nevada Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 I have never before had problems installing Macro Express upgrades. Therefore, when I saw version 3.6 available, I ran it without hesitation. The install ran without problems. Because I haven't run a ME express update in well over a year, I didn't realize when I ran it that I didn't see the searching for prior installations screen that I saw before. I rebooted only to see the splash screen saying version 3.5e. I had a problem. I discovered that ME had installed itself in c:\program files and my old version in f:\program files was still there and starting up on reboot. The install didn't discover the prior version on the F drive. I use my c drive to boot windows only and have limited space there. I don't want any application programs or data there to reduce image creation and restore times and file sizes. Because I have never had problems with ME before I didn't make an image before installing. Because I had installed some other programs that I didn't want to reinstall, I didn't want to simply restore my c drive from an image. So I uninstalled version 3.6. My program start entries on the start menu went away. I reinstalled 3.5e to put them back. When it restarted, it told me I had used the program for more than 30 days. My license information was gone. Fortunately, I was able to find it from six or seven years ago. I put it in. It worked. Now I have lost all of my customization settings. I am not sure what to do now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevada Posted January 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 I turned on my backup system and ran regedit, the registry editor. I exported to a floppy key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Insight Software Solutions\Macro Express I then imported it to my system. It got back my colors and fonts for the macro editor. So far I seem to have successfully returned to where I started from before I installed 3.6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 When you install Macro Express v 3.6 you are given a choice of 'Default Installation' and 'Custom Installation'. When you choose 'Default Installation' Macro Express will be installed in the folder 'c:\Program Files\Macro Express3'. The option to search for a previous installation of Macro Express was removed because with today's large hard drives it was taking too long to search for a previous version of Macro Express. On some computers it was taking 10 minutes or more. When Macro Express is uninstalled it correctly removes all preference settings from the registry. If you have extensive changes to your preferences you may want to export the program configuration to save them before you uninstall. Click Tools and Export Program Configuration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevada Posted January 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Kevin said: > When you install Macro Express v 3.6 you are given a choice of 'Default Installation' and 'Custom Installation'. When you choose 'Default Installation' Macro Express will be installed in the folder 'c:\Program Files\Macro Express3'. Nevada replies: It never worked that way before. How is anyone supposed to know this, until they find out the install trashed their system? Providing users a drive choice on installs, as opposed to installing to c drives without telling them, is becoming more important now than before because of the way manufacturers make c drive restoration the only way to recover systems. If you save your registry on the d drive, you can restore the c drive from the manufacturers cd-rom or partition, restore your registry from d, and get your system back without reinstalling everything, or using gigabytes to store check points. I do not buy the argument that you should reduce such choices to accomodate dumbed down users. Kevin said: > The option to search for a previous installation of Macro Express was removed because with today's large hard drives it was taking too long to search for a previous version of Macro Express. On some computers it was taking 10 minutes or more. Nevada replies: But removing the check creates the problem that trashed my system. To fix one alleged problem, you create another one that trashes systems. That's truly brilliant. The solution is that you provide a prompt in the install wizard to ask the user if he wants to install on top of a prior installation and if he does, you take time to find the installation. Kevin said: > If you have extensive changes to your preferences you may want to export the program configuration to save them before you uninstall. Click Tools and Export Program Configuration. Nevada replies. That's certainly useful information to know after you have lost your system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 It never worked that way before. How is anyone supposed to know this...The list of changes says "The installer has been updated and revised to optimize default installs." We will change the installer for the next release to more clearly describe what happens when 'Default Installation' is selected. ...the install trashed their system?The install didn't exactly 'Trash your system'. All that was lost were a few preference settings and that is a direct result of uninstalling Macro Express. Microsoft's published specifications require that registry values be removed when a program is uninstalled.But removing the check creates the problem that trashed my system. To fix one alleged problem, you create another one that trashes systems.Very few, if any, programs that we have seen and compared search for previous installations. It was a poorly implemented feature and not commonly used. We stand by our decision to remove it.> If you have extensive changes to your preferences you may want to export the program configuration to save them before you uninstall. Click Tools and Export Program Configuration. That's certainly useful information to know after you have lost your system. This feature has been in Macro Express since v 2.0, long before even Macro Express 3 was first released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevada Posted January 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Kevin stated: > QUOTE It never worked that way before. How is anyone supposed to know this... The list of changes says "The installer has been updated and revised to optimize default installs." We will change the installer for the next release to more clearly describe what happens when 'Default Installation' is selected. Nevada replies: The sentence does not even hint that you changed it to ignore previous installations of the product. Kevin said: > QUOTE ...the install trashed their system? The install didn't exactly 'Trash your system'. All that was lost were a few preference settings and that is a direct result of uninstalling Macro Express. Microsoft's published specifications require that registry values be removed when a program is uninstalled. Nevada replies: That's not true. I lost the license information. After considerable effort and loss of time, I was able to find it on some pieces of paper from six or seven years ago. For while I thought I had lost it. Fortunately my paper filing system worked. Had not I been able find it, and had I not had multiple levels and copies of backups, including different locations, I would have had a non working ME system. Without the code or proof of purchase, you may have made me repurchase the product. Furthermore, it was not just "a few preference settings." Those few settings included all my fonts and colors that I chose over years and would be a real pain to figure out again. Furthermore, the new install left in place some start up commands that pointed to and actually started version 3.5e when I ipled the system. That's another problem of ignoring previous installs. Kevin said: > QUOTE But removing the check creates the problem that trashed my system. To fix one alleged problem, you create another one that trashes systems. Very few, if any, programs that we have seen and compared search for previous installations. It was a poorly implemented feature and not commonly used. We stand by our decision to remove it. Nevada replies: But few programs I have ever seen don't give you a choice of an installation directory and the opportunity to install one version over another one, unless like with WordPerfect, the developers intend new versions to coexist along side earlier ones. If a user has installed a program in one place, an update install should not install it again in another without giving the user a choice. Kevin said: > QUOTE > If you have extensive changes to your preferences you may want to export the program configuration to save them before you uninstall. Click Tools and Export Program Configuration. That's certainly useful information to know after you have lost your system. This feature has been in Macro Express since v 2.0, long before even Macro Express 3 was first released. Nevada replies: Until this screw up, I never needed it. BOTTOM LINE: The default install wizard should let the user choose to install over a previously installed version instead of always installing in c:\program files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.