Setup: lesson learned and suggestion

[Max Bowsher]

Dameron, Gregg wrote:
> Running setup.exe version 2.427 on Windows 2000.
>
> When the option "Install from Local Directory" is selected, the screen 
> titled
> "Select Local Package Directory" prompts the user as follows:
>
>     Select a directory where you want Setup to store the installation 
> files it
>     downloads.  The directory will be created if it does not already 
> exist.
>
> The prompt didn't (doesn't) make sense in the context of a local directory
> install.  The first few times I ran it, I interpreted this prompt to mean
> "select a directory where you want Setup to store the installation files 
> it
> _generates_".  I took it to mean (1) Setup needed a place to write
> installation log files; and (2) I would be prompted later for the 
> directory
> containing all the packages I downloaded (or else Setup had already found
> them).  Consequently, I gave Setup a path to a new directory and picked 
> Next.
> Setup died with the infamous Application Error dialog, stating:
>
>     The instruction at "0x00485fbd" referenced memory at "0x00000000".
>     The memory could not be "written".
>
> [FYI - the setup logs showed nothing unusual, post-mortem.  I did notice 
> that
> new (mostly empty) cygwin registry entries were created.]
>
> A few false starts later, I figured out what Setup wanted; namely, the
> directory where I had placed all the downloaded packages.  They installed
> without incident.
>
> My suggestion is twofold:  First, I'd change the prompt to make it more
> context-appropriate.

Unfortunately, it's a bit of a pain to change this dependent on installation 
mode.

Anyone got a any good ideas how to phrase this so it will cater to both 
download and local modes?

> Second, I'd handle an honest mistake (like mine) a bit
> more gracefully.

Bug reproduced, thanks for the report.

Max.