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InstallShield

In my quest to extract CAB files from the InstallShield self-extractor executable (see my "Installing Belkin Wireless PDA Keyboard Software on PocketPC without using ActiveSync" article), I came across InstallShield documentations on "Setup.exe and Update.exe Command Line Parameters". Although the instruction here didn't work with the self-extractor executable, it will come in handy someday.

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 10 Nov 2005 16:19:24 -0800

Ok. I managed to get a little further. By running the self-extractor, it unpacks all of the files contained in the self-extractor executable into a temporary directory on your hard disk. Doing a global search on the hard disk for "setup.exe", using the "dir setup.exe /s" command, I found that the files are extracted to the following temporary directory:

 C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Temp\ 

Substitute [username] with your user name. The exact directory under "Temp" is random (at least the logic of the algorithm is unknown to me). But you can look at the time stamp to see which directory was just created when you ran the self-extractor.

Do all these steps, without exiting from the setup. Otherwise the setup program will automatically clean everything up by deleting all of the files. The self-extractor created several CAB files: data1.cab, _sys1.cab, and _user1.cab. None of these CAB files are Windows CE installation files. So I'll have to extract the files containing in these CAB files as well.

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 10 Nov 2005 17:48:57 -0800

Success! I found a free OpenSource software called Unshield that will extract the content of a InstallShield CAB file. After downloading the source code, uncompress the archive, and compiling the executable, I tried it on data1.cab. Viola! It worked. All of the Windows CE CAB files are extracted, ready to install on my Handheld PC.

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 10 Nov 2005 19:21:17 -0800

The command-line parameter link provided above no longer works. The web page is gone. But you can still read it here:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://documentation.installshi . . .

Chieh Cheng
Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:45:50 +0000

This link is probably replaces the one that was missing:
http://kb.flexerasoftware.com/doc/Helpnet/installshield15hel . . .
(for IS2009)

Mattias Jansson
Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:50:53 +0000

Thanks. I'm sure that page will be helpful.

Chieh Cheng
Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:57:52 +0000

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Title: Installing Bekin Wireless PDA Keyboard Software on PocketPC without using ActiveSync
Weblog: GearHack
Excerpt: Personally, I don't like to install too many unnecessary programs on my computer system. The more software installed, the slower Windows run and the more time I have to spend cleaning up later. ActiveSync is one of those programs that I don't want to install. ActiveSync is a program for synchronizin . . .
Tracked: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 16:20:00 -0800

Title: "Local Settings" directory is hidden!
Weblog: GearHack
Excerpt: I was trying to extract some drivers using the InstallShield trick that I wrote about before. Except today, I couldn't find the "Local Settings" directory in my "C:\Documents and Settings\[username]" directory. It's not listed in my directory content. Luckily for me, I know one of the file is called . . .
Tracked: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 17:13:35 -0800

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