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From: johnston@oscar.ccm.udel.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: StuffIt Deluxe Installer from Hell!
Message-ID: <40020@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: 27 Dec 90 00:19:09 GMT
Sender: usenet@ee.udel.edu
Organization: Univ. of Delaware, CCM
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Nntp-Posting-Host: oscar.ccm.udel.edu

The following is posted as a warning to potential StuffIt Deluxe
users.  My e-mail to Aladdin has gone unanswered since Monday;
holidays notwithstanding, I would hate to see this happen to 
anyone else. 

I experienced several similar problems while trying to install
StuffIt Deluxe on my 5 meg SE/30,40 running System 6.0.5. (These 
occurred both with and without a conservative set of inits and cdevs.)
The result was similar to the "Folder from Hell" problem that has
been described on the net.  All of the installation procedures were
done exactly as described in the manual (read after the fact, of
course).  

For anyone interested in reading on, I list the details below.

First off, I ran the installer on a hard-disk volume that already had 
StuffIt Classic on it and ended up with multiply nested Preferences, 
Optimizers, etc.folders put in my hard disk.  (Both StuffIt's install
several files and folders in the System folder of your hard disk.)

After spending hours deleting the many files and folders, I reinstalled
using the expert option.  This worked fine until I decided that I wanted
to reinstall the Deluxe application only in order to edit the "signature"
block in the personalization dialog box.

This reinstall resulted in a variant of the undeletable "folder from hell".  
After rebooting I found a seemingly infinite set of nested 'Preferences' 
folders had been created in my System Folder.  Attempts to delete them
within the Finder resulted in a "Finder out of Memory" error which
could not be resolved by assigning extra memory to the Finder. 

I found no alternative but to back up my hard disk and re-boot.  After
reinitializing with Apple HD SC Setup, I reconstructed my System, 
excluding all inits and cdevs with the exception of those from my System
Tools 6.0.5 diskettes.  I then attempted to install Deluxe again,
thinking that the common factor in the previous problems was the prior
existence of the StuffIt-installed folders in the System Folder.

Once again, the installation proceeded through 30 of 31 files/folders
and then cycled back to file/folder "5 of 31", and began writing
duplicate copies of several files to my hard disk.  The installer
reached 30 of 31 again, and then went back to 5 of 31, etc.

This time the cancel button worked.  Upon returning to the Finder
I found that the Installer had completely screwed up:  only the 
Help and Tranlators Folders could be found at the System Folder
level, and some of the other StuffIt-installed folders (such as
the Optimizers folder) were found inside the Help folder. 

Although I was once again able to install Deluxe using the "expert"
option in the installer script, this time I deleted all the StuffIt
Deluxe files and folders and reinstalled StuffIt 1.5.1.  If the 
StuffIt Deluxe Installer is an example of the reliability of Deluxe 
archives, I don't think I can afford the "luxury".

If Aladdin comes up with a satisfactory answer and fix, I would be
happy to be the first one to flame this posting;  I was genuinely
looking forward to using some of the advanced features of StuffIt
Deluxe.

Until then, I can only say "beware".

-- Bill (johnston@oscar.ccm.udel.edu)
-- 38 Chambers St.; Newark, DE 19711; (302)368-1949