Format And Reinstall Windows

Installation (or setup ) of a program (including drivers, plugins, etc.) is the act of putting the program onto a computer system so that it can be executed.

Some software can be executed by simply copying it to a computer and executing it with no further ado; no installation procedure as such is required. Other programs are supplied in a form not suitable for immediate execution, and require an installation procedure. Installation may include unpacking of files supplied in a compressed form, copying them to suitable locations, tailoring the software to suit the hardware and the user's preferences, providing information about the program to the operating system, and so on. The installer may test for system suitability and available mass storage space.

Because the requisite process varies for each program and each computer, many programs (including operating systems) come with a general-purpose or dedicated installer – a specialized program which automates most of the work required for their installation.

Some software is designed to be installed simply by copying their files to the desired location, and there is no formal installation process. This was once usual for many programs running under MS-DOS, Mac OS, Atari TOS, AmigaOS since early versions of these operating systems and actually it is very common and "de facto" standard in Mac OS X applications and is also used for many Windows applications. There are versions of some operating systems which do not themselves require installation, and can be run directly from a bootable CD, DVD, or USB drive, without affecting other operating systems installed (but not running) on the machine. Examples are AmigaOS 4.0, Knoppix Linux, MorphOS AmigaOS clone, or Mac OS 1-9.

Common operations performed during software installations include creation or modification of:

• Shared and non-shared program files
• Folders/directories
• Windows registry entries ( Windows only )
• Configuration file entries
• Environment variables
• Links or shortcuts

Some jargon expressions

Installer

An installation program or installer is a computer program that installs files, such as applications, drivers, or other software, onto a computer. Some installers are specifically made to install the files they contain; other installers are general-purpose and work by reading the contents of the software package to be installed.

The differences between a package management system and an installer are:

Bootstrapper

During the installation of computer programs it is sometimes necessary to update the installer or package manager itself. To make this possible, a technique called bootstrapping is used. The common pattern for this is to use a small executable file (e.g. setup.exe) which updates the installer and starts the real installation after the update. This small executable is called bootstrapper. Sometimes the bootstrapper installs other prerequisites for the software during the bootstrapping process too.

Common installers

A currently popular format for Microsoft Windows is the MSI installation package, which is installed by Windows Installer. Companies making tools for creating installers for Windows include Flexera Software's InstallShield, JExpress, InstallBuilder, Wise, Actual Installer , Smart Install Maker and ScriptLogic Corporation (Formerly MaSaI Solutions). Most of these tools can create MSI packages as well as their own proprietary executables.

Free alternatives include NSIS, Clickteam, InnoSetup and a tool from Microsoft called WiX. Java projects will also be interested in the open source IzPack which allows generation of cross-platform installers.

Mac OS X has an application called Installer bundled with it. However, this is not technically an installer (see table above), but a Package Manager. Some commercial applications for Mac OS X use a custom installer, often Installer VISE or Stuffit InstallerMaker. Applications that do not need to install additional system components can be installed by moving the application files to a desired location on a hard drive; this is known as drag-and-drop installation and no installer software is needed. Mac OS X also includes a separate software updating application, Software Update (also known by its shell command, softwareupdate ) but only supports Apple and system software.

An installation program on a CD is often designed to run automatically when inserted into the optical disc drive.

As a compromise between the Windows installer concept and the package management systems of UNIX-like systems, Windows installation management systems exist. Many of these form a part of systems management software, and (in some cases open source) alternatives exist to these.

See also

• Uninstaller
• Software distribution
• Package management system
• Application virtualization
• List of installation software
• Pre-installed software

References

1. ^ http://www.actualinstaller.com/
2. ^ http://www.sminstall.com/

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