4 replies to this topic

[jonathan2002]

A Standard User on Windows 2000 should apparently have the right to install software, and they can at least install WinZip. Yet when I try to install my package under the same conditions it always fails due to the user lacking admin privileges.

In order to find out what part of the package was objectionable I removed different aspects (registry entries, files in the System folder, etc.). All these experimental versions failed with the same result, even the one that contained nothing except 3 standard Merge Modules and nothing else.

Can someone either:

1. explain why WinZip installs under these conditions but nthing I create does?

2. how I can make my software installable under these conditions?

3. if that is impossible, how can I get the installation to detect that?

[Stefan Secker]

Hi Jonathan,

i never ran into this problem but I think it has to do with the operating system that you target and the question: Do you install for all users or not?

In the case of NT/2000(/XP?) i think you will not be allowed to install for all users, unless you have administrative rights. Win98/ME this is a different case, though.

To see if you install for all users check the property "ALLUSERS".
To get to know whether the executing user has admin rights check the property "AdminUser"

Hope my suggestion helps.

Stefan

[Stefan Krueger]

Usually I'd say that only Administrators and Power USers should be able to install software, expcept if the Administrator has allowed the installation. This may be the case for WinZip in your case.

However even if you are a PowerUser and/or the Administrator has allowed installation, a setup may fail if it's explicity chekcing the AdminUser property.

I'd suggest you generate a log file which should tell you where and why it fails.

[jonathan2002]

ok, thanks

[jonathan2002]

I had found that setting ALLUSERS=2 would ensure installation regardless of whether a Standard User or Admin User was running the install on W2000. However, it now occurs that a standard user can't REMOVE the software BY RUNNING THE ORIGINAL SETUP.EXE (even if he installed as himself, and thus got a per-user installation) without getting the error message "The administrator has set policies to prevent you running this installation". Yet if I go to the Control Panel (in NT) I can run the removal, whilst still logged in as the same user. When I try this in W2000, the remove/change options are disabled on the control panel, although Repair is available.

I would just like a consistent set of install/uninstall behaviour across all platforms that can be documented for end users