scrrun.dll registration bug?

[bobk--]

Not sure if anybody else has run into this, a quick search didn't turn up anything. After installing AC, I was unable to use the Windows XP Remote Assistance client. When I tried to run it, it complained that it couldn't find a procedure in scrrun.dll or some such.

A hard disk search turned up four copies of the file, one under YarcPlus, one under Archive Creator, one in System32, and one in the dllcache. The YP and AC copies were version 5.1.5010, and the ones in the system folders were 5.6.0.6626. After a few minutes consultation with Lord Google, I found I could run regsvr32 to re-register the correct versions. All programs seem to run fine now, as far as I can tell.

Since YarcPlus had never caused me any problems, I suspect there's something askew with the Archive Creator installer; perhaps it's registering scrrun.dll without checking for an existing instance. I don't know a whole lot about dll registration, but thought I'd pass it along.

[MichaelT]

Bob,

Your point is well taken, and it is difficult to manage such things. We choose a certain path, and that is to never write outside of our own folder.

The real problem is that Microsoft does not have a uniform policy about which systems have this file and which do not and so it is difficult not to have several versions. If we have the installer search for every file, then the install process becomes very long.

Thanks for your feedback and information, and we will keep it in mind within our development. We appreciate your taking the time to write.

Happy Holidays

[bobk--]

Well, I'm certainly glad that I've never had to write a Windows installer. Anyway, just wanted to pass along what I discovered, in case it's of use.

It's probably safe to assume that XP has scrrun installed, though I admit I wouldn't want to wager anything that wouldn't grow back.

[MichaelT]

I just did a whole lot of research on what comes with the basic OS versions, and XP is defimately a step in the right direction.

Thanks again for your feedback..

[bobk--]

Perhaps you've seen it already, but I just came across this link (via joelonsoftware.com):

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/servicedesks/fileversion/dllinfo.asp&fp=1

Microsoft has actually published dll information in what appears to be a useful format.