Windows Installer Capabilities

As managing vice president, Rob Helm covers Microsoft collaboration and content management. His 25-plus years of experience analyzing Microsoft’s technology... more

The Windows Installer is an OS service that takes care of most details of application installation on a computer. Tasks handled by the Windows Installer include the following:

Installation. The Installer copies files to the target computer from the application’s installation source (typically a CD-ROM or a network file share). However, the Installer also makes many other changes to the target computer, including installing Windows features such as Start menu shortcuts and file associations (which determine which application opens which types of files), registering the application’s components and initializing settings in the Windows Registry, and checking that any components required by the application are present. The Installer also logs all changes it makes and can roll back these changes if the installation fails.

User configuration. Most Windows applications require some initialization for each user on a specific computer. The Installer performs this initialization, typically the first time a user invokes the application.

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