error -115 solution??? -- Message for IS Tech Support

[fred]

I am back with this problem: I finally found a pattern.

The error -115 occures when the installer cannot write a file to the
destination. There is one situation that doesn't appear in the
documentation: what if the target folder cannot be created???

My situation is the following: I install my product to C:\Program
Files\Company\Product
Then I go to this folder using the windows explorer, I make sure that my
folder is selected in the folder hierarchy on the left panel. I minimize the
windows explorer.
Then I go to the Add/Remove control panel and remove my application. No
problema! The product is gone.
Now I run again the installation. First it tells me that the uninstall
initialization failed because the uninst.isu may be corrupt, I won't be able
to uninstall. OK, I keep going, and when trying to copy the first file I get
the error -115. Damn it!!! (but I knew it :-)

Alright, I restaure my windows explorer. My C:\Program Files\Company\Product
folder is still selected on the left panel, but the right panel is all grey!
You hit F5 to refresh and you see that the folder is actually gone!
What happens here is that the folder is "locked" by the windows explorer.
Between quotes because I can delete it but I cannot create another folder
with the same name. That actually happens quite often in house because we
test the product, don't close the explorers, uninstall the product and
reinstall a newer build (and then error -115).

My question is... is there any strategy to prevent this kind of situation?

Fred

[Rossz Vámos-Wentworth]

fred wrote:

> My question is... is there any strategy to prevent this kind of situation?

Education seems to be the only solution. Our QA people kept doing the same
thing. I told them "don't do that."