(under Windows, right click, select Properties, and click the 'Version' tab).

View the version properties of the Setup Launcher, usually called SETUP.EXE. The setup engine creates a temp folder in the directory it is run from and will fail if you try to run it directly from a CD.ĭownload the InstallShield 3 Engine without Windows/Wine: Note that using this method, the location you are installing from MUST be writable. Under ReactOS, run the SETUP32.EXE to install your program. Then copy this file plus the application install files to a writable folder where ReactOS can run it. Make a copy of this file and rename it to SETUP32.EXE. The exact name may differ, but it should end in _MP and the version description should contain 'InstallShield Engine'. This extracts a file, usually called _INS0432._MP, in the temp folder. Launch setup under Windows or Wine and leave it running. The Setup Launcher may be 16-bit while the InstallShield Engine is 32-bit. The Engine is what does the actual application installation, and is what you visually see during the installation. InstallSheild uses a small 'Setup Launcher', usually named SETUP.EXE, to extract the 'InstallShield Engine'. If the files include neither of those, then it is likely a proprietary setup.Įxtracting the setup engine under Windows/Wine: * If the file ACMSETUP.EXE is among the install files listed, then it is a Microsoft ACMSETUP based setup. * If the file _inst32i.ex_ is among the install files listed, then it is an InstallShield based setup.

If that fails, you may need to run the self extractor in an environment that can run it and copy the files from the TEMP folder or location it extracted to. Usually opening the EXE with an archive tool such as 7-Zip will enable you to extract the files.

This can be the most troublesome step as setup packaging varies greatly.įirst, if the setup program is inside a self extracting archive then you will need to extract it. This tutorial details workarounds for the two most common installers: InstallShield and Microsoft ACMSetup. The result is that there are many, many 32-bit programs that would run fine on these OSes, but are prevented from installing. Today, neither ReactOS nor 64-bit Microsoft Windows implement the ability to run 16-bit Windows 3.1 applications. At the time it was a reasonable thing to do since all of these platforms could execute 16-Bit Windows 3.1 applications. This gave installers the ability to package multiple binaries for Win16, Win32s, Win32, and Windows NT for Alpha CPUs. From about 1995 to 1998 it was common practice for setup programs to launch using a Windows 3.1 16-bit loader stub.

Installshield wizard hangs