VS2018 user Guide - installation suggestions

[Davidk]

Nick, as an alternative to PM this is for you

I've been dialoging with Nick via PM about some issues with a student installing 2018 ultimate from DVD, and discovered that the 2018 user guide in that area is quite out of date - it mentions a setup.exe, for example, and gives no other details beyond follow the prompts. Generally in my case students are meeting VS for the first time, and this is one area where the process should be clearly stated and run smoothly - nothing to cause them any anxiety. The box has no guidance on or in it, and reading the user guide would normally mean the app had installed OK first - catch 22, that. So I suggested to Nick
- that I would draft some user guide suggestions if Corel would be happy to have them, and he was.
- and that the installation instructions should be printed on the flyer/leaflet in the box with the DVD

But the PM method won't allow a doc or pdf file to be attached. So, here it is.

Video Studio 2018 - Installing and uninstalling the application.doc

(204 KiB) Downloaded 190 times

[lata]

Hi David

If you have not done so I would PM Nick with a link to this post, I doubt he will visit here without that.

I am not sure about the actual usage of the backup disc, the disc is a data disc and does not auto run to install the programs.

In the past when we could manually install the program yes we could install from the disc either directly or copying the files to our hard drive.
Now that Corel have implemented the web installer the installation is automatic via the VideoStudio2018_Install.exe file, internet connection required.

Although you have a disc I assume containing the installation files (64bit / 32bit etc) unless you copy those to the download location folder, you show the default desktop location, then all files will be downloaded again.

Even so if you do copy the installation files there, the web installer will verify the content and download any missing or changed files.

So I think we have to copy the disc content to our hard drives, using that folder as our Download Location, at least that will reduce any further downloads.

[Davidk]

Hi Trevor,
yes, I've reported to Nick via PM. I tried to use the same font/style as the guide, but cover the essentials. The situation was a one-off that he really helped with, and things rolled from there in several to-and-fro PM's.
As a synopsis of that experience:
- the disk has the same sort of compressed program distribution files as the online server, only not all of them: one disk has files for both 32bit and 64bit ultimate installations, and as a result there isn't enough disk space on a (manufactured) DL disk for all the files. 2 files were shown as 'download from internet' and that led me and the student (Judith) down a rabbit hole for quite a few days, but also exposed that a disk installation will have to be done with internet attached. Separate off-line installs as we have done in prior years are history. I have suggested to Nick that Corel take a leaf from microsoft's book and supply two disks in the DVD box - one for 32bit and one for 64bit installations - which should allow the inclusion of all the files for one OS version to be on the one disk, and thus not need the internet for downloading extras just to get an installation up.

So, the DVD installer (note - slightly different name between on-line and disk on the examples I have) extracts the compressed files from the disk and saves them in the download location, and does the same for any 'download from internet' files. And then does the installation as we have grown to know it. There is absolutely no installation instruction in the 2018 DVD box on how to install, and the user guide says run setup.exe (way out of date), but that's only accessible once the installation is done, so why would you read it then? Thus my remarks about putting it separately on or in the box.

In Judith's case (she has adsl 1 internet), a good finish screen and version as 21.2.0.113 was reported after 6 hours for the program and another couple for the service pack. And a screenshot of the download location showed both the 'download from internet' items in the installer main page as present and the right size. Rabbit hole exited but a new one appears.

- one issue that remains deals with how the installer manages trial installations.
The student's PC had a trial install on it. That was removed by using windows uninstall, run 2018 cleanup, and then cclean to remove everything, then re-boot before running the disk-based installer. However, the clean-up did not remove everything - specifically, the Trial 'download' files location is still there with relevant files, and as a result the full disk install of 2018 has NOT saved a common files folder in the download location. Being generous, those download files are just the expanded, saved files which are supposedly not referenced in the registry, and thus uninstall/cleanup may ignore them. A screenshot of the download locations I'm working with (for comparison) are:
My PC, as created by the download and install from internet last Feb

And Judith's download file location after the DVD-based installation last Friday
No common folder

The trials folder content

However, the files in the download folder are the source from which the installation is created, so I'm not sure just what the status of Judith's completed 2018 installation is. You will note that Judith's installation has no common folder, but despite the clean-up mentioned retains a Trial folder that apparently caused the installer to not create a common folder and contents. That Trials folder may or may not have the same files in it (as the common folder) from which the installation was made. That's what I'm waiting on an answer for, which has implications for both the installer code, and the practice, of uninstalling a trial system if one exists.

Beyond that, when there is an answer, I may have to update the installation piece to include details of un-installation as well.

If you have any experience dealing with Trials folders: removal of, and interaction with a subsequent installation activity, I'd be glad to hear them.

[lata]

The release version was corrupt needing SP1 to correct things, then SP2 was quickly released.
So your backup disc was out of date within the first weeks of release.
Maybe the next backup disc will include SP3.
But I can understand the need for a disc copy when internet speeds are low.

I am surprised that the backup disc automatically moved its files to the default desktop folder
You said -- “extracts the compressed files from the disk and saves them in the download location” Is that correct

If so It is good that it does that, then running the VideoStudio_Install.exe ( may have several names just to confuse us) will download any missing files including the service packs.
What you have now should be the same as downloading from scratch.
Installing VS with patch 2 will give you 21.2.0.113. soon to be updated through the program when Patch 3 is released.
We should also see SP3 via the web installer, I would imagine, same as we now see SP2

The trial version does not support DVD burning, the Common folder contains MyDVD and HD stuff so would not be available when downloading the trial.
I have installed the trial versions for most of the Video Studio versions, not sure I have done that for 2018 as I don’t seem to have the trial folder, but then I may have cleaned my hard drive of unwanted files.

If you wish I can uninstall and test the Trial version

But removal I would have used Windows to do that, then deleted any installation files.

[Davidk]

Hi Trevor,
What we (student) used for the installation was a new saleable box DVD for 2018 ultimate - not a backup copy. And the revised installation instructions I attached to the 1st post in this thread reflected the total lack of guidance on the box or in it for an installation of the program from that DVD.

I'll email you separately about the one-off background I mentioned.

Meanwhile, if you have a test system (I don't - just a sandbox on my normal machine, which means that after release I can't test variants of the current version (2018) without destroying the existing operational version) it would help if you could do what the student did, ie
- install the 2018 trial on it using the default install locations
- uninstall the trial
- install either 2018 Ultimate from a box DVD using the default locations
and see what the result is, particularly the download location folder (similar to the screenshots I posted?)

[lata]

The only problem for me is i do not have a boxed version of 2018

[Davidk]

For a range of reasons this write suggestion got extended somewhat, to also include uninstall, since there have been plenty of queries and reports about uninstall issues affecting a re-installation. Trevor has been gracious to comment on the result, and embodying his suggestions, the result is attached.

Video Studio 2018 - Installing and uninstalling the application v5.pdf

(286.75 KiB) Downloaded 744 times