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New Client Installer


brometheus

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For the past year, our team was hard at work picking apart and rebuilding our installer into a sleeker and slimmer system as part of a push to make µTorrent smaller. Our aim is to make this basic operation as smooth and bug free as possible. Additionally we built tools to help us diagnose and fix bugs as they come up.

 

We did our best to put this through the wringer, but this is still very experimental. As such, please understand that stuff won’t work sometimes. We are committed to fixing these issues as soon as they are reported and I will update the link and changelog here with each fix.

 

Thank you to everybody who is helping us build a better µTorrent.

 

 

(post edited to remove link, we've moved into a public beta with frequent updates)

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It would be very helpful if you can explain how this build(s) are correlated to the beta releases as far as changes/fixes that are not installer related.

For example, this one - 3.4.1 31532 is based on which build (in the 3.4.1 beta thread changelog) ? Why not the newest 3.4.2 beta build?

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Will this installer also solve the issue of users with "standalone" installs in non %appdata% locations - doing updates? Either by keeping to the same install location, or coping  their setting  files to appdata (if you have decided to do so)?

 

Right now, those are loosing all settings, or just sticking to using manual updates.

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"vendor-and-hydra.js" hmm... doesn't sound good...

It may be part of the new deveopment tools for diagnosis purposes...

Hydra.js

 

For the past year, our team was hard at work picking apart and rebuilding our installer into a sleeker and slimmer system as part of a push to make µTorrent smaller. Our aim is to make this basic operation as smooth and bug free as possible. Additionally we built tools to help us diagnose and fix bugs as they come up.

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...please understand that stuff won’t work sometimes. We are committed to fixing these issues as soon as they are reported and I will update the link and changelog here with each fix.

 

 

 

They always seem to cover their asses as if they are not responsible or not committed enough...deja-vu all over again!

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I don't understand you, guys (A./B.). Here is a guy/dev/(team?)   that was assigned/took upon himself to improve the installer, maybe the updater too later on. Why don't you give him a chance? So, he forgot to update Adam's changelog, and wrote it only here instead. Next time he will improve, right? Be gentle ... ;)

 

Anyway, my hope is that someone will test this installer for standalone installs, PLUS  in the  %appdata% standard path, and will confirm that a simple update works w/o any issue in both cases - this means - just run the new version *without* activating the installer (unlike the way  it does for me now). This is a basic test. W/O this functionality, installer or no installer - the update procedure, that used to work fine, now fails.

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 Next time he will improve, right? Be gentle ...

 

 

When a plane crashes on a remote and deserted island with no food whatsoever people become cannibals to survive...

 

Besides the gentle thing you talk about has been here for yrs. Look where it got us....Maybe they are too comfortable and need swift kicks once in awhile!... :o

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Hopefully they will make it great. :)

 

Here's my ideas for improvement.

 

General:

 

Make sure it detects an update if one's available, not have it appear by chance.

Maybe have it display the date the latest version was added to the server, when checking for updates.

 

Installer:

  1. If initiated via µTorrent itself, display only to update/replace.
  2. If it's portable (whether on USB or not, existing uTorrent.exe & settings.dat), have it check the current folder it's running in and replace that .exe only.
  3. Only display the wizard if it's a new install, no need to go through all steps each time to just update.
  4. Keep the dialog where it tells you about the update, good and informative.
  5. If running from regular download, check if something is installed in %AppData%\uTorrent\ and Program Files, display wizard accordingly.
  6. Have an advanced option to display the path to the installed version(s).
  7. Notify if several installs are detected, and which one to update.
  8. Use NSIS?

If you want to be extra kind, have all offers be opt-in by a check mark, many would appreciate it.

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>3. Only display the wizard if it's a new install, no need to go through all steps each time to just update.

Exactly. Very annoying (I thought it was just me...) .

 

I'll share with you, brometheus, the exact reason:

1. you download the new release, and save it in .\updates folder - as 3.4.2_xxxxx.exe

2. You run the new release *from* that folder. A mistake! You should run it with a parameter - "the old exe location"

3. When doing so, *not having* settings.dat at that location triggers the installer. A second mistake... Should check settings.dat in the old exe folder location

4. New exe copying itself as old_utorrent.exe in .\.. and runs it again. No dialog this time.

 

Fix #2/3 and you'll be fine... :)

 

Good luck!

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Thanks for the feedback everybody. I know the installer isn't the most popular part of µTorrent (shocker! :P) but it is very old and needs lots of tender love and care.

 

Build 31615? Not mentioned anywhere in the changelog ... :(

Update is useless for  standalone ...

This does need some explanation. Right now Adam is making regular builds and release notes for µTorrent, including old installer fixes, we update the release notes accordingly. For this new installer system, because it's very much a beta, we aren't incorporating it into the regular release process. That is why you aren't seeing the release notes on the other thread when we make updates here.

The build number comes from our build server. We are shadowing the current beta (through GIT by merging the beta branch into our branch) so we don't break Adam's builds when we make mistakes. This is why the build number between the two betas are different. When we are more comfortable with this new installer's stability, we will merge it into the main beta track. Once we do, then the build numbers will match and the old installer will be permanently removed.

 

Anyway, my hope is that someone will test this installer for standalone installs, PLUS  in the  %appdata% standard path, and will confirm that a simple update works w/o any issue in both cases

Definitely a bug. Just filed a bug report and moved it to the top of our list.

 

>3. Only display the wizard if it's a new install, no need to go through all steps each time to just update.

Exactly. Very annoying (I thought it was just me...) .

This is a known problem. Right now the update and fresh install code run through the same installer. Before we customized which pages were used based on new and upgrade installs. Right now this new installer only has one set of pages, those for the new installs. When we are further along, we will add a slimmer update installer for that purpose.

More to come.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Late yesterday we released an updated version (Build 31831) of the new installer containing these updates:


  • Fixed a number of display issues
  • Links from the installer now open in your default browser
  • Fixed some compatibility issues in Windows 8.1
  • Fixed some issues in IE 8
  • Fixed problem where initial run of µTorrent after install was in Admin mode.  
  • Fixed problem where on first run, when the µTorrent main window was closed, clicking on the desktop icon did not re-activate the running window

 


Known issues:


  • We have seen some issues installing on XP, and are working to identify and fix those asap
  • On uninstall, if µTorrent is running the uninstall completes but an error is given and the installed exe is not removed
  • We have not yet addressed the issues raised with standalone mode

 


Thank you for your patience and your help in identifying any further issues you run into.  At this time our focus will be in matching the behavior and functionality of the current installer so that we can get to a reliable baseline and move on to making new improvements which have been difficult to do in the old installer.


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Ah I see.  Again sorry to misunderstand.  To minimize confusion since the fixes going out in other betas right now are independent of this work, we're basing all betas in this effort from the latest stable.  This is based on the current latest stable released June 11.

 

I just updated that document to reflect this beta as well.  Thank you for bringing that to my attention.

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