[Release] RVM_PackInstaller.exe

Post by **RyanVM** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 5:02 pm

As mentioned before, here's my basic vision for what the interface is going to look like.

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 9:13 pm

That is almost exactly what mine would look like when I worked out all the bugs. LOL!

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 1:02 pm

OK... I will be working on the next release today. I will release it with a gui based on the one RyanVM posted above.

@RyanVM What exactly is the option "Remove duplicate files supposed to do?

Everything else should be in my next release.

Post by **RyanVM** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 2:46 pm

It's the functionality of __integrate_clean.exe on my site. I'm still undecided on whether or not I'm going to put that option on the program or not. I'm half-thinking about just making it an undocumented option that's enabled either through a specific switch or INI option.

buletov · Post by **buletov** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 3:26 pm

well i think it's fine as it is.... no reason for hidden options

Post by **RyanVM** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:43 pm

I just to make sure people are aware of what checking that box will do before doing so and then coming here and complaining that my update pack broke their system

buletov · Post by **buletov** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:25 pm

put a pop-up disclamer on the checkbox when it's clicked

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:59 pm

Here is a sneak peak at the next release.

It has bugs in it. I ran out of time to work on it today... but this is just something I would like to post for those who are curious.

The __integrate.exe source that I have has not been touched yet.. I want to get a confirmation from RyanVM on what I specifically must delete from it.

I created the gui based on RyanVM's post above. I did not add the checkmark option yet.

Well... I got go ... I'll be back later.

Edit: Link Removed obsolete. Please grab download in top post.

Post by **RyanVM** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 6:51 pm

buletov wrote:put a pop-up disclamer on the checkbox when it's clicked

That was exactly what I was thinking

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 4:03 am

Here's a screenshot.

I'll hopefully have time to work more on it tommorrow.

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 4:54 am

OK. I have released Beta v0.6 It has a GUI now.

The Remove duplicate files from I386. Option is a dummy right now. It does nothing.

RyanVM... can you send me the source of the __Clean_integrate.exe so I can implement it?

Thanks

I changed my first post with the v0.6 download.

Enjoy!

Post by **RyanVM** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:32 am

I'm assuming the addons dialog is a dummy one as well, since that's not coming until version 1.3.0

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 12:28 pm

LOL! I thought the addons would be for Update Pack fixes. I basically turned my 122to122a.rar into a .cab and I was testing with it.

So I guess it is a dummy... unless the only function for it would be to extract the .cab files into the I386.

I also was thinking of a better way to have the program edit dosnet.inf and txtsetup.sif.
I thought we could have a txt file inside of your cab that would have exactly every specific line that is related to your packs so then my app could search through the dosnet/txtsetup and remove those entries... then it would go back to that txt file and further down the txt file it would have the entries that needed to be added. This way there would never be a double post... and it would allways be clean.

Rudi1 · Post by **Rudi1** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 2:26 pm

Hi!

I'am really glad that this progi get updated,but I'am little confused now about it

is it work correct now with RyanVM pack or still something wrong?

Post by **RyanVM** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 2:46 pm

Siginet wrote:I thought we could have a txt file inside of your cab that would have exactly every specific line that is related to your packs

You apparently enjoy thinking on the same wavelength as me

. Actually, there already is such a file - entries.txt. It's used by nLite, but it is the plan to also use it for my installer.

Xable · Post by **Xable** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 6:16 pm

i think Siginet should provide __integrate.exe replacement.

Signet, good work. not working though have you tried it?

Edit, working, removed spaces in path

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 10:18 pm

It didn't work with spaces in the path? Hmmm. In what way were you trying to do it with spaces? With parameters or through the gui itself? I haven't tried it with spaces... but I don't see why it wouldn't work. If you are using parameter method make sure you use "" around your paths if they contain spaces.

Let me know if you still have problems. I am going to test it now.

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 10:45 pm

hMMM... iT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE RIGHT AGAIN uNo! lol! It seems that the cabarc is not extracting the files if there are spaces in the path. I think this is a small bug for now. But I will try to find a way around it.

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 10:46 pm

RyanVM wrote:
Siginet wrote:I thought we could have a txt file inside of your cab that would have exactly every specific line that is related to your packs
You apparently enjoy thinking on the same wavelength as me . Actually, there already is such a file - entries.txt. It's used by nLite, but it is the plan to also use it for my installer.

Thanks RyanVM.

I will try to make the program use that file soon.

Xable · Post by **Xable** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:59 pm

Siginet wrote:hMMM... iT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE RIGHT AGAIN uNo!

I am always right

at least i like to think so

buletov · Post by **buletov** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 4:28 am

UnO wrote:
Siginet wrote:hMMM... iT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE RIGHT AGAIN uNo!
I am always right at least i like to think so

yeah, something similar is here in my head, too

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 3:18 am

Is there any interest in me finishing this tool at all? Because I know now how to make the program parse the entries.txt file and I can easily finish this program to what it was intended. Or have you pretty much finished your version of it RyanVM?

buletov · Post by **buletov** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 5:07 am

finish it, so that you could call it "oldschool" later on...

Kelsenellenelvian · Post by **Kelsenellenelvian** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 6:40 am

Yes please finish it.

Post by **RyanVM** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 9:09 am

Mine is still a bit in the future. Keep going

Xable · Post by **Xable** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 11:05 am

Siginet, Keep goin i will test.

Ryanvm, i don`t see why you don`t use Siginets instead of yours! will there be any big differances between the two?

Post by **RyanVM** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 5:01 pm

I may do that as a short term solution, though I'd have to discuss it with Siginet first

(PM me, Siginet). I really want to get 1.3.0 out the door in July.

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 10:41 pm

PM sent.

Sorry I haven't been here since my last post. Been quite buisy latley.

So it looks like people are still interested in seeing the final product.

I'm sure it won't take long. I will be discussing things with Ryan now and we should get the next release out soon.

I am in as much anticipation for the next RyanVM update pack as everyone else.

So bear with me.

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 7:26 pm

OK... just to keep you all posted. I have finished the most difficult tasks of re-writeing the new RVMPacker. So it shouldn't be much longer now.

I need RyanVM to test out what I have so far and if he gives the OK... then I will port the new code over into my old code. Once it has been thouroughly tested then the next release of the RVM XP Update Pack should be released.

Protagonist. · Post by **Protagonist.** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 7:40 pm

Siginet wrote:OK... just to keep you all posted. I have finished the most difficult tasks of re-writeing the new RVMPacker. So it shouldn't be much longer now. I need RyanVM to test out what I have so far and if he gives the OK... then I will port the new code over into my old code. Once it has been thouroughly tested then the next release of the RVM XP Update Pack should be released.

Very nice work sig, sounds like it will be great.

Bilou_gateux · Post by **Bilou_gateux** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:50 am

@Siginet

Could you add support for Windows Server 2003 family in your tool (if not already included support for this OS)

I would like to use it with the 2K3 pack. And please keep us informed of the required content of the 2K3 pack to work with your tool.

Thanks.

orcoxp · Post by **orcoxp** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 3:46 pm

Wow is somebody not paying attention?

This is the RVM Update Pack installer...RVM is for XP SP2 only

Post by **RyanVM** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 4:11 pm

Well, the way we're doing it, it *might* be adaptable to other ones as well. Stay tuned.

codejunkie · Post by **codejunkie** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 6:44 pm

Bilou_gateux@

Latest version for Win2k3 is out. just finished it!
Win2k3 update pack v1.1.0

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 7:09 pm

I'm still waiting for you RyanVM?

I need you to make sure that exe I sent you will do the job. If it works like it should then I will port that code into the gui.

BTW... That's great news on the 2003 version!

I didn't even know there was a 2003 version in the works.

The way we are creating the program it will be able to work with 2003.

As long as the entries.ini file follows the same rules as the new RyanVM will be. For info on how the entries.ini file is used you will need to ask RyanVM... cause I don't want to release his idea of it untill he is ready to.

Protagonist. · Post by **Protagonist.** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:20 pm

Siginet wrote:I'm still waiting for you RyanVM?

His hard drive went kaboom.

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:40 pm

Oh no!

That really sux! Hopefully he gets it going soon. Everyone should donate $10 to him or something. I'm going to as soon as I get back.

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 2:50 pm

I have ported the code into the gui and it seems to be working fine for me. It still has minor bugs in it as far as error checking and some features have not been implemented yet... but it does what it is supposed to do so far. I am waiting for RyanVM to test it and give me some feedback.

Post by **RyanVM** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 6:29 pm

I'm doing an install of XP in VMWare with a CD created by it. So far so good

Protagonist. · Post by **Protagonist.** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 8:10 pm

sounds good siginet and ryan.

canuckerfan · Post by **canuckerfan** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 9:35 pm

Where the hell is that GUI installer, Siginet? Just joking, haha

Take your time, dude... I was just taking ryan's suggestion. (oh, and how's the progress?)

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:01 pm

The progress is good. It seems to work fine. I still have to add more code to it to allow for addon.cab's. I just got back from a vacation so I will be finishing it up soon.

Araknis · Post by **Araknis** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 5:45 am

Siginet, I know you were having problems with the extract command and instead are using cabarc.exe.

However, not everyone has cabarc.exe installed by default so extract was a better idea but with DOS 8.3 limitations.
Unless you are using expand once and expanding cabarc.exe from Ryan's UpdatePack to use

Siginet wrote:Does anyone know the correct syntax to expand all files and subfolders from a .cab file?

You can do this two ways. The /Y switch is to suppress overwrite, /E is for Extract, /L is for Location

EXTRACT /Y /E RVMUpdatePack.cab /L C:\Extracted
EXTRACT /Y RVMUpdatePack.cab *.* /L C:\Extracted

You can also extract just a file
EXTRACT /Y /E RVMUpdatePack.cab cabarc.exe /L C:\Extracted

However, if there is more than one file in seperate directories you will expand the multiple files and create the directories.
EXTRACT /Y RVMUpdatePack.cab input.in_ /L C:\Extracted
Will extract both home and pro.

You can use wildcards like the *.* example from above.
EXTRACT /Y RVMUpdatePack.cab *.ca_ /L C:\Extracted

Another useful command is to get a listing/check if a file is in a cab.
This would be usefull to check if the provided cab is Ryan's Update Pack and if not then don't extract.
EXTRACT /D RVMUpdatePack.cab RVMUpPck.in_
You can also redirect the result to a text file
EXTRACT /D RVMUpdatePack.cab RVMUpPck.in_ > C:\RVM.log

For more information about extract you could use

EXTRACT
EXTRACT /?
Just Visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/132913/

Ryan, If you want I can remove extra examples I just wanted to give some for people who never look at links.

Araknis · Post by **Araknis** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 6:12 am

Signet, better then using EXTRACT why not use EXTRAC32?
It is also on every system like EXTRACT and does not suffer form the DOS 8.3 limitations and provides a progress bar.

Using EXTRAC32 you can also extract a single file unlike EXTRACT.
EXTRAC32 /Y RVMUpdatePack.cab home/input.in_ /L C:\Extracted
Would result in C:\Extracted\Home\input.in_

EXTRAC32.exe has all the same command line switches however unlike EXTRACT the following won't work

EXTRAC32
EXTRAC32 /?

You can however get a command list by running
EXTRAC32 > C:\EXTRAC32.txt

So to extract all the files you would have the same command as EXTRACT but use EXTRAC32 instead.
EXTRAC32 /Y /E RVMUpdatePack.cab /L C:\Extracted
EXTRAC32 /Y RVMUpdatePack.cab *.* /L C:\Extracted

Another way on using EXTRAC32 is the following:
For example you have the following directories and files.
C:\RVM\RVMUpdatePack.cab
C:\WINDOWS\EXTRAC32.exe

Run this command
COPY /b "C:\WINDOWS\EXTRAC32.exe"+"C:\RVM\RVMUpdatePack.cab" "C:\Test\SIGNET.exe"

You have made a self-extracting executable out of the CAB file that if you run will extract the contents of the CAB file into the folder SIGNET.exe is in. Not only that but it will also show the progress of the extraction.

Siginet · Post by **Siginet** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 7:08 pm

@araknis Thanks for the info. I may try that out on a later release. I am using cabarc.exe for now. It doesn't need to be installed on everyones system because the Integrator will extract it and use it then delete it when it is finished.

@All I think RyanVM Integrator v1.0 RC1 is finished!

I uploaded it to RyanVM and I am just awaiting his approval. When he is ready he will post it on the site along with the new cab files. (Hopefully later today.)

canuckerfan · Post by **canuckerfan** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 8:42 pm

Siginet wrote:@araknis Thanks for the info. I may try that out on a later release. I am using cabarc.exe for now. It doesn't need to be installed on everyones system because the Integrator will extract it and use it then delete it when it is finished.

@All I think RyanVM Integrator v1.0 RC1 is finished! I uploaded it to RyanVM and I am just awaiting his approval. When he is ready he will post it on the site along with the new cab files. (Hopefully later today.)

Cool beans

Post by **RyanVM** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 1:11 am

We're tracking down the last few issues right now. Looking good for a release shortly

Protagonist. · Post by **Protagonist.** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 1:39 am

The "remove duplicate files" option on the integrator. Can someone possibly give a simple explanation of what that does or what consequences may occur. I'm guessing it has something to do with SFC?

Araknis · Post by **Araknis** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 1:57 am

Protagonist, from what I understand the "remove duplicate files" option is for hardware drivers and not SFC.

It would be like using __integrate_clean.exe instead of __integrate.exe.

integrate_clean.exe has the same functionality, but also removes files from driver.cab which also exist in i386.

Take note that you will need your XP CD available when installing new drivers, as the removed files will not be present in the Driver Cache directory.

Post by **RyanVM** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:47 am

araknis is correct, but that functionality has been removed for now. It's on the list for features to be added at a later time.

That being said, we've run into a problem that's taking Siginet some time to figure out. That's OK though. I've got everything setup so I can just FTP in when he's got it working and move files from one directory to the other and the release is ready

. That buys him a bit more time