🚀 go-pugleaf

"none" wrote in message 
news:0sidnb5gdramKlzbnZ2dnUVZ_j-dnZ2d@giganews.com...
>
> "Vanguard" wrote:
>>
>> "hmmm" wrote ...
>>>
>>> I'm looking to see what files comprise the compacted exe file 
>>> before
>>> I install it.
>>
>> You won't tell what files created after running an .exe.  Seeing 
>> what
>> files are in a .zip file, even one wrapped with the self-extract 
>> .exe
>> code, only shows you the files needed to do the INSTALL.  It shows 
>> you
>> nothing about what files actually get CREATED by the install.
>>
>> Use VMWare Server, VPC, ShadowSurfer, or Windows SteadyState to see
>> what gets installed (provided you have a tool to log the current 
>> state
>> and then show you the difference after the install).
>
> Thanks for the info.  You refreshed my memory and I recall that even 
> the
> filenames that are extracted are shortened versions of what is 
> actually
> installed.
>
> What is the best tool that will create a snapshot (filename, version 
> #,
> date and time created) of all the OS files, and then do a compare 
> for
> changes afterward.  I know Nirsoft.net has something similar, but 
> that's
> just for dll files.

The install program can create files, it can use the included files 
along with other data to construct the *new* files created during the 
install, or it can modify a file after extraction, even an .exe.  Some 
but not all files in the .zip file may end up in the installation. 
Some files are not in the .zip file and are created or modified.

I use an old program called InstallWatch from epsilonSquared.com to 
track changes to my system from an install.  You take a snapshot 
before, do the install, and then analyze the current state (after 
install) against the snapshot.  I don't bother loading it to use its 
auto-detect mechanism to track installs.  I just manually do a 
snapshot, install, and do the analyze afterward.  There might be 
better programs around but this usually fits my need.  This one hasn't 
been updated in several years.  ZSoft's Uninstaller is newer (more 
recently updated) but its recorded log of system changes for analyzing 
an install is much harder to read than the tree hierarchy shown in 
InstallWatch.  I just tried ZSoft Uninstaller in a VM using VMWare 
Server and didn't care for it, plus I don't want an alternative 
uninstaller.