Chapter 15 -- Installing and Removing Programs and System Components

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Chapter 15

Windows 2000 includes a sophisticated application installation and maintenance tool called Windows Installer. This is part of Microsoft's Zero Administration Initiative, an attempt to reduce the amount of time spent administering computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems. Windows Installer makes it easy for administrators and end users to keep their applications running correctly, to upgrade installations and system components as newer versions become available, and to remove applications and components when they're no longer needed.

Windows Installer maintains a database of information about your applications' critical files. If a critical component of a program becomes damaged or is missing, Windows Installer automatically repairs that component when you try to run the program. (It might prompt you for a disk if the application was installed from a CD-ROM.)

Moreover, in an Active Directory environment, system administrators might assign or publish applications to users. If an application has been assigned to you, Windows Installer creates an item for that application on your Start menu but doesn't actually install the application on your system until the first time you run it—at which time the installation occurs automatically. If an application has been published, the system doesn't create a menu item, but if you try to open a file associated with the published application, Windows Installer offers to install the program on your system.

Not all applications were designed to take advantage of Windows Installer, but over time, more and more popular programs will be. Most applications, however, can be easily installed, removed, or upgraded by other means. To install a program from a CD-ROM, for example, all you typically have to do is insert the disk into your CD-ROM drive, wait a few seconds, and then follow the prompts. If nothing happens after you insert the disk, you can use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel to install or remove your program.