Installer Complaining about Access Rights [Workaround Found]

[Zach]

I installed Windows 7 (x64), and when I tried to reinstall UltraEdit (v.15.20.0.1020), I got this at the end of the install:



Now, Windows is not giving me the option to run the .msi installer as administrator like it does for executables. (I don't know why. If you do, please enlighten me. )

So does anyone know the workaround for this?

At first I thought this was a remnant of UltraEdit's old (and maybe unresolved) problem of setting file associations in Vista x64, but 1.) surely they have resolved that by now, and 2.) this pop-up occurred during the install before I had the chance to specify the file associations, so that can't be it I don't think.

Edit: Oh, and for what it's worth, regardless of the above warning, UE seemed to install okay. I ran it; I registered it; it shows up in my Explorer context-menu, and even though .txt files don't have the UE icon (yet.. I probably need to reboot first), double-clicking on them brings them up in UE rather than Notepad now, so the file association was definitely set.

Also, if I "repair" the install, I don't get the above error: it only happens when I remove UE and then install it fresh.

[pietzcker]

Haven't installed Win7 yet, but as for running MSI files as administrator, check this out: http://superuser.com/questions/22201/ru ... er-account

[Zach]

Interesting link. Thanks! I already knew about the "runas" command, but as you probably know, the "Administrator" user is actually disabled by default in both Vista and now Windows 7, so I don't see how that guy's solution actually works for anyone. I mean, he makes no mention of enabling it first.

[Mofi]

Well, the questioner on the referenced page asked for a solution for Windows XP and on Windows XP the posted answer works. Of course /user:administrator can be replaced by any account name which has administrative privileges. The account administrator is just the default account which has administrative privileges on Windows. But on Vista and Windows 7 this account is by default disabled, that's right, and therefore by default not really useful to install something using the runas command.

Administrative privileges during installation of UltraEdit are required for registering the shell extension DLL and for registering the FTP/Telnet/SSH DLLs (wodCertificate.dll, wodFtpDLX.dll, wodTelnetDLX.ocx).

But during the installation process you can choose if you want a Standard installation which of course requires administrative privileges or an installation with Restricted Functionality which installs UltraEdit for the current user only because of no administrative privileges. So everyone should be able to install UltraEdit, but restricted users will miss some enhanced features.

[Zach]

Well, I did a standard install, not restricted, and I am part of the Administrators group. The only account that has "higher" privileges is the Administrator account which, as we have already covered, is disabled in both Vista and Windows 7 until you go and re-enable it, and frankly, I don't see the average user doing that; hence, something is amiss in UE's installer.

And even if IDM still hasn't mastered the concept of UAC after all this time, I still have it enable, yes, but I've tweaked it to auto-elevate Admins meaning it would have been (internally) given all the access rights it needed.

So, again, what's up with that error message?

I know this "user support" forum is about as active as a snail on a cold day, but still, certainly I can't be the only person who has gotten this error and wondered why.

[Mofi]

So, again, what's up with that error message?

That's we should find out. From other Windows 7 related posts I know that there are some users who already have successfully installed UltraEdit on Windows 7. So it is either really a problem in the latest install package or something is different on your computer to others installed UltraEdit v15.xx before on Windows 7 (Beta/RC). You have not written before that you have with your account already administrative privileges and therefore you should not see such a message. IDM is aware of UAC (of Vista) and therefore an enabled UAC should not be a problem.

I suggest to use Regmon (if possible on Windows 7) or more powerful (and more complex) Process Monitor from SysInternals (Microsoft) while you run the installation of UltraEdit to find out what can't be registered.

Alternatively and maybe better is to run the installation with writing everything possible to a log file including all error and debug messages. You can do this by running the command

msiexec.exe /l*vx "%temp%\ue_install_v15_20_0_1020.log" /i ue_english.msi

in a command shell window from the directory where ue_english.msi is stored. The log file is created in your temp directory. You should see in this log file what is the installation problem.

A personal note: Using 64-bit version of Windows 7 means currently using the operating system with the smallest number of really fully compatible applications. Only a few applications are really coded for being fully compatible with Windows 7, especially the 64-bit version. So you should be aware of further problems with other applications too.

[Zach]

That's we should find out. From other Windows 7 related posts I know that there are some users who already have successfully installed UltraEdit on Windows 7. So it is either really a problem in the latest install package or something is different on your computer to others installed UltraEdit v15.xx before on Windows 7 (Beta/RC).

Just for the record, I know I already stated this in my original post, but it did install, and having been using it extensively on Win7 for the past couple of days, I can't say I've run into anything not working as advertised; but, you know, error messages makes it feel like an unclean or broken install regardless.

Also, other than the common auto-elevate UAC tweak, this is on a fresh, default install of Windows with no default configuration changes, so your implied assumption that my system is different than "others [who have] installed UltraEdit v15.xx before on Windows 7 (Beta/RC)" holds little weight with me. Maybe Windows 7 (RTM) -- vs. (Beta/RC) --has changed, so please don't muddy the waters by pointing the finger back a me. The issue is between IDM and Microsoft; I'm just a victim looking for a solution.

Alternatively and maybe better is to run the installation with writing everything possible to a log file including all error and debug messages. You can do this by running the command

msiexec.exe /l*vx "%temp%\ue_install_v15_20_0_1020.log" /i ue_english.msi

I'll give that a shot and take a look at the log file.

A personal note: Using 64-bit version of Windows 7 means currently using the operating system with the smallest number of really fully compatible applications. Only a few applications are really coded for being fully compatible with Windows 7, especially the 64-bit version. So you should be aware of further problems with other applications too.

While I don't disagree with your statement in general (even though it is just the standard "pass the buck" warning), I can say that as of right now, my Win7 system is back to its WinXP state meaning everything I had installed last week is now reinstalled and running, all without issue. Of all the 70+ applications (I'm a developer first, but I'm also into A/V encoding and gaming, so I have need for many applications), UltraEdit is the only one that has had an issue. (I'm also no stranger to 64-bit platforms and their pitfalls having run WinXP 64 a few years ago and Vista64 more recently.)

Well, I guess there was one other application, ADCSee Pro 10, but it installed fine--it just has a problem with the system's default "My Pictures" directory since Win7 now places that inside their new Library scheme. (Funny, too, because Microsoft claims the program is Win7(x64) compatible (link). Proves you can't trust anyone. ) The solution there, of course, is just to not browse that directory (within ACDSee) which is fine for me since I have all my images stored on another drive anyway.

[Zach]

I know this "user support" forum is about as active as a snail on a cold day, but still, certainly I can't be the only person who has gotten this error and wondered why.

I swear that I looked for threads reporting this problem before I created a new thread about it, but apparently the thread title just got lost somewhere between my optic nerve and brain.

It's good to know that I am not the only person seeing this problem: Installation "Problem" on Windows 7 RTM.

Considering he reportedly informed IDM of this problem back in August, and IDM has now had two new releases since that time (15.20 and then the hotfix), I guess I can presume this is an issue IDM has no interest in resolving anytime soon.

[Zach]

As an update, running the ue_english.msi installer from an Administrator cmd.exe console (as suggested in the aforementioned thread) did the trick, but it's going to be annoying (though, admittedly, not a big deal) if I have to update UE forever more this way.

Interestingly, all my previous installs probably were broken, but in a non-harmful way. Going via cmd prompt, instead of that error message, I got the old familiar...



...commercial. Apparently, that is where the installer breaks on Win7 (x64), and since it runs fine from an Admin cmd window, it's presumably a UAC issue (even though I have UAC set to auto-elavate admins). *shrug*

[pietzcker]

Hi Zach,

just wanted to let you know: I just bought a new PC with Windows 7 Pro 64 myself, and the very first third-party app I installed on it was UltraEdit. No, Firefox. But still. I did get the exact same error dialog (which opened *under* the installer window so it looked like the installer had crashed because the progress bar got stuck for minutes). I also ran the installer as a "normal" administrator. And I also haven't found anything wrong with UE's functionality yet. Same thing with the hotfix installer for 16.00.0.1032.

And I also get the "You don't have the most current UltraCompare" dialog even though I do have it. But this also happens on XP (and has happened since V16.00) so I don't know if those issues are related. Have you written to IDM support about this? I'm going to do this next.

Cheers,
Tim