Developer

setup.exe is a file used to install programs. It's frequently found on driver CDs and such alike, so when it fails to launch, it usually hurts double. The Web is full of reasons and solution attemps why this file won't work and there is no general remedy. One has to check his or her system and compare to the solutions offered, with some luck one might fit.

A typical failure of setup.exe is noticable due to the lack of any activity whatsoever. A launch of the file results in nothing other than a dead process (0% CPU usage). If it hangs in there for a while like that, it's safe to kill it and proceed to the steps below.

The most popular reasons of failure include, in random order,

• Virus/firewall software
• Bad registry
• Microsoft Outlook
• Old folder structure
• Missing temp folder
• 16bit

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Microsoft Installer (MSI) files often contain files you might want to use individually without actually installing everything by executing the main MSI setup file.

Users of Windows Mobile (WM) frequently run into this problem when they want to install an application only on their mobile device and not first on their computer.

If you have Windows Installer installed:

1. Open Command Prompt: Start > Run > "cmd"
2. Either go to the folder where the MSI file is located or use full path:
   msiexec /a path_to_MSI_file /qb targetdir=path_to_target_folder

For more information about msiexec execution:
Command-Line Switches for the Microsoft Windows Installer Tool 

I've been a longtime user of Symantec's Norton Internet Security (NIS) products, installing it on all of my computers with purchases annual licenses and doing regular updates and maintenances. Previous to the 2007 edition, many complained about speed problems and suggested I try other software - which I did and disliked for various reasons - but I was very happy with all of the NIS versions; probably because I installed it on systems that could handle it and tweaked it to match my personal requirements.

NIS 2007 and 2008 required free add-on packages to include such crucial functions as spam and ad blocking. Given the all-in-one product range of Norton 360 (360), I decided to switch over to 360. I currently maintain 3 main computers so 360 (version 2) came in handy with its 3 seats license. On both Microsoft Windows Vista Business computers (one workstation and one tablet notebook) it runs smoothly and unnoticeable in the background. On the third computer however, also a tablet notebook but running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, 360 ran into troubles with all non-admin (restricted) user accounts.

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