How to check for installed compnents?

[deko]

I'm trying to create an MSI in VS.NET that will check for installed Office
System components - so my MDE will only install if requirements are met.
I'm thinking about using VBScript to inspect Registry keys/values. Anyone
travel this road before? Other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

[deko]

> But mostly, I just don't like having a system component on my

machine one which huge numbers of programs depend, but over which I
have absolutely no control.

When you say you have no control, that is, you have no way to edit the
underlying database in the Windows Installer Engine? There are other
installers out there that are more transparent, if that's the issue.
Nevertheless, if I want a Setup routine for my app (mde, or whatever), I
need to build an MSI package using some kind of authoring tool - is this not
correct? How else do you install?

[deko]

The C# roadshow at the Microsoft campus was uneventful except for the QA
session where suggestions were taken for improvements to "Whidbey", the next
version of Visual Studio. Some pony-tail in the back with 2 cell phones and
a pager on his belt raised his hand and suggested integration with Apache
and other Open Source products. The moderator immediately called security
and the miscreant was ushered out, muttering "fools! I'll destroy them all!"

[David W. Fenton]

"deko" <de**@hotmail.c om> wrote in
news:01******** ***********@new ssvr25.news.pro digy.com:

But mostly, I just don't like having a system component on my
machine one which huge numbers of programs depend, but over which
I have absolutely no control.
When you say you have no control, that is, you have no way to edit
the underlying database in the Windows Installer Engine? . . .

I'm not talking about the developer's point of view -- I'm talking
about the *user's* point of view.

There's historically been a problem with dueling MSI versions, which
can corrupt each other, or fail because of incompatibiliti es. And
the problem I'm having right now, well, I don't know where it comes
from, but it causes certain installers simply to quit and not tell
why. Perhaps that's because the installer script hasn't been written
to report more information (I can't find a log file with any useful
info, either), but there is nothing I can do about this Windows
component. I can't uninstall it. I can't tweak it. I can't tell
which version is installed or not. I can't control what files it
keeps and what it discards.
. . . There
are other installers out there that are more transparent, if
that's the issue. . . .
I'm not talking about an area where I have a choice, as I know of no
software that provides alternate installers.
. . . Nevertheless, if I want a Setup routine for my
app (mde, or whatever), I need to build an MSI package using some
kind of authoring tool - is this not correct? How else do you
install?

You seem to me to have an enormous capacity to misunderstand the
things I write.

I don't create installers. It's not part of my business.

All I'm saying is that when I'm installing software, I prefer it to
be a non-MSI installer.

--
David W. Fenton http://www.bway.net/~dfenton
dfenton at bway dot net http://www.bway.net/~dfassoc