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software install w/o Palm Desktop

Paul,

Either you misunderstood my reply or I didn't present it very well. My comments were related to PInstall, not your quest for a clean registry. As you found, PIstall creates eight registry entries, none of which have any impact on how well your computer runs. They are also easy to remove. That's what I meant by trivial, in comparision to some programs that create dozens of registry entries.

Again, where you download files is irrelevant as far as PInstall is concerned. You just drag and drop the files to PInstall and it will install them on your Palm. I don't know what you're talking about when it comes to icons since very few Palm programs create PC desktop icons unless they have a conduit. If you are installing a program like that, you must have already extracted and installed the program on your PC and the program presumably would have placed the PRC/PDB files in the Install folder. I fail to see why it's a problem to just go to the Install folder and drag and drop the files to PInstall if you don't want to do the normal hotsync.

You are welcome to do things in any way you want. I just wanted to make sure that other users understood that it's not complicated to either install or use PInstall.

software install w/o Palm Desktop

Thank you Frank. Yes - it covered everything! I'll uninstall , check reg entries and re-open zip/shortcuts in the appropriate folder. That's the CORRECT way to do it. Also emailed the developer with a couple of other things - I love this program, and believe it's great with Linux too, when I switch. That's another reason for all my "interest."

Jim - with all respect, there's no such thing as too "complicated" when dealing with registry entries. Most people don't care because they don't KNOW or bother to look. I just removed hundreds of registry errors, most related to SHORTCUTS and DELETED EXE's that no longer exist, despite Norton WinDoctor supposedly taking care of it over the months. It wasn't.

I've been 100% clean a week ("It has been 11 days since my last registry entry!") and plan on keeping it that way.

I deemed the questions necessary when I took the time to write it quite late at night. Frank, thankfully, didn't seem to mind either. We've spent inexorable time on here discussing dustbunnies in the corners of screensavers and the validity of "gold colored screws" for a slider . . . . I would think REGISTRY ENTRIES might actually be somewhat important.

Download destination folder and "first opening" is NOT IRRELEVANT if that's where the program FIRST CREATES its icon, and doesn't THEREAFTER. Understand? Download, "open," "moved," & "assign shortuct" ALL MATTER, my friend - as one or more created (in this case) possible unnecessary reg entries.

If anyone wants arched eyebrows for a week, try a great freeware: RegSeeker 1.35b (beta). Don't trust it completely and carte blanche start deleting . . . but it's an eye-opener especially if you've had "major changes." I unregistered file types, deleted the app and zip, and shortcut.

After restart, WinDoctor found 3 shortcut errors, 1 related to PInstall. RegSeeker found 8 entries for PInstall plus the 3 pertaining to where I simply downloaded it. Bear that in mind should any of you delete it. It's kinda "complicated," should you care.

As for Hotsync speed Frank, - mine is set "as fast as possible," but I'll leave PInstall is at the 115k setting. It's lightning quick whether 56 or 115. Very, very happy with it - and thanks.

software install w/o Palm Desktop

Paul,

You're making this way too complicated. PInstall is a very small program and the registry entries are trivial. The folders you download things to are irrelevant. All you have to do is either use the Send To trick posted or just drag the file or files to the PInstall icon and drop the file or files. PInstall will then open and you can hotsync the files without going through the entire typical Palm hotsync routine.

PInstall does require the Palm USB drivers to work. If you delete the Palm Desktop, the USB drivers are also deleted. As long as you know how to reinstall the USB drivers then that's fine but the average user should not install PInstall and delete the Palm Desktop.

software install w/o Palm Desktop

Hello PalmTealLover,

I'll try to answer your questions, maybe not all, but here goes.

First, you're right about Pinstall NOT using the "windows installer". It is simply a program that runs under windows. (A "Dos" program with a GUI front end so to speak). Prevents you from having to open a "command" window to run it. The GUI portion needs some registry entries for program Icons and how the program is run. One of your examples shows "pinstall.exe %1", this indicates that a parameter, %1, will be sent to it and will be used for the installation (program files you'll be installing).

Where you say "deleted the unzipped app and the shortcut and moved the zip to its new program folder and reopened. It worked great, but no icon..."

Did you "unzip" the program in the new location? A file in a "Zipped" file many times doesn't show an icon. I just moved the application from where I had "unzipped" it to the C:\Program Files\Palm directory and I have an Icon with the application there. I then created a desktop shortcut, and the shortcut has the icon as well.

I think the registry entries you're looking at are the "registered" entries for using Pinstall - file types associated with it and the icon to be used.

One of the "options" on the Pinstall is "unregister filetypes". It also has "register filetypes". I think if you "unregister filetypes" you'll discover the registry entries will "go away".

If you want to go back to it at a later time, "register filetypes".

As for speed - what is the speed you have set on the "Palm" for Hotsync.

On the Palm, open HotSync - don't perform one, just open the application. Then On menu - select "connection setup". Under the "available connections select Cradle/Cable then select Edit, then select Details. You should then be able to see the speed of 115,200 and Flow ctl: automatic. I'm not sure if this has any effect on Pinstall, but I know that the Pinstall speeds are among the fastest when I install an application.

As for a complete uninstall - I think all that is necessary is:

a - unregister filetypes
b - delete the application
c - delete the shortcut

Most, if not all your registry entries for Pinstall should be gone.

Hope this is understandable.

fnagle/Frank

software install w/o Palm Desktop

I think I counted 16 - took 2 screenshots and zipped them, attached. One or two are for something else with "pinstall" in it - namesly a Firefox file - but you can see for youselves it makes a bunch.

Deleting the app and deleting these reg entries should give me "clean slate, right?"

Sorry to be picky but I'm REAL excited about this and just want it done right. I'd make it the default immediately if I thought it could be reversed - but see no means to do that.

Anyway, this is at least some information for you should you ever "delete it," seeing as there's no uninstall. You'd have to clear up these reg entries.

software install w/o Palm Desktop

Yep - that one actually had something in it. Installed it imediately . . . . .

OH . . . . MY . . . . . . . GOD.

Could it be SIMPLER? IT'S FANTASTIC! Palm Desktop's days are numbered, folks. Doesn't even require "install" for heaven's sake! It's like TDoc/TPaint - 3-400k and you're DONE! I have one small reeeaaalllly picky question though . . . and it's my "fault."

I download to a "hold folder," then transfer to a "PalmPRC" folder, which is within a Desktop "Palm General" folder (along with Teal Desktop Proggies/converters). No nosebleed yet? Good. This way I can aggregately burn "Palm General" to CD 2x/week and never lose anything.

Well, I didn't figure it would be launchable from the folder itself (thought it would have Windows Installer, yada yada). When it launched it put an icon up on the desktop - that's great. But I decided to have it in c/programs, as luck would have it under "PALM," since it's a "program" at least in my view.

Deleted the "unzipped app," and the shortcut, and moved the zip to its new program folder and reopened. It worked great, but no icon (so obviously I made one).

My question is: How did it know I'd already MADE an icon and not to put another one up? It must not be so "simple," but rather make at least a registry entry somewhere for "reference." I ran a search in the registry, found "PInstall.pqi" and deleted it thinking that was the "tracker," but to no avail. Can anyone tell me how to FULLY DELETE it and reinstall? I just did some extensive registry work, correcting . . . . wait for it . . . 814 reg errors (after uninstalling Internet Explorer, Outlook, Outlook Express, bunch of other stuff - PC runs GREAT NOW!!) - I'd like to keep a clean ship from now on and not have stray entries. It's working FANTASTIC - just don't like loose ends.

Also, it's default is 56000 on speed, and I upped it to 256 - but it didn't seem any faster - what is you guys' default "load speed?" - and how do you REVERSE making it the default installer if you change you rmind? I saw no "indication of that."

software install w/o Palm Desktop

PalmTealLover

I used the following link and clicked on Download Pilot Install for Windows.

Zipped file was good and contained Pinstall.exe 900K.

fnagle/Frank

http://envicon.de/e/pinstall/pinstall.html

software install w/o Palm Desktop

Unfortunately the 480k zip file from Freeware palm and the developer's site come up as "invalid zip" and open to . . . . nothing. Blank.

Any ideas how to get a zip that contains something? I'm good to go then and since I may reload the PC this weekend, I might even go with PInstall ONLY.

Sounds terrific, and will serve my needs.

software install w/o Palm Desktop

I should mention another "tip" for Pinstall. You can create a shortcut for it in the "Send To" directory on your pc, then when you right click an item you can select "SEND TO PINSTALL" and it will run Pinstall automatically.

Additional facts:

If you're running HotSync - Pinstall shuts it down, since it's using the same USB or Serial port, and when you exit Pinstall it restarts HotSync.

With PInstall you can specify internal or SD card for the transfer, you can also specify a folder other than Launcher for transfer. All my eReader books are in the \Palm\Books folder on an SD card and I can specify the transfer take place directly to this folder. No more using McFile or Filez to move the book from \Palm\Launcher. It also "remembers" the directories you've used in the past and you just need to select Option - Card directory - and click on the drop-down to select your folder.

fnagle/Frank

software install w/o Palm Desktop

I use Hibernate option when I shutdown my WinXP boxes. This allows one to boot just as fast as your stripped down system, but without disabling too many things (like hotsync). It does require WinXP (2k?), driver, and hardware support.

Hibernate copies RAM to hard disk, then turns off computer. Then when powered on the WinXP loader sees that there's a hibernate image to load, loads it to RAM, and BAM you're up and running.

The neat thing is that it remembers what state everything was in. What web pages were open, what programs were running... Kinda like when one turns off a PDA - when it's turned back on it's in the same place as it was when shut off.

Hibernate is also useful, as the computer can wake itself up to do maintanance tasks (like backup, defrag, ...).

The trickiest part of Hibernate is that it has to be enabled in the power control panel (hibernate tab) and it does not normally show up in the normal shutdown window (hold down shift key, or turn off welcome screen in User Accounts control panel to change shutdown window to have pulldown option list).

I find Hibernate works better than standby mode. Standby mode will fail if there's a power failure, and standby also wastes some power keeping RAM alive.