I have never liked the Windows Installer method for SolidWorks and had always opted for the Traditional method.
Now that all users are "forced" to employ the WI method with SWKS
2004, many individuals are probably dealing with it for the first time?!The recent reports of installation, service pack appliication and rollback problems would suggest that the WI method is getting more troublesome; however, I have to wonder if the sudden increase in use of the WI may simply be acting to shed light on issues that are no worse than before?
On the other hand, perhaps the increasing size of the SolidWorks program (and its Ad-In applications) have begun to bring the WI method to the brink of failure.
To use SP2.1 as an example, how can it take longer to update SolidWorks SP2.0 (with a relatively small 7Mb patch) than it did to install the Entire program in the first place?
How can upgrading with a 7Mb patch result in a text-based log file that is 1.2Mb in size?
How can the associated eDrawing update (also roughly 7Mb) use the WI so efficiently while completing the process with relative lightning speed?
I'd certainly be interested to know what percentage of the users were relying solely upon the Traditional installation method, prior to the release of SWKS 2004.
I have to think that the usage of the WI method used to be rather small by comparison or it worked rather well with previous SolidWorks major releases and is just starting to break down in 2004.
What's the consensus?
Per O. Hoel