Repackaging Installshield 5.0 installer to MSI and removing dependencies

Question

I have an installation package that installs a mapping program I use for work. As I now have to upgrade to Windows 10, unfortunately the program won't install as some components are no longer valid and it crashes out part way through installation.

The installer package has been made with Installshield 5.0 some time ago.

The dependencies installed are - dcom 95/98 - Visual C++ - Microsoft Data Access Components

I would like to remove the two dependencies visual c++ and MDAC as they are already present in my Windows 10 installation.

So far I have unpackaged the data1.cab with all the files. I have also decompiled the setup.ins script so it is now a .rul file with all the install commands.

Is there a straight forward way for me to remove the install commands and repackage?

Should I be looking a purchasing a license for Flexera Install Studio and learning some packaging skills!?

Or am I going about this the wrong way completely and could I just pass through a variable to the setup.exe file that specifies not to install the dependencies?

To add insult to injury I would like to get this to the stage where it can be installed silently within SCCM!

Anyway, any advice would be great - thanks.

Answer 1

Virtual Machine: I would run such a legacy application in a virtual machine. Both for compatibility reasons, but also for security reasons. Such old applications might have security issues is my reasoning - even if the compatibility teams work to prevent that.

Compatibility Mode: I have never tried to install such an installer in compatibility mode (I have, but only for repackaging capture on a virtual, not for real install). Right click the setup.exe and select "Troubleshoot Compatibility" (or equivalent - don't have an English OS). Now run the installer with the suggested compatibility settings. You can also right click, go "Properties" and "Compatibility" to see a dialog of compatibility settings.

Repackaging: As others have mentioned you can capture the installation and convert it into an MSI that way - which can then be easily distributed in silent mode via SCCM. This process can be trivial for simple setups, but is no picnic for complex setups. You have to have quite a bit of Windows knowledge to clean up the resulting capture so it is not a "loose cannon". Recommend you contact deployment consultant who can do the package for you. Application Repackaging Tool.

Extract and Package Files: For some setups it is possible to extract all files from an old setup.exe and package them yourself based on experience and inspection. Again, no picnic, but the resulting installer could be very neat. It all depends on how much custom logic is in the setup as opposed to just file and folder copy and registry writes. Again a job I would send to an experienced consultant to save time and money.

• Extract MSI from EXE
• How to run an installation in /silent mode with adjusted settings

Answer 2

If you have access to a full version of InstallShield, it can automatically convert that old installer of yours into the newer MSI format. I believe the InsallShield IDE has some tools that can monitor your old install and package up the changes into a new MSI project.