Re: [libreoffice-users] can't install 3.4.2 on Windows XP

At 13:09 15/08/2011 +0200, Francis Leboutte wrote:
> I can't install 3.4.2 on Windows XP because the installer asks for 
> the libreoffice33.msi file that is not present on my PC.
>
> Same thing :
> - If I try to uninstall.
> - With 3.3.3 version.
>
> I'm using 3.3.2 version (French).

As I understand things - and will any experts out there please 
correct me? - the .msi file is a database of what needs doing to 
install a product using Windows Installer.  It's needed during 
installation, of course, but equally during removal of the 
product.  Like many products, LibreOffice evidently checks for 
previous versions of the product and (unless you make special 
arrangements) removes previous versions as part of the installation 
process.  To complete this removal, it needs the .msi file for the 
(older) version being removed.  Windows remembers where this was 
during installation and looks there to find it again during 
removal.  If Windows does not find the appropriate .msi file, it 
invites the user to browse to it and provide it.

What I suspect products like OpenOffice and LibreOffice should do, 
but appear not to, is to salt away a copy of the .msi file with the 
installation itself, so that it will always be available when later 
needed.  (Microsoft's own products, such as Office, appear to do 
this: the .msi file is tucked away in Program Files and 
hidden.)  Failing that, best practice is to keep your own copy until 
you remove that version of any product.  Indeed, a sensible course of 
action is first to put any original downloaded file somewhere it can 
be kept and unpack it there - not on the desktop, then! - before 
installation.  Windows will remember where the relevant files were 
when you later need to repair, remove, or upgrade the product.

If you have lost the installation files for the older version, a 
simple way forward is to obtain them again.  You may have to hunt 
around a bit to find the *exact* version you need.  Unpack the 
download to reveal the .msi file and browse to it when asked by the 
new installation.  In case of problems, try installing the older 
version again first: this will put the older version back into shape 
and leave everything ready for the new installation.  This will still 
need the older .msi file, of course - so don't move it too 
soon!  This way, you shouldn't need any brute force uninstallers.

I trust this helps.

Brian Barker


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