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I developed a program in VB 6.0 and used Package & Deployment Wizard to build an Setup exe file installer, but my software contained some dependency folder and the VB Package & Deployment only allows files, not folders.

Does anyone know any other types of Packages & Deployment or setup generator that I can use?

Racil Hilan
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Prince
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  • [Inno Setup](http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php) | [VB6 FAQ](http://www.jrsoftware.org/iskb.php?vb). – Alex K. Oct 14 '16 at 10:33
  • Check out the [recommendations under this question](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/23836/how-to-create-a-simple-install-system-for-vb6-on-xp-vista-and-newer) – MarkJ Oct 14 '16 at 12:46
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    https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa733687(v=vs.60).aspx – Jim Hewitt Oct 14 '16 at 13:06

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You're asking the right question. :) The PDW was never a stable enough solution to risk using it in a production environment. It never fully solved the "DLL Hell" problems that come up with it.

One of the main problems was that after the PDW was released, OS service packs started disallowing replacement of numerous DLL files that were used by the OS. This was the only way that they could solve the ubiquitous version problems that were plaguing server installations everywhere. They never did anything with the PDW to address this change. So, if your installation package includes a DLL file that the OS doesn't allow you to replace, the OS won't register it. Then, when you reboot as part of the installation process, the PDW errors out and tries to reboot again, and you get caught in an endless loop of reboots. Very very bad. If you should be interested, I wrote this up in detail here back in '03.

There are plenty of solutions for what you're trying to do, and some of the other answers give some of them. Microsoft's own solution is the Visual Studio Installer, which you can read up on here. This is the one that builds those .msi files that you see all the time; msi = Microsoft Installer.

BobRodes
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    Suggesting that the PDW setups are "unstable" is hyperbole at best. But MSI packages are generally preferred for other reasons. – Bob77 Oct 15 '16 at 21:26
  • @Bob77 I'm sorry, but I disagree (with your first sentence). See the link I just added for detail. If you read that and still feel the same way, then I'd be interested to see what's wrong with my analysis. – BobRodes Oct 15 '16 at 21:32
  • Your problem there is that you were using the PDW incorrectly. You might want to read up on its `Redist` folder and its purpose and usage. – Bob77 Oct 16 '16 at 22:34
  • @Bob77 I remember something about that, but no, I don't want to read up on it. I'll take your word for it. :) Back in the day, I just moved to the Installer, which was a better solution anyway. – BobRodes Oct 18 '16 at 04:52
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Try using iexpress.exe, it's built in with windows for creating windows installation packages, it's fairly simple to use and i know it works for windows7, 10, and probably others too! You can search in the start menu to find it or use the run dialog box, or command prompt, just type in iexpress.exe and there you go, i make a few vb6 setup programs this way.

  • Isn't (wasn't?) there an issue with privilege escalation? –  Oct 16 '16 at 03:42
  • Not sure what you mean. –  Oct 16 '16 at 13:34
  • I see, I never had an issue but it seems that some have run into issues. It's worth a try though. I have used it many times with no problems. –  Oct 16 '16 at 16:30
  • Its just the same as Inno Setup..I tried Inno and it worked, i managed include the folders. – Prince Oct 17 '16 at 01:35
  • It's good since it's on windows already! Glad to have helped. –  Oct 18 '16 at 23:54