Client Install 7.6.9 Windows DELETED FILES and config

[cube1us]

I had installed 7.5.1_x86 previously, using my machine's administrative user. As a result, it would not start up automatically. It also did not create an icon for all users.

So, I took to installing it manually, running fahclient.exe from inside the directory where it was located. So, it put its logs and configurations there (the "data directory" is apparently being remembered on a per-user basis, so there was none for my every day user ID)

After installing 7.6.9_x86 today, I found that

1) All of my log files in the logs directory had been deleted (and are now irretrievably gone because my products folder is only backed up when I install something)

2) A little perl script I had written (about 2hrs work) to process the logs is also irretrievably gone.

3) My configuration was gone

Fortunately, I still had the email that held my passkey.

It is standard practice for installers to ONLY delete those files that they plan to replace or which are known to be obsolete, and leave EVERYTHING ELSE ALONE. Or at least WARN that it is going to delete (and not just overwrite).

8P

[jcoffland]

If you put your files in C:\Program Files\FAHClient then they will get deleted when you uninstall. That's not unusual. You really shouldn't put files there.

If you put your files in AppData\Roaming\FAHClient then it would only delete them if you checked the box telling it to remove the data directory during uninstall.

Sorry you lost your files.

[cube1us]

That is VERY unusual. Almost every software package I have ever seen that uses a pre-packaged installer does NOT delete stuff for directories like logs directories an does not delete configuration files it finds -- at least not without asking.

The other part of this problem is that if one installs all of one's software as a separate admin user, like I do, then when installing the FAH client the data directory specified during the install does not carry over to other users. If it had even so much as created an icon for all users on the desktop, instead of just the installing user, then I would have seen that icon, and seen how it handled the default directory and would have been in a better position to do this properly.

Of course, now I know that is isn't being very sophisticated, and I can adapt. BUT THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

This needs to be improved. There is no reason why it should not leave the following directories alone if it finds them: configs, logs and work.

[bruce]

FAH creates two directores that it considers belong to FAH. Inside of Program_Files, it creates a subdirectory /FAHClient and it puts the software in it (with Adinistratore permissions) and it creates a directory exclusively for it's work files. By default, this is in the data directory for that user and it is also caled /FAHClient. The uninstaller removes those two directories. FAH's logs and FAH's configurations are created exclusively for it's own software and are no longer needed if you uninstall the software.

FAH must be run by a single user, so access to those directories while FAH is running is unnecessary except to monitor FAH's progress which is done through internal IP ports.