SEAU Technical Support
Frequently Asked Questions
1. An archive is reporting that it is corrupt.
2. The compression ratio isn't very good.
3. Errors are occurring during compression.
4. After uninstalling a font, it still shows up under Control Panel, Fonts.
5. How do I set global environment variables in autoexec.bat?
6. A Start Menu shortcut is not being created.
7. How much overhead does the installer have?
8. Can I use SEAU to distribute commercial software?
9. How do I change the archive's icon?
10. How do I change the uninstaller's icon?
11. How do I change the installer's title text?
12. Why can't a product be installed in two different locations?
13. How do I overwrite a read-only file?
14. How do I install data into the registry?
15. How do I start a program when the installation finishes?
16. Can the archive limit the number of times it will install?
17. The PAUSE command in a DOS Batch does not seem to work.
18. How do I install an empty directory?
19. After digitally signing the archive, it reports that it is corrupt.
20. The Start Menu keeps reporting that the product was newly installed.
If you still can't solve the problem, you may contact our technical support department. However, please be aware of the following:
- Using email allows us to provide free, unlimited technical support. Our software is very inexpensive, and we do not currently have the resources to provide this level of support over the telephone.
- Technical support can assist with the software's configuration, but within limits. Sometimes configuration requires intimate knowledge of your business and may necessitate a Systems Analyst.
- Technical support is staffed Monday through Friday, 10:00am - 6:00pm Central Time (GMT-6:00). Of course, you can send us email any time.
Click here to send an email to Gammadyne Technical Support. We value your feedback and appreciate your interest in our software!
Answers
1. An archive is reporting that it is corrupt.
This occurs when something in the archive has been altered. The installer will always check to make sure it has not been changed before installing as a precaution, because there is a good chance the installation will not work. Not a single byte is allowed to change.
The most common cause of this is a faulty download. Delete the file (so that it is not cached) and re-download it.
Another common cause is a virus. Viruses modify executable files when infecting them, which in turn can cause the installer to report that it is corrupt. You should definitely check your system for viruses.
A less likely cause is when the archive has been copied across a faulty network. Verify that the copied file is exactly the same as the original file.
If the problem occurs after digitally signing the archive, make sure that "Archive Mode" is set to "Embedded" and that "Use Checksums" is unchecked. Both of these options are on the Build branch.
2. The compression ratio isn't very good.
Make sure that the "Compression Style" setting on the "Build" branch is set properly.
Multimedia files (wav, gif, jpg, mp3) are already compressed and will not compress any further. You may want to try compressing the same files with another program as a comparison.
3. Errors are occurring during compression.
Sometimes the compressor will overload your system's resources. This can result in an "Out of memory" or "Hard disk is full" error. Also, the compression may slow to a crawl while the hard disk is accessed continuously.
The solution is simple: select a more conservative setting for the "Compression Style" on the "Build" branch. SEAU allows you to use an insane amount of memory to improve the compression ratio. Not all machines can handle it.
4. After uninstalling a font, it still shows up under Control Panel, Fonts.
The operating system will not actually remove the font until the machine is re-booted.
5. How do I set global environment variables in autoexec.bat?
This feature has not been added because it is a horribly bad idea. The DOS environment has a very limited amount of space for global variables. Using up this space can cause severe problems with DOS-based applications. You should not declare global environment variables under any circumstances - it is an extremely bad programming practice. Use the registry or an .INI file for storing this kind of data.
If you absolutely must do it, you will have to write a program that modifies autoexec.bat. Call this program from the Post-Installation Script. We will not provide support for any installer that does this.
6. A Start Menu shortcut is not being created.
If a Start Menu shortcut is not being created, first make sure that the file that you want a shortcut to is listed in the File Specification Table (on the "Files" branch). Then, make sure the "Start Menu" box is checked on the same row of the File Specification Table.
Note: this will not cause problems if the file has already been included in the archive by checking the "Archive everything in directory" box. SEAU is smart enough to know not to put the same file in the archive twice.
7. How much overhead does the installer have?
The overhead is approximately 150 KB, which is quite small for everything the installer can do. Usually compression makes the archive smaller than the sum of the files that are going into it.
8. Can I use SEAU to distribute commercial software?
Yes, absolutely. Furthermore, there are no royalties: the installer is yours to distribute freely. However, it is necessary to purchase a license for SEAU.
9. How do I change the archive's icon?
To override the default icon, specify the full path to a new .ICO file in the "Archive Icon" setting on the "Build" branch.
Under Windows 95/98/ME, the icon must be 32x32 in 256 colors. Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003 does not have this limitation. This is because Micro$oft was too lazy to implement the UpdateResource() API function in Windows 9x/ME.
10. How do I change the uninstaller's icon?
Use the "Uninstaller Icon" setting on the "Uninstall" branch.
11. How do I change the installer's title text?
To change the text that appears at the top of the installer's window, follow these steps:
- Choose "Edit Interface Strings" from the Tools menu.
- Choose "English" from the list of languages.
- Choose "Background Title" from the list of strings.
- Enter the new title. When left blank, the title defaults to the name and version of the product.
- Choose "Save As" from the File menu and save the new string set to the directory where SEAU is installed.
- Close the String Editor window by choosing "Exit" from the File menu.
- On the Display branch, change the "String set" setting to the name of your new string set.
12. Why can't a product be installed in two different locations?
You cannot re-install a product to a second location because then all the uninstall information for the first installation would be overwritten.
To relocate a product, you must uninstall it, then reinstall it to the new location.
13. How do I overwrite a read-only file?
To install over read-only files, you have two options:
1. Check the "Overwrite read-only files" box on the Install branch. No read-only file will be safe!
2. Before installation, remove the read-only attribute from the file. This can be done using the DOS 'attrib' command in the Pre-Installation Batch, like this:
attrib -r filename.ext
14. How do I install data into the registry?
To install registry keys and values, you can export the data to a .REG file with the registry editor. The .REG file is then imported during installation by using the following statement in the Post-Installation Batch:
regedit /s foo.reg
Notes:
- This assumes that foo.reg is installed in the root of the main installation directory (which is the current working directory for the Post-Installation Batch). You can specify a relative path to a subdirectory.
- The "/s" switch prevents the user from being asked if they want to modify the registry.
- A robust program does not rely on the presence of registry information. Your software should be able to use a default value in the absence of registry values, like ours does.
- The registry editor can be found in the main operating system directory (i.e. c:\windows). The filename is REGEDIT.EXE. Because the operating system directory is always part of the PATH environment variable, the batch does not need to specify REGEDIT.EXE's directory.
- On the "Locations" branch, there is an option to create a registry key during installation, which is also deleted during uninstallation. It is recommended you use this feature so that when the product is uninstalled, the registry is cleaned up.
- You may want to delete the .REG file in the Installation-Exit Batch since it is no longer needed.
Use the DOS 'del' command, like this:
del foo.reg
15. How do I start a program when the installation finishes?
After installation finishes, you can start a program or open a document with the "start" command in the Installation-Exit Batch. The current directory will be the location where the product was installed, so no path information is necessary. Here is an example:
start foo.exe
Here is another example that opens an HTML file in a subdirectory of the installation directory:
start foo\bar.htm
16. Can the archive limit the number of times it will install?
No, nor will we ever implement such a feature. A below average third grader could easily circumvent this kind of limitation.
17. The PAUSE command in a DOS Batch does not seem to work.
There are two possible causes:
1. The installer is run in Automatic Mode.
2. The "Hide DOS Window" box is checked.
18. How do I install an empty directory?
To create an empty directory, use the "md" DOS command in the Post-Installation Batch. To refer to the installation directory, use the %InstallDir% environment variable. Here is a complete example:
md "%InstallDir%\my directory"
19. After digitally signing the archive, it reports that it is corrupt.
Make sure that "Archive Mode" is set to "Embedded" and that "Use Checksums" is unchecked. Both of these options are on the Build branch.
20. The Start Menu keeps reporting that the product was newly installed.
Make sure your computer's clock is set to the correct date. If the executable's date is in the future, the Start Menu will continue to treat the product as newly installed.