Options for remote PPC program installation

[Robb Bates]

OK, I'm sure many of you have run into the same situation. You're away from your desktop PC and you want to install a program on your PPC, but the developer only offers a desktop based installer program and doesn't offer a CAB file.

What options does a user have to install such a program?

The only thing I can think of is to use some kind of remote desktop software to download and run the installer on your desktop machine and then do some kind of remote active sync.

Any other ideas?

Robb

[Steven Cedrone]

Well, if you can get to any computer, AND you have a sync cable with you, AND you can download and install ActiveSync...

You can sync as guest and install the application...

Not very helpful, I know...

Steve

[Kowalski]

we have discussed this earlier in a subject.
i am sorry but there is no way to do this.
but sometimes you can dig into .msi file and maybe you can extract the corresponding cab file from there. but this only works unless the installation program writes something in registry

[smashcasi]

A combination of a wireless ActiveSync partnership and Terminal Services or VNC or the like would work but I agree that would be kind of a pain. Unfortunately I don't know of any easy way to do what you want but I do have an alternative solution, though it's a little bit complicated.

In most cases if a program you want to install is available via ActiveSync's Add/Remove Programs interface the .cab file is sitting somewhere on your desktop. Where exactly is up to the developer. I have a few in folders under C:\Program Files\ActiveSync but the majority are strewn about under developer or application-specific installation folders.

What I have taken to doing is copying all of these .cab files into a central location on a private web server. Then I just create a list of links to the applications and browse to that page from the Pocket PC. As long your web server uses an appropriate MIME time for .cab files (application/x-compressed) when you click the link PIE will prompt if you want to download and open the file which will install it. Now if something goes terribly wrong and a device has to be hard reset on the road a user can just go to that URL with a fresh device and click, click, click, done. No ActiveSync required.

On a related note, if you're looking for a decent web server you can run from your PC with minimal headache I have had pretty decent luck with the XAMPP (http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html) packages.

[Janak Parekh]

A combination of a wireless ActiveSync partnership and Terminal Services or VNC or the like would work but I agree that would be kind of a pain.
I've done it, believe it or not, and as long as you have ActiveSync working over WiFi it's pretty straightforward. :) I wouldn't want to try it over a slower connection, though.

--janak