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So what could make this product even more enticing? How about free unlimited phone, e-mail and Web technical support?

OnDemand worked closely with Microsoft to release the first MSI (Microsoft Installer) repackager for the Windows 2000 introduction of MSI and Windows Installer 1.0 when it shipped on the Windows 2000 Advanced Server CD. Since the inception of MSI, Microsoft has made numerous improvements to the MSI technology, including support for MSI 2.0 in Windows Server 2003 installers. Although the WinInstall LE 2003 does not ship on Microsoft Server 2003 media, OnDemand provides the MSI repackager via download from its Web site.

Interface click to enlarge

Creating an Installer

OnDemand recommends that you install a clean reference machine when creating installers, so I used a Windows XP Professional desktop client and mapped a drive to the servers WinInstall shares. I then ran the WinInstall LE wizard-based Discover utility from the mapped drive, which created a snapshot of the desktop client before I installed my application.

The Discover utility has a set of file and registry exclusions that are acceptable for most installer creations but may need to be tweaked. Once the "before" snapshot was completed and saved to disk, I installed my application, making any necessary configuration modifications, installing necessary patches, performing reboots and completing any other tasks related to the installation of the application. As soon as the application was functioning,

I ran the Discover wizard again from the mapped WinInstall drive, creating an "after" snapshot. The two snapshots were compared, the changes were noted, and a MSI-based Windows Installer was created on the WinInstall network share.

Starting the WinInstall LE 2003 console on the server will let you further customize your installer. From the console you can add administrative information about the package, remove features or components that were mistakenly captured by the Discover wizard, modify file attributes or Registry settings and change the advertisement of the product in Add/ Remove Programs. This version of the WinInstall console lets administrators edit MSI file formats natively.

Once my customizations were complete, I used the console to create a single compacted executable installer and copied it to another Windows XP desktop machine.

I tested the application installation by double-clicking the installer, using the application once it was installed, removing the application from the Add/Remove Programs and checking for file or Registry residue--no problems at all.

Even the experienced WinInstall LE user will appreciate the Start Here help system that is integrated into the WinInstall software console. The updated help system, with a Web-like interface, demonstrates the full functionality of WinInstall LE 2003, including how to build a new package, edit an existing package, import a package or run the Discover wizard. The help system also explains some of the underlying MSI terminology as it is presented within the WinInstall console. This system is nicely integrated into the OnDemand Web site.

As with any free product, there are limitations to what you can do with the software. WinInstall LE 2003 is capable of packaging and creating installers in MSI format and importing and editing existing MSI-based installers, but it cannot create MSI-based patch files, merge modules or transforms. The software also cannot manage desktop application delivery, repair or inventory. OnDemand's full version of WinInstall, available for $13 to $25 per desktop, offers these additional services.

Christopher T. Beers is a Unix Systems Engineer at Syracuse University. Write to him at ctbeers@syr.edu.

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