software install w/o Palm Desktop

[N.R.K.]

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

[haveaclue]

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.

[WINGNUT17]

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.

[magicofdawn (again)]

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.