A utility is a small program that performs a specific, limited function, for example, compressing files or deleting unused files. There are several utilities that may be useful in diagnosing or correcting installation problems. Following is a list of helpful utilities and their uses. Check the product documentation or online help, for more information on each utility.

Additionally, the Windows operating system comes with several utilities that can be found under Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools. Consult your Windows Help Library (Start > Help or double-click My Computer and select Help > Help Topics) for more information.


MsiCleanUp
This is a utility created by Microsoft to remove traces of Windows Installer packages left behind by suspended installations from the Windows registry. This utility will unregister a Windows installer product from your computer. This will, however, not remove files installed by the package, which may need to be removed manually. For more information on MsiCleanUp, refer to Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article on the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility.

WinZip
WinZip is a compression utility used widely to compress and uncompress setups, files, etc. While this utility is not free, you can download the evaluation version in case you need to uncompress zipped files. For more information, visit the WinZip download page.
Note: Windows XP has a built in compression utility. For more information, see How Do I Unzip a File in Windows XP?

PE Analyzer
PE Analyzer is a utility that can be used to find missing dependencies for EXES, DLLs, and OCX files. PE Analyzer can be used to diagnose corrupt or missing dependencies for applications that don’t work. Applications that are missing dependent files will usually specify missing or corrupt files in their respective error messages. To download PE Analyzer, visit the following site: http://www.sagekey.com/support/utility.asp

Update Manager
The Update Service is a tool that InstallShield sells to software vendors that is designed to help you keep your software up-to-date. Keeping your software updated has many benefits, but InstallShield recommends that software vendors build in an option to disable automatic update checking. If you are using an application that uses the Update Service, your application may have a configuration option to disable update checking. Please check your application’s menu options.

If your application does not have this option, InstallShield has created a tool called the Update Manager that can disable automatic update checking. For instructions on how to download and use the Update Manager utility, see
How Do I Disable the Update Service for an Application?


< back