Installing, Configuring, and Maintaining Software - Application Setup
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With Windows Vista, only administrators can install software. This means you must either install software using an account with administrator privileges, or provide administrator permissions when prompted. Administrator privileges are required to change, repair, and uninstall software as well.
Most software applications have a setup program that uses Windows Installer, InstallShield, or Wise Install. The job of the installer program is to track the installation process and make sure the installation completes successfully. If the installation fails, the installer is also responsible for restoring your computer to its original state by reversing all the changes the Setup program has made. While this works great in theory, you can encounter problems, particularly when you are installing older programs. Older programs won’t have and won’t be able to use the features of the latest versions of installer programs, and as a result, they sometimes are unable to uninstall a program completely.
Because a partially uninstalled program can spell disaster for your computer, you should protect yourself by creating a System Restore checkpoint prior to installing any software or game. By creating a restoring point, as discussed in Chapter 21, you can be sure that you can fully recover your computer to the state it was in prior to installing the software or game. This way, if you run into problems, you’ll have an effective recovery strategy.
Before installing any software or game, you should do the following:
Check whether it is compatible with Windows Vista. You can determine compatibility in several ways. You can check the software packaging, which should specify whether the program is compatible or provide a Microsoft Windows Vista logo. Alternatively, you can check the software developer’s web site for a list of compatible operating systems.
Check the software developer’s web site for updates or patches for the program. If available, download the updates or patches prior to installing the software and then install them immediately after completing the software installation. Some software programs, such as Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office, have automated update processes that you can use to check for updates after installing the software. In this case, after installation, run the software and then use the built-in update feature to check for updates or patches.
To avoid known compatibility issues with legacy applications, Windows Vista includes an automated detection feature known as the Program Compatibility Assistant. If the Program Compatibility Assistant detects a known compatibility issue when you run a legacy application, it notifies you about the problem and provides possible solutions for resolving the problem automatically. You can then allow the Program Compatibility Assistant to reconfigure the application for you. While the Program Compatibility Assistant is helpful, it can’t detect or avoid all compatibility issues. You may have to configure compatibility manually, as discussed in the “Configuring Compatibility for Other Software” section, later in this chapter.
You should not use the Program Compatibility Assistant or the Program Compatibility Wizard to install older virus detection, backup, or system programs. These programs may attempt to modify your computer’s filesystems in a way that is incompatible with Windows Vista, and this could prevent Windows Vista from starting.
Diagnosing a problem you are having as a compatibility issue isn’t always easy. For deeper compatibility issues, you may need to contact the software developer’s technical support staff. Some issues even support staff may not be able to resolve without time to study the problem. Consider the following:
When a computer manufacturer shipped computers with Windows XP, many recently purchased computers experienced infrequent “red screen” crashes. In contrast to blue screen crashes, which typically are related to operating system or hardware components, software drivers can cause a red screen crash. This problem was eventually pinpointed to an incompatibility between the firmware Basic Input Output System (BIOS) the computer was using and the software driver for certain graphics cards with a new 3D graphics feature. To resolve the problem, the computer’s firmware BIOS and graphics card driver both needed to be updated.
When a software manufacturer shipped a new version of its application suite, many recently purchased computers experienced problems starting and running the applications. After an automated update process had run, users were told their product licenses were invalid. This problem eventually was pinpointed to an incompatibility between the license-validation feature used by the application and the hard disk configuration being used by some customers. To resolve the problem, the software developers had to create an application path that let the license-validation feature work with hard disks that were mirrored.
In both examples, the compatibility issues were the direct result of technological innovation. In the first example, graphics cards implementing new 3D graphics features caused an unforeseen incompatibility with the computer’s firmware. In the second example, computers increasingly began shipping with mirrored hard disks, a feature that was previously used primarily on servers, and the license-validation feature was unable to recognize and validate the software applications across the mirrored disks.
Next: Installing and Running Your Software >>
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 This article is excerpted from chapter four of Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide, written by William R. Stanek (O'Reilly, 2007; ISBN: 0596528000). Check it out today at your favorite bookstore. Buy this book now.
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