using Combo Installer. You can choose any one of them depending upon your preferences. They have been discussed in detail below:

  1. Use the Combo Installer's setup.exe directly–The Combo Installer contains a GUI-based installer that does full step-by-step installation like any application. Hence, most end users will be able to run it on their own to install the SuperPro components. A wizard-based installer is shown that seeks user interaction. You can incorporate Combo Installer in your application's installation routine using its setup.exe in any of the following ways:
  1. Installing the SuperPro components quietly–Either during your application's installation or afterward, you can call the Combo Installer's setup.exe in the quiet mode. The installation is then run without any noticeable user interaction. Command-line switches are used to do this. This method is very similar to the first method, except that you call setup.exe yourself with the required switches to run without outputting messages (quiet mode).

  2. Your Windows Installer package calls the Combo Windows Installer package–With your application's Windows Installer-based installation program, you can easily call SuperProNet Combo Installer.msi. This is a supported custom action built into Windows Installer. The trick is to allow the installer to find the files it needs to install. The Combo Installer, written using InstallShield for Windows Installer, has all its files placed in the archive data1.cab. It is very possible that if you use InstallShield for Windows Installer you also have a .cab file corresponding to your application. In this case, the two .cab files need to be merged together—as they need to reside in one directory. Otherwise, just include SuperProNet Combo Installer.msi and data1.cab (corresponding to Combo Installer) in the same directory as your own .msi file. After you add a custom action to call the SuperProNet Combo Installer.msi file from your installer, all three components will be installed quietly right along with your application in a seamless manner.

  3. Use the Merge Modules Supplied–Using the merge modules included in the \ComboInstaller\Merge Modules directory, all three SuperPro components become part of your application's installer. Then on, they can be installed and removed along with your application. Using merge modules is fully documented in this Help.

  4. Use the Internet Installer–A self-extracting installer is available in the \Internet Installer directory that can be used directly or called from your application's setup program.

    Another alternative is to point your end users to the Rainbow Technologies Web site (http://www.rainbow.com) where they can download the latest version of the Combo Installer themselves. Assuming your customers are on the Internet already, this gives them an easy way to obtain the latest versions of these components.

If you are using method 1 or 2, the following six files are required, totaling about 4 MB: 

If you are using method 3, then you need only two files that total about 800 KB:

We recommend, however, that you include the entire contents of the Combo Installer CD on your own application CD as long as you have room. This keeps the distribution complete. Most developers make a subdirectory on their CD for the SuperPro components and place the entire CD contents in that folder. The entire CD takes up less than 10 MB of space.

 

Modification/Removal Instructions

For option 1, 2 and 5, use the following instructions to uninstall Combo Installer:

  1. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel.

  2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs to view a list of software installed on your system. Look for SuperProNet Combo Installer in the list.

  3. Double-click SuperProNet Combo Installer to start the installation wizard. The installer will allow you to modify, repair, or remove the installation

  4. Select the relevant option you want and follow the instructions shown.

Note: Under option 3 and 4 discussed earlier, no separate item is shown in the Add/Remove Programs list for the Combo Installer. Its uninstallation is tied with that of your application.

 

Command-Line Installation Options

The command-line options to Windows Installer can be used with setup.exe or msiexec.exe.

The setup.exe program calls on the Windows Installer to install Combo Installer from its .msi file. You can pass on any command-line options to the Windows Installer via setup.exe using the /v option. Multiple options are placed within quotation marks; any option that requires a quotation mark should be prefaced with a \. As an example:

 setup.exe /v"/qn INSTALLDIR=\"C:\Program Files\SPNCombo\""

The above line will install all the SuperPro components quietly (without prompts) into the C:\Program Files\SPNCombo directory.

For msiexec.exe, use the option given in the example below, where the /i option is for installing the package:

msiexec.exe /i "<path>\SuperProNet Combo Installer.msi" INSTALLDIR="C:\Program Files\SPNCombo\"

For more information on the Windows Installer and its command-line options, go to the Microsoft's MSDN Web site. Some valid Windows Installer command-line options are as follows (see the MSDN Web site for complete information on all options):

Note: The column titled "/v Argument?" indicates whether the option must be placed within the /v quotation marks or whether it is used outside of the /v option.

Option Description

/v
Argument?

/f [p|o|e|d|c|a|u|m|s|v] Repairs or reinstalls missing or corrupted files. This option is available only with msiexec.exe. Use this option in conjunction with the following flags:
  • p will reinstall a file if it is missing.

  • o will reinstall a file if it is missing or if an older version of the file is present on the user's system .

  • e will reinstall if file is missing or an equal or older version is installed.

  • d will reinstall if file is missing or a different version is installed.

  • c will reinstall a file if it is missing or if the stored checksum of the installed file does not match the new file's value.

  • a will force a reinstall of all files.

  • u or m will rewrite all required user registry entries.

  • s will overwrite any existing shortcuts.

  • v will run your application from the source and store the local installation package in cache memory.

NO
/x This uninstalls the Sentinel System Driver. NO
/q [n|b|r|f] The /q option is used to set the user interface level in conjunction with the following flags:
  • q or qn will create no user interface.

  • qb will create a basic user interface. The user interface settings below display a modal dialog box at the end of installation.

  • qr will display a reduced user interface.

  • qf will display a full user interface.

  • qn+ will display no user interface.

  • qb+ will display a basic user interface.

YES
/l [i|w|e|a|r|u|c|m|p|v|+]
<log file>
Building with the /l option will specify the path to the log file; these flags will indicate which information to record in the log file:
  • i will log status messages.

  • w will log nonfatal warning messages.

  • e will log any error messages.

  • a will log the commencement of action sequences.

  • r will log action-specific records.

  • u will log user requests.

  • c will log initial user interface parameters.

  • m will log out-of-memory messages.

  • p will log terminal settings.

  • v will log the verbose output setting.

  • + will append to an existing file.

  • * is a wildcard character; allows you to log all information (excluding the verbose output setting).

YES
PROPERTY = VALUE All public properties can be set or modified from the command line. To set a property from the command line, use the following syntax:

PROPERTY = VALUE

So, if you wanted to change the value of COMPANYNAME, you would enter:

COMPANYNAME="Rainbow Technologies"

Remember to use a backslash (\) for quotation marks inside a quotation.

YES

Examples of Frequently Used Command-Line Options

To assist you in using the Windows installer, this section contains examples of frequently used installer command-line options.

Note: If you use the self-extracting installer replace setup with the executable in the \Internet installer directory.

Command line options given by msiexec.exe are:

 

Properties

Using properties, you can control the way the Combo Installer package is installed. The Windows Installer contains many different properties that are configurable as a command-line option. Some of these properties are discussed below; for more information, go to the Microsoft's MSDN Web site. 

Option Description
ADDLOCAL List of features, separated by commas, to be installed to the local hard drive. This property allows you to control which features will be installed. The list of features is below this table. Use the default value of "all" to install everything. Feature names are case sensitive. For example, to install the USB driver only:

ADDLOCAL="USB_Driver,SPNServer"

REMOVE List of features, separated by commas, to be uninstalled. This property allows you to control which features will be removed. The list of features is below this table. Use the default value of "all" to install everything. Feature names are case sensitive. For example, to remove only the USB driver:

REMOVE="USB_Driver,SPNServer"

COMPANYNAME Organization of user performing the installation.
USERNAME User performing the installation.
REBOOT Set this value to one of three values:
  • Force–Always prompt for a reboot at the end of the installation. The UI always prompts the user with an option to reboot at the end. If there is no user interface the system automatically reboots at the end of the installation.
  • Suppress–Suppress prompts for a reboot at the end of the installation. The installer still prompts the user with an option to reboot during the installation whenever it encounters a reboot action in the middle of the installation. If there is no user interface, the system automatically reboots at each forced reboot. Reboots at the end of the installation, for example caused by an attempt to install a file in use, are suppressed.
  • ReallySuppress–Suppress all prompts for reboots during the installation initiated by forced reboot and all prompts at end of the installation.
REBOOTPROMPT If the REBOOTPROMPT property is set to Suppress (or just S) any reboot performed by the Windows Installer happens automatically without interaction from the user. Setting this property does not initiate a reboot if one is not needed; it only suppresses the display of any prompts for reboots to the user.
ARPHELPLINK The Internet address for technical support. This value shows up in the Windows 2000 and XP application information. This allows users to be directed straight to your Web site for problems.
ARPHELPTELEPHONE The telephone number for technical support. This value shows up in the Windows 2000 and XP application information. This allows users to be directed to your technical support number for assistance.
NOVDDINSTALL Do not install the virtual device driver (VDD) on Window NT/2000/XP. Older DOS and Win16 applications use the VDD. Set this property to any value to prevent the VDD installation. This property has no effect on Windows 9x.
CONFIRMUPDATE Use this property to confirm that you would like the installer to upgrade a previous Sentinel System Driver version. Set this property to any value to confirm you would like upgrades to take place. There is no effect if you set this on a system that does not require an upgrade. Setting this property is only necessary if you are not using the GUI.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are running the installation from the command line without the full GUI and do not set this property, if the installer detects a driver is currently installed, it will exit without updating the driver.

SSDREBOOTREQUIRED When this property is set, it tells the installer to ask for a reboot at the end of the installation. Various custom actions in the installer will set this property when they decide a reboot is required to complete the installation.

If you are creating your own installer using the merge modules, it is important to flag a reboot at the end of the installation if this property is ever set.

USBFULLUNINSTALL This property fully uninstalls the USB SuperPro driver when set. (It only works during uninstallation of the entire package.)

The USB SuperPro driver is a plug 'n' play (PnP) driver that is WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) certified on Windows 2000 and XP. According to Microsoft specifications, a PnP driver should never be uninstalled from a system even if the hardware is removed. This is because PnP only loads in the drivers for components actually plugged into the computer. When the device is removed, the driver is never loaded. Uninstalling it risks inadvertently causing a problem with the entire operating system.

For this reason, the USB driver is never fully uninstalled by default by the installer. Some developers desire the ability to completely remove all traces of the USB driver from a computer. This action is intended for this, but should be used at your own risk. If this property is set, all traces of the USB driver are removed from the system. In general, the computer should be rebooted if this occurs, although the installer will not specifically prompt to do so. It is possible for there to be multiple installations of the Sentinel System Driver on a computer. This action does not check to see if there are other installations on the computer. Running it may require a re-install or repair to make the USB driver operational again for another application.

This property affects the Windows 2000 and XP systems. Other operating systems fully uninstall the driver.

SSDRELEASESTATE This property allows you control the version shown of the Sentinel System Driver. To prevent installation of beta.txt—the installer file corresponding to the beta releases of the driver—set this property to FINAL.
ISSERVICESTOPPED This property is used to conditionally call the StartSpService custom action. It is set to TRUE by RemoveOldDriver when the SuperPro server/service is stopped on the target system for Sentinel System Driver installation.

There are four features that can be set using the above ADDLOCAL, REMOVE, or REINSTALL properties on the Combo Installer:

All properties and the values they are set to are case-sensitive.

 

Note on USB Sentinel SuperPro Keys

All USB Sentinel SuperPro keys need to be removed before installing or removing the Combo Installer. Otherwise, the USB portion of the installation might fail. For this reason, we recommend providing some sort of warning to the user to remove any USB SuperPro keys from the computer before performing the installation. In the case of the supplied installer, it warns the user on the Install Confirmation dialog just before any real installation takes place. If a user fails to heed this warning then you should have the user uninstall and re-install the Combo Installer without the USB key plugged in. This should repair the system and make the USB key operational.

 

Technical Support Contact Information

Rainbow Technologies Customer Connection Center (C3)
http://c3.rainbow.com
Americas
Internet http://www.rainbow.com/support
E-mail techsupport@rainbow.com
United States
Telelphone (800) 959-9954
Fax (949) 450-7450
Europe
E-mail EUTechSupport@rainbow.com
France
Telephone 0825 341000
Fax 44 (0) 1932 570743
Germany
Telephone 01803 RAINBOW (7246269)
Fax 089 32179850
United Kingdom
Telephone 0870 7529200
Fax 44 (0) 1932 570743
Europe
E-mail techsupportpacrim@rainbow.com
Australia and New Zealand
Telephone (61) 3 9820 8900
Fax (61) 3 9820 8711
China
Telephone (86) 10 8266 3936
Fax (86) 10 8266 3948
India
Telephone (91) 11 2 691 7538
Fax (91) 11 2 684 9105
Taiwan and Southeast Asia
Telephone (886) 2 2570 5522
Fax (886) 2 2570 1988