We've had several instances lately where people attempting to install shareware packages created with the standard Microsoft Package and Deployment wizard have run into the following problem:

THE SYMPTOM: The installer tells you it needs to install some updated files. You okay  the prompt. The installer completes that part of the installation, but when you re-boot and continue, the installer tells you again that it needs to install some updated files.

This problem used to be very rare and almost always indicated that the computer manufacturer had installed a program that started in the background at bootup and ran something like the Microsoft Jet 4 database manager. The classic example was "Attune," a program Dell installed on some of its machines several years ago. Since most Peak InfoSystems shareware uses the same database manager, the installer couldn't install the package as long as the database manager was running. The solution was to find the offending program, usually represented by an icon in the system tray in the lower right part of the screen, turn it off, and then try the installation again.

The problem nowadays seems to arise because one or more of the boot programs normally included in the Microsoft installer package is either running on the client machine in the background or is locked and can't be overwritten except by Microsoft upgrades. This makes it impossible to solve the problem by turning off a program. As a result we've re-packaged most of our shareware with the Tarma Installer, a very compact and efficient installation program, and left off the boot programs most likely to cause a problem. The downside is that if you have a very old machine, running Windows 95, 98 or ME you may need the boot programs we've left out of the package. If you install one of our shareware packages and find that it doesn't run, please   us so that we can provide you with a package that includes the missing boot programs.

If you're running Windows XP and an attempt to install Peak InfoSystems shareware fails with the message: Softwrap Lockfile Error, go to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users, right-click the folder Shared Documents and be sure the Sharing settings are as below.