Re: unneeded program archival

"dme248422" <dme248422@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:5944B8C8-FA6C-4443-9A7B-55AA3E9143AE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


"Olórin" wrote:

"dme248422" <dme248422@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:70145528-742F-48AB-908B-CE4ADED645AC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


"Leonard Grey" wrote:

A program installation can't be moved from place to place. If you want
to move a program from one computer to another you uninstall it from
computer 'a' and reinstall it on computer 'b'.
---
Leonard Grey
Errare Humanum Est

Security Tips for Everyone, from PC Magazine
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334856,00.asp

dme248422 wrote:
Is it possible to to move/remove programs/apps from the HDD to CD
for
reinstall at a later date when wanted or needed? I have a Lenovo
X200
with
XP Pro. Thanks.

Leonard, Thank you for the response. Is it possible to do what you
suggest with preinstalled programs/apps/software for which there is no
installtion CD; and how would that be accomplished? Thank you!

There is no guaranteed, surefire way. I'd suggest trying to get the
installation media somehow or other - what was it that wasn't provided
with
a method of reinstallation? Is the program legitimately yours?

When I've been in this situation, this can sometimes work - say for
example,
the program is "Really Useful App" by "RinkyDink Solutions, Inc."

1) Via thumb drive, network, crossover cable, CD etc copy over the
application's folder, eg C:\Program Files\RUA, from computer A to
computer
B. Note where the shortcut(s) on A point to, copy or reproduce them on B,
see if the program works - it just might. (Don't forget to enable viewing
of
hidden and of system files.)

2) If doing that throws up any error messages about missing files, locate
them on A and copy to B. If files are DLLs, they might need registering.

3) Search through the registry on A for any entries with names remotely
resembling anything to do with "Really Useful App", starting with the
most
distinctive - eg "really useful app", "really", "useful" (but not "app"
or
you'll get more results than you can shake a very large stick at), "rua",
"rinkydink", maybe "solutions". Reproduce these entries on B and try
again.
In your registry search, tick searching for Keys, Value and Data, but not
"Match whole string only". The usual registry work caveats apply (care,
backups). If you're not happy footling around in the registry then don't!

4) Search A for any other files that might need copying - eg .ini files,
particularly in C:\Windows and its subfolders. Maybe run the program,
make a
small change to its options/settings, then search for recently-changed
.ini
files, eg rua.ini. (Then reverse the change.) I'd recommend using Agent
Ransack for searching rather than XP's built-in module as the latter
needs
tweaking to make its results (or lack of) reliable:
http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack. Copy any such files, test again.

As I say, there's no guarantee; there could well be obscurely-named or
encrypted registry entries that you've no hope of finding (eg related to
licensing). Well, you *could* try running the app with a
registry-monitoring
tool... If you *do* get it working, then on your archival CD you'll need
all
the files you copied as well as a note of the registry entries you made.

That's what I'd do - good luck!



HI, Yes, it's a new laptop that came with some apps preinstalled; I guess
that means they;re mine. I am trying to get some HDD space. I intend to
put
my music CD collection on it and hook up to my stereo for playing. As
usual,
there are all kinds of programs that are not needed or wanted by every
user.
Those are what iI'm tyring to remove but not lose; I paid for 'em. one
takes
up 214MB. Thanks for the response and any other help you can render!

You're welcome. Bundled with a new laptop, you should have the means of
reinstalling these app(s) - although I suppose that might only be part of a
complete system recovery, returning your machine (destructively) to the
state in which you bought it. Try browsing through all CDs/DVDs your laptop
came with; there might be a folder or subfolder with installation files
there.

I don't really have any other help beyond that. Do you have CDs or not? -
it's not clear. The seller should certainly at least have provided you with
some means of reinstalling XP. (If this is from CDs that *you* need to
create from tools on the laptop, I'd suggest doing that now!)

re your other: "Also when a program is uninstalled using "add and remove
programs"; is it true that it is not really off one's computer using files
in "Program Files"? I believe I read that on a post somewhere very
recently." Beyond Leonard's reply, could it be that you're misremembering a
comment you read about deleted files not "really" being off your computer?
To expand on this slightly: when a file is deleted (or a program
uninstalled), there is a chance it can be recovered with special tools,
until such a time as the space it occupies on your hard disk be overwritten
by something else. But this is not something to rely on - certainly not for
your purposes (software archival).


.

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