206806 - installer does not ensure enough disk space for GRE component

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(SeaMonkey :: Installer, defect)

Description

[rr_mozilla]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.4b) Gecko/20030507
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.4b) Gecko/20030507

A fresh, complete install in its own direcrory won't start. Quick launch not
being used. Hourglass shows briefly, but nothing happens after that, no banner,
logo, screen etc. No process is shown running by the task manager. Repeated
attempts to start give same behavior. No error message being given. Second
instal in yet another directory sshowed same results. Version 1,3a b all started
fine. They were uninstalled and directories cleaned prior to installing 1.4b.
Win 95 version is 4.01.0.971a, 260 megs free memory at start time, plenty of
virtual mem. Desktop icon link is correct. Clicking Profile Manager or Mail from
regular program menu also produces no results.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Install 1.4
2. Click desktop icon
3.

Actual Results:  
Hourglass appears briefly. Then nothing.

Expected Results:  
Browser should start and open up defalt home page.

Comment 1

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

Havye you tried a new profile ?
(run "mozilla -profilemanager" to create an additional test profile)

Comment 2

[Hermann Schwab]

Could it be 
Bug 183448 having a file called "ns_temp" in %TEMP makes the installer useless ?

Are files in your profile write-protected? 
If you see a file parent.lock, delete it.
IIRC the profile is in the windows directory of win95, but I´m not sure about this.

Comment 3

[rr_mozilla]

Further experimentation by bug submitter reveals that .zip version of 1.4b
starts and runs perfectly after being unzipped in a separate directory on the
same win95 box. The two mozilla.exe files, one from the .zip and one from the
-sea.exe auto installer are byte for byte identical. A comparison with a win 98
install behavior reveals these differences: win98 installs and automatically
starts browser, win95 does not automaticaly start browser (or it starts it and
it fails - hard to tell which). During -sea.exe install into Win95 -sea.exe
version also gives a brief and badly formatted ( text all in a single very wide
line) message box about 'required space vs available space' with an OK/Cancel
button, but does not wait for confirmation. (Space would have been ok). All
MOZILLA directories in c:\windows and c:\Program Files and %TEMP were cleaned
out before any experiements. Versions 1.3a and 1.3b have installed ok in the
past. Many thanks to Hermann Schwabb for assistance.

Comment 4

[Sander]

Reassigning to correct owner/QA

Comment 5

[Sean Su]

reporter, begining with version 1.4a, the mozilla installer now installs GRE
into a directory outside of where mozilla gets installed to, namely:
  [common files]\mozilla.org\GRE

There's no way for the user to override this.  How much disk space available do
you have on the drive where [common files] is located on?  (normally [system
drive]:\program files\common files)

If that drive does not have enough disk space, the mozilla installer should be
throwing up the error message before installation even begins.  I just found a
problem in the installer in where this is not happening.

The error message that you're describing sounds like it is being thrown by the
GRE installer (which is launched by the mozilla installer).

Comment 6

[Henrik Gemal]

I've seen the same thing on Windows 98. Mozilla just wont start. Clean install.
see bug 205610

Comment 7

[rr_mozilla]

OK. Looks like free space is the problem. Original freespace on the target
computer C:\[system] drive was about 9 megs.
Under those circumstance, the briefly flashing, unreadable space message
occurs and a bad install happens without warning user. Mozilla won't start.

The .zip version does not put GRE stuff on the C: drive. In this test machine,
.zip install placed on the H: drive worked just fine (H: had many megs of free
space)

After cleaning out junk on C:, had about 52 megs free. Then the install
of -sea.exe version proceeded OK.

But it took up at least 16-18 megs on the C:drive. BOO HISS (see below) 

So the -sea.exe installer did _NOT_ handle insufficient space or warning message
properly.

One other thing noticed was that the initial start of Mozilla after the
OK install did _NOT_ have the sidebar filled in. It was black.
A second start fills in the sidebar OK with bookmarks etc..


REQUEST:
While it does not affect performance or features, I would prefer that
installations do not put big things in the c: [system] drive if I tell the
installer to use a different drive letter. 
Here is why:
1) The C: drive is small on old windows 95 machines and every programmer
in the universe thinks they have the right to dump stuff there even when
the user says otherwise and even when it is not necessary. The result is
heart ache for the user. On older machines it is easier to add drives
than remake C: onto a larger spindle if space becomes tight.
2) As a security precaution in big networks I try to keep as much as
possible OFF the C [system] drive on all workstations in case installations go
crazy or corruption occurs during install.
3) It gets difficult to back up the C drive if everything goes there.
Spreading things on many partitions makes it easier to dump selected partitions
to CD.

Please help us out by putting GRE back into what the user decides is the
root of the install.
[common files] for mozilla products do not HAVE to be in windows [system]
directories. that is only a convention.

In any case the installation should say that it is using other drives.

Comment 8

[rr_mozilla]

Just clarifying earlier posts. Install will be sterile if:
1) User chooses to install on a target drive that is not the same as [system drive]
2) [system drive] has less than about 16 megs free space
3) but there _is_ enough space on the target drive the user chose
then:
1) Installer will produce a brief (3 seconds), badly formatted error message
2) continue past the message
3) and die
4) leaving a mozilla which won't start.

Comment 9

[Sean Su]

there are two distinct problems here that I'm seeing:
1) mozilla installer does not offer ability to install GRE in user chosen path
2) mozilla installer is not ensuring enough disk space for the GRE component.

1) is bug 190714.

I'll leave 2) to be this bug.
Updating summary to reflect 2).

patch coming up for 2).

Comment 10

[Sean Su]

Attachment: patch v1.0

Comment 11

[jag (Peter Annema)]

Comment on attachment 124315 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1.0

sr=jag

Comment 12

[Sean Su]

Comment on attachment 124315 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1.0

seeking a=
this patch only affects checking for disk space.  does not alter installation
path.

Comment 13

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

Comment on attachment 124315 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1.0

a=asa (on behalf of drivers) for checkin to the 1.4 branch.

Comment 14

[Sean Su]

patch checked in to trunk and branch and mozilla and ns trees.

Comment 15

[Grace Bush]

Sean,

I am seeing an alert that tells me I don't have enough disk space for the GRE
install and am asked to press ok- there is no OK button, text is not clean (some
odd characters) Install continues but I end up with no GRE -and hence no launch

I don't see message in this patch- where is it coming from? 

Branch build 2003060905 on WIn2k

I am expecting to see low disk space alert with no installation until I make
space- is that correct?

Comment 16

[Grace Bush]

drive c starts with 38 MB free space,  choose to install to drive d which has
enough space.

cannot get a screen shot of the message
easily reproducable on my machine if you want to see

Comment 17

[rr_mozilla]

Still getting this problem on release 1.5b. 

GRE installer desperately trying to report somw lack of space, but message 
flashes by too fast to capture. Message says something about needing more spcce, 
click ok - or back but does not wait for response. Install continues but ten 
Mozilla won't start. 

Blocks testing of 1.5 Installer version. Have to resort to .zip version in order 
to test. 

Can't tell what drive it is complaining about, because message does not stay on 
screen long enough. Message is also badly formatted - overflows width of 1024 x 
768, all text on one line. 25 megs were available on C:, 45 megs available on 
target install drive. 30 megs available in WINTEMP. I know it's tight.

Comment 18

[crassius]

WFM just installed 1.7 and got GRE in proper place. Some kind soul here advised
I use "-greLocal" in the install string and it worked.

Comment 19

[Thomas]

Was this problem still experienced recently with a 1.7 or 1.8 Mozilla release?
Or does one have to manually ad the greLocal option?

Comment 20

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

GRE is dead