Automated install and gdiplus.dll

[Nico57]

Hi all.

I’m trying to come out with an automated setup.
Now that I FINALLY found the right MSI options and properties to use, I stumbled upon the gdiplus.dll problem for Win9x/Me/2k machines.

I either run powarc1011fr.exe or powarc1011fr.msi with the following parameters: /qb AI_DESKTOP_SH="" ADDSTART="" SHOWCONF="" ENABLEQUEUE=""

The MSI installer goes through the installation process, but it won’t take care of the gdiplus.dll requirement, and trying to use PA will lead to a “missing DLL” message. :(
The EXE installer correctly detects the DLL is missing, but then displays a dialog box, so it won’t run unattended…

And this is a hell of a DLL: in WinXP/2003/Vista gdiplus.dll is buried deep in the WinSxS subsystem and it’s hard to check for; in Win9x/Me/2k it’s supposed to be installed in the program directory of EVERY application that depends on it.

I’ll try to work around this by checking wether the %windir%\WinSxS directory exists and copying the file otherwise, but this should clearly be done by the installer !

[spwolf]

you can simply download the SFX from the installer requirement and then install SFX prior or after PA 2007 installation.

Checking for requirements is feature of .exe installed (which is MSI as well).

[spwolf]

additionally, if you email us via support form, you can get more info and faster than on forums….

thanks

[Nico57]

Hmm, yes I can do that.
However, installing gdiplus.dll on XP/Vista goes against Microsoft’s recommandations, and it’s even a violation of their EULA (“You may distribute gdiplus.dll solely for use with Windows 2000, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 98”).

Well, I put the following line in my install script:

if not exist %windir%\WinSxS gdiplus_dnld.exe /s
```I'll stick to this for now, but I really think this should be handled by the MSI installer.

Sure, the EXE installer is based on MSI as well, but checking is done in the wrapper part, not by the MSI itself. :P

[Nico57]

Sorry for not going straight to the support, I did not notice the form.

[spwolf]

At least in our MSI Installer, we can not include prerequsites without boot strapper (exe). Even then, would you want each one to be download from the net? That would be too much extra work.

Your solution is reccomended one.

When having setup issues, it is usually much better to contact support since most people on forums are private users that dont have access to advanced installation docs (that you should have gotten).

thanks!