Total Commander 10.0 RC2 Installation Issues

[misvin]

Configuration:
Windows 10 Pro 21H1 19043.928 (64-bit) on the Virtual Machine (VirtualBox 6.1.22)
No previous versions of Total Commander

Issue 1:
When I do a clean installation of Total Commander 10.0 RC2 (32-bit) or Total Commander 10.0 RC2 (64-bit), the options "Windows directory" and "Program directory" for .ini file location aren't available (greyed out).
When I do a clean installation of Total Commander 9.51 (32-bit) or Total Commander 9.51 (64-bit), all 5 options are available.

Issue 2:
I suggest to change the default target directory for Total Commander 10.0 (32-bit) from C:\Program Files\totalcmd to C:\Program Files (x86)\totalcmd

Issue 3: (sorry for the off-topic)
When I install the Total Commander 9.51 (64-bit), the Start menu items are not being created (in both cases: This user / All users).
When I do a clean installation of Total Commander 9.51 (32-bit) or Total Commander 10.0 RC2 (64-bit) or Total Commander 10.0 RC2 (32-bit), all OK (the Start menu items are created).
Did you make any changes to the Total Commander 10.0 RC2 (64-bit) installer that fixed the problem?

[Usher]

Current installer introduced in TC 10 beta 1 tries to follow MS recommendations. It is described in all TC 10 beta/RC announcements, see the last lines here:
https://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=73995&hilit=installer
and here:
https://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=74711&hilit=installer

All changes are described with more details in HISTORY.TXT starting up to the beginning of the file from this entry:

31.01.21 Added: Installer: Default install dir change: %TotalcmdDefaultDir% now defaults to "c:\program files" on NT based systems (both 32- and 64-bit), c:\totalcmd on 9x/ME (32/64)

You can also read this topic:
https://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=73997

[misvin]

2Usher,

Issue 1: What should the user do if he wants to install TC 10.0 with ini files in the Program directory (for example, in "%ProgramFiles%\Total Commander)?

Issue 2: I am not talking about the TotalCmd or Total Commander folder name. I suggest that on a 64-bit OS, the TC 10.0 (32-bit) default path starts at C:\Program Files (x86)\ and the TC 10.0 (64-bit) default path starts at C:\Program Files\.
This is the default locations for other 32-bit and 64-bit applications.

[ghisler(Author)]

Issue 1: The installer now blocks the user from choosing locations where he does not have write rights. If you change the install location to c:\totalcmd, you will be allowed to choose "Program directory", but not when you use the default under "Program Files".

Issue 2: Total Commander was created so the 32-bit and 64-bit versions can reside in the same directory. They share files, and there is even a combined installer for both. "Program Files (x86)" is meant for 32-bit programs which cannot be installed to the same directory as 64-bit programs, e.g. because their exe or dll files have the same name.

Issue 3: There was indeed a problem with the original 64-bit installer, but it was fixed on May 29, 2020, and the file was replaced. Where did you download the malfunctioning installer?

[misvin]

Thanks for your answers.

Issue1: What should the user do if he wants to install TC 10.0 with ini files in the Program directory (for example, in "%ProgramFiles%\Total Commander)?
Why are you still offering the "Windows directory" and "Program directory" options for the location of .ini files, if you know that users do not have write permissions to those folders?

Issue 2: (sorry for the off-topic)
What is the advantage of installing TC 10.0 32-bit on Windows 10 64-bit (with or without TC 10.0 64-bit)?

Issue 3:
Today I downloaded TC 9.51 (64-bit) from your site, and Start menu items were created successfully.
The next time, when you make changes to the installer, please report it on the version history webpage.
For example, I downloaded TC 9.51 (64-bit) right after its official release, and until today I didn't know there was a new version of TC 9.51.

Issue 4 (new): (sorry for the off-topic)
I want to use TC 10.0 (32-bit and/or 64-bit) on Windows 10 64-bit without built-in installer.
For example, just manually copy an existing installation of Total Commander, including all plugins and settings files, to the %ProgramFiles%\Total Commander and make all required changes in *.ini files.
I don't like that TC use registry and store information in other folders (not %ProgramFiles%\Total Commander).

Please explain in detail how to do it correctly. What are the functional limitations of the TC in this case compared to a conventional installation?

Note: the tc2usb tool is only used to install TC to USB.

[Hacker]

misvin,

What should the user do if he wants to install TC 10.0 with ini files in the Program directory (for example, in "%ProgramFiles%\Total Commander)?

I would assume he needs to give himself write rights. Not tested though.

Why are you still offering the "Windows directory" and "Program directory" options for the location of .ini files, if you know that users do not have write permissions to those folders?

It might be confusing to show / not show options based on the write rights. It is good UI design to grey out currently unavailable options rather than to hide them completely.

What is the advantage of installing TC 10.0 32-bit on Windows 10 64-bit

Some plugins are only available in 32-bit versions, which don't run on TC 64-bit.

Please explain in detail how to do it correctly.

Enter the installation archive and extract all necessary files. The "d" subfolder is for the German version, you can ignore that one.

HTH
Roman