Error Creating a 7-zip installer package

Question

If this is not the correct place to ask this, I apologize.

I use 7zip to create an installer package. Recently, my computer was updated, and I can no longer get it to work. I use a Windows Installer from Visual Studio 2010 to create the installation package, which I add to a file called setup.7z. I have confirmed that the files are archived correctly. I then call

copy /b 7zsd.sfx + config.txt + setup.7z setup.exe

which packages everything into a single file called "setup.exe". Clicking on this would start the installer.

After the update, I can still make the file, and it looks just fine. However, if I try to click on it, I get a message saying 7-Zip: Unsupported method.

I have 7-Zip version 18.05 (x86) installed. Honestly, I am not sure where I got the 7zsd.sfx file, but do remember having to hunt it down. It has no versioning, but was last modified on 7/13/2007. I don't know if the version matters, since you shouldn't need 7-Zip installed since this is a self-extracting file. However, it may be that the older version isn't able to unzip something zipped by a newer version.

Meshwork

This should solve your issue. – Rimbaud

Answer 1

I think the problem is in different versions of 7zip and 7zip.sfx used. Unfortunately SFX file is absent in most recent 7zip packages. Here is link to 7zip_extra from some old version that has both SFX file and .bat file to create the installer. Works fine for me.

Damalus

Answer 2

Setup Tools: Why 7-Zip? There is a plethora of alternatives for creating (real) setups - and several are free: How to create windows installer (several links to tools for creating all kinds of setups). Brief descriptions below as well - under "Alternatives" (free tools, or tools with free features). These tools have been tested extensively to ensure running with minimal dependencies. Just something to keep in mind and evaluate I guess.

7-Zip

Guess: first install the C/ C++ runtimes and see if the problem goes away. Next check the compression - and then the LZMA SDK as described below?

Unsupported Compression?: 7-Zip: Unsupported method - use LZMA? I suppose this problem could still occur though that answer is a couple of years old.

Missing Runtime?: You might also want to do a dependency walker check on that setup.exe to see if it depends on something that is missing on the box (for example MSVCRT.dll - or another runtime library). Just download the tool. Easy to use. Or maybe first try to install commonly used C/C++ runtimes. Also, Dependency Walker is aging and shows garbage at times. There is the newer Dependencies - but it is not quite prime-time yet, but try it (click Releases tab). It has been updated to handle Windows API-sets and WinSxS (side-by-side assemblies). Note: several security software on virustotal.com detect Dependencies as a "risk tool, not a virus" (it is open source).

LZMA SDK: The 7zSD.sfx file would likely be from the LZMA SDK. And the command line you describe can be found in the main 7-Zip help file (not the SDK, but the one coming with the regular 7-zip installation). Section "-sfx (Create SFX archive) switch" : Command Line Version => Switches => -sfc (Create SFX Archive.

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Alternatives

Visual Studio 2017: The newest, free version of Visual Studio: Visual Studio Community 2017 can create setup.exe files via its Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects (this extension must be installed after installing Visual Studio 2017).

WiX: The Open Source WiX toolkit can create setup.exe files with its Burn component. A WiX Burn ad-hoc sample- just to get the general idea - it has a learning curve. No GUI to help you, it is all XML-based. Use with or without Visual Studio.

Advanced Installer: I believe Advanced Installer can compile a setup.exe even in their free version. Despite a somewhat large download, I think this would work for you and be quick.

UPDATE on Advanced Installer: The free edition can only build MSI files, EXE bootstrappers can be built with the paid editions (any of them).

dotNetInstaller: There is also the dotNetInstaller Setup Bootstrapper - which I have never used. Here it is on github.com (source).

Inno or NSIS: These free non-MSI installers can easily create a setup.exe for you that has been optimized for minimal dependencies. I haven't used them much, but they are well-known. NSIS seems to create archive files compatible with Zip tools.

IExpress et al: There are security vulnerabilities that affect these self-extracting packages. Another reason I recommend a "real" deployment tool with dedicated resources to fix such things quickly, despite the niceness of having a setup.exe that can be opened directly in 7-zip.

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File Extraction

On the topic of extracting files from setup.exe files of various types:

• MSI: Extract MSI from EXE - all MSI files can be extracted, and setup.exe files created with WiX can also be extracted
• NSIS & Inno: It looks like NSIS creates files compatible with 7-Zip (comprehensible compression), not so with Inno by the looks of it.

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Some Links:

• Wix and .NET Framework (prerequisites)
• What is the difference between 7zip's 7z.sfx and 7zsd.sfx?

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-extracting_archive#Overview : "For a decompression utility to correctly expand an archive of either the self-extracting or standard variety, it must be able to operate on both the file format and algorithm used. The exact executable code placed at the beginning of a self-extracting archive may therefore need to be varied depending on what options were used to create the archive. The decompression routines will be different for a LZMA 7z archive when compared with a LZMA2 7z archive, for example."

Helianthus

Thank you for the detailed response. Our company has several products that are already set up to use Windows Installer. I actually have to keep multiple versions of VS installed so I can build these older installers. We don't want to take time to update all of these to new installers, and then retest the signing and services to make sure they were installed correctly. Our newer software does use a better build solution, but we only have one license and I don't have access to that system. Thank you, though, for your answer. – Meshwork

OK, MSI installers are standardized so that is good news - if you ever need to migrate them. You use the Visual Studio Installer Projects then? In 2017 at least you should be able to compile a setup.exe directly. These projects have severe limitations though - as you no doubt know - and decompiling them with dark.exe and re-creating with WiX could be reasonably quick if you find someone with WiX experience. Nothing is ever smooth, but it could end up saving you trouble. Just thinking out loud. – Christyna