"/silent" and "install.dat"

Posts: 6 · mantiscorp 23 Jan 2019, 09:52

I install FreeFileSync 10.8 on a fresh Windows 10.
I get an exception that "silent install is supported only in donated version" and the installation closes.
After that I try to start FreeFileSync and get an exception that install.dat is missing (probably due to exception above).
Please help

Posts: 3 · doti 29 Jul 2019, 11:23

Hi, i have the same problem. Did you solve it?

Posts: 6 · mantiscorp 29 Jul 2019, 11:31

Hi, i have the same problem. Did you solve it? doti, 29 Jul 2019, 11:23

I tried the latest version, the bug is still here

Posts: 2451 · Plerry 29 Jul 2019, 12:50

I don't know why you call this a bug.
It is simply the choice of the author of FFS to support silent installation, along with some other features, only for the donation version. See here.

Posts: 6 · mantiscorp 29 Jul 2019, 12:56

I don't know why you call this a bug.
It is simply the choice of the author of FFS to support silent installation, along with some other features, only for the donation version. See here. Plerry, 29 Jul 2019, 12:50

I think this is a bug since I can't even install and run a version newer than 10.2.
I don't want a silent installation or something else, just to run the downloaded setup file.

Posts: 3 · doti 30 Jul 2019, 06:26

I don't know why you call this a bug.
It is simply the choice of the author of FFS to support silent installation, along with some other features, only for the donation version. See here. Plerry, 29 Jul 2019, 12:50

For me it is a bug. Duration edition is not a free program. My client order FreeFileSync not duration edition and I need silent install.

Posts: 2451 · Plerry 30 Jul 2019, 06:57

@mantiscorp

I don't want a silent installation ...

The title of your post ("/silent" ...) suggested otherwise, hence my reply.
For what it is worth: I have never encountered any problems with installation of FFS.
I smoothly installed FFS 10.2 on a fresh Win10, and migrated since then to 10.3, 10.4, 10.6, 10.9, 10.12 and am now at 10.14 . (All installed by simply double-clicking on the downloaded FFS installation file for Windows).
So, if you don't add "/silent" as an option to the FFS installer, I have no clue why it assumes you want to perform a silent installation.

@doti
Well, you are entitled to have your opinion.
But I don't think many will agree with you.
In essentially all software that is available in a free and in a paid version, the paid version has features not supported by the free version. That's a lot of bugs out there ...

Posts: 6 · mantiscorp 30 Jul 2019, 07:11

So, if you don't add "/silent" as an option to the FFS installer, I have no clue why it assumes you want to perform a silent installation. Plerry, 30 Jul 2019, 06:57

I haven't even known about this option before I had got this error message.
If I install 10.2, the setup runs ok and the app works ok.
If I install 10.14, the setup shows the error about the "silent option" and the started app says the installation files are damaged.
I run both setups in the same way.
Is there any debug info that I can provide?

Posts: 7212 · Zenju 30 Jul 2019, 08:15

I haven't even known about this option before I had got this error message.
If I install 10.2, the setup runs ok and the app works ok.
If I install 10.14, the setup shows the error about the "silent option" and the started app says the installation files are damaged.
I run both setups in the same way.
Is there any debug info that I can provide? mantiscorp, 30 Jul 2019, 07:11

Which command line arguments are you passing to the installer?

Posts: 6 · mantiscorp 30 Jul 2019, 08:23

Which command line arguments are you passing to the installer? Zenju, 30 Jul 2019, 08:15

I don't pass any arguments to the installer.
But I can give you a hint: I have just installed 10.14 from Windows Explorer.
But the same 10.14 fails if it is started from a console FAR Manager.
It looks like the setup has a different behaviour depending on how it's started

Posts: 7212 · Zenju 30 Jul 2019, 08:51

Can you check the command line parameters as they are received by the FreeFileSync installer? Maybe the FAR Manager is adding something to it. You can check a process' arguments (in this case "FreeFileSync_10.14_Windows_Setup.exe") via Process Explorer

Posts: 6 · mantiscorp 30 Jul 2019, 08:58

Can you check the command line parameters as they are received by the FreeFileSync installer? Zenju, 30 Jul 2019, 08:51

I see several instances of the installer running:
Command Line:
"D:\..\FreeFileSync_10.14_Windows_Setup.exe"
Command Line:
"C:\Users\..\AppData\Local\Temp\is-K7EIK.tmp\FreeFileSync_10.14_Windows_Setup.tmp" /SL5="$60B32,13438735,240128,D:\..\FreeFileSync_10.14_Windows_Setup.exe"
Command Line:
"D:\..\FreeFileSync_10.14_Windows_Setup.exe" /SPAWNWND=$BC07D8 /NOTIFYWND=$60B32
Command Line:
"C:\Users\..\AppData\Local\Temp\is-JAR6B.tmp\FreeFileSync_10.14_Windows_Setup.tmp" /SL5="$55089C,13438735,240128,D:\..\FreeFileSync_10.14_Windows_Setup.exe" /SPAWNWND=$BC07D8 /NOTIFYWND=$60B32

Posts: 7212 · Zenju 30 Jul 2019, 10:05

Looks all fine. For some reason Inno Setup still seems to believe it is being run in silent mode, which AFAIK only happens for /silent and /verysilent command line arguments.

Posts: 3 · doti 31 Jul 2019, 09:24

So I solved my problem. I convert exe file to msi and now working fine

Posts: 2 · andrews 1 May 2021, 02:22

Year 2021, version 11.9 and I'm still having this problem. Except the installer started threatening me with legal action for "tampering with the installation process" :)

Posts: 7212 · Zenju 2 May 2021, 08:29

Perhaps a Process Monitor Trace could help here.

Posts: 7212 · Zenju 9 May 2021, 11:06

Fixed! Thanks to your trace file: https://www.mediafire.com/file/0hvrv93if82txqk/FreeFileSync_11.10_%255BBeta%255D_Windows_Setup%25282%2529.exe

Posts: 3 · gosh 25 Jan 2023, 11:06

Hi, same problem as andrews when updating from 11.29 to 12.0. Is there a fix?