#2790 0.11.2 Installer not completing/wrong directory
Just tried installing the new 0.11.2 Windows .exe installer and I experience one definite problem, and one potential issue.
First, the installer seems to freeze after installing the files. The files install fine and you hit next and you get to a blank page in the installer and if you hit next the installer freezes and does nothing.
I'm going to restart my laptop and see if that mitigates the issue.
Second, has FreeCol been updated to run as a 64-bit program starting with 0.11.2. I haven't seen anything in the commits to suggest that, but with a 64-bit version of Windows (8.1 in my case), you have two folders for Program Files:
-- Program Files - For 64-bit programs
-- Program Files (x86) - For 32-bit programs
As far as I can tell, FreeCol has always installed in the x86 folder. Tonight it installed in the 64-bit program files folder. Not a huge issue, other than I'd like 0.11.2 to overwrite whatever previous version of FreeCol I had been running.
I checked the Program Files (x86) folder and that contained FreeCol 0.11.1 though running the 0.11.1 installer showed me the same default option, Program Files, as the 0.11.2 install.
Restart had no visible effect.
This is not good news. Nothing has changed with the installer since 0.11.0.
My sentiments exactly. I'm in Florida, so I'm without my desktop to test as another computer.
Just for record keeping: 0.11.2 standard installer, run as admin. Windows 8.1 64-bit. JDK and JRE 1.8 Update 25.
I tried it on Win 8.1 and got the same problem. Its infinitely showing the busy cursor, where I guess its at the point of creating the start menu or desktop shortcuts, which does not work. No idea how/time to fix the installer though.
This is bad. Following up on the development list.
I looked inside build.xml and tried some of the ant tasks. It didn't work for me as it failed to create the manual. Is there an option to exclude it?
After finding the name of the installer I googled for "izpack installer freezes" and it seems to be a problem of the installer being not compatible with 64 bit Windows and/or stricter access rights on newer Windows OS and/or 64 bit Java on Windows.
For example, these people got same problem: https://sourceforge.net/p/rowscope/bugs/1/
Can you try if the answer at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11461899/izpack-desktop-shortcut-on-windows-not-working helps? Would be nice if you just had to add one xml-tag.
Run ant dist -Dprint.manual.is.up.to.date=true
I have added ShellLink_64.dll, and hacked the "native" line into build.xml
(git.428e836) but I have no idea whether this works. Please advise!
Success!!!
I could create an installer myself with the change you made, using "ant dist -Dprint.manual.is.up.to.date=true -Dskip.dist.mac=true", and it did run cleanly without the problem, although I still only have the same 64 bit Java. It only showed an option for a 0 byte manual, as I could not create it.
When running it I clicked to also let it create a desktop shortcut, which it did (but only a single one, though I guess thats intentional).
I also verified there are startmenu shortcuts created in the hidden C:/ProgramData/Microsoft/Windows/Startmenu folder, though there is no real startmenu in Windows 8.1.
The game also runs from these.
I noticed a remaining small problem in that no item is added for the uninstaller to control panel programs and features.
I did run the uninstaller from the hidden shortcut. I verified that it deleted the folder with the startmenu shortcuts and the desktop shortcut. It also removed all game files and most subfolders from the Programs folder, but empty freecol and freecol/Uninstaller folders remained.
Great, so you actually got a windows installer that worked. Great news.
I forgot, it would be nice if someone could test the installer on 64 bit Windows with only 32 bit Java. If that really is working that may enable creating a new release, by advising people to use the 32 bit Java.
Last edit: wintertime 2015-02-25
I agree that the 32/64 split is likely to still cause problems, but I am delighted that it is now possible to generate a working installer. This is a big improvement on 0.11.2, so I no longer regard this bug as a release blocker.
The manual generation issue remains annoying, but we will need a windows user who is familiar with LaTeX to fix that. Manual generation is problematic on unix too, as the dependency on htlatex being installed is not that clearly expressed.
0.11.3 installer worked for me on the exact same system.
The only issue is the difference between the Program Files (for 64-bit folder) and the Program Files (x86) (32-bit folder).
AFAICT this is the installer's doing. I do not think this issue is a FreeCol bug.
That's certainly possible. Perhaps the RC versions of IzPack 5 contain better support for 64-bit versions of windows.
The starter exe is only searching for any installed Java and then calling it. The game could then use both 32 or 64 bit, but there is no 3rd folder for such VM programs.
The problem would therefore be more accurately described by saying that the installer does not find a previous install on your computer than installing into the wrong one.
That makes even more sense. Can this be enabled then?
I tested creating an installer recently and it did run through flawlessly.