What exactly are those installation apps doing as the progress bar whizzes by? If you want to keep a close eye on things, you’ll need the right tools.

今天的問答環節是由SuperUser提供的，SuperUser是Stack Exchange的一個分支，它是一個由Q&a網站組成的社群驅動分組。

問題

超級使用者讀者Gregory Moussat想知道安裝程式的外觀背後發生了什麼：

I want to know what some installers do: mainly what files, folders, and registry entries they add, remove, or modify.

Lots of “ professional” programs are so poorly documented that it’s difficult to find the proper way to configure them, update them, etc.

InstallRite is a program which is able to take a “snapshot” before and after the installation of a program and then compare the snapshots. This allows you to know what was done and even to create a custom uninstaller. Unfortunately InstallRite seems to no longer be maintained and has not been updated since 2008.

什麼工具可以取代InstallRite？

答案

Contributor Synetech提供了另一種工具：

There are several and I have tested at least 10-12, but the one I prefer and recommend is ZSoft Uninstaller. It is free and is good at finding difference without overwhelming you with extraneous clutter like most of these programs, even commercial ones tend to do.

I also use PC Magazine’s InCtrl 5 which is very good (enough to get Microsoft’s approval), but several years ago they stopped distributing their programs for free, but because it used to be free, there are still plenty of copies available (unfortunately not so with the newer InCtrl X.)

如果你有興趣得到InCtrl（inctrlx）的大修副本，它將執行8美元-閱讀更多關於inctrlx這裡。

另一個貢獻者Prahlad Yeri提供了一些關於如何手動調查應用程式正在做什麼的建議：

What an installer truly does in detail cannot be known, except perhaps by reverse-engineering its binary instructi***. Here are a few signs that you can check:

1. Check for application folders in your Program Files directory. There is usually an entry inC:\Program Files\AppXYZ.
2. Similarly check the system folders (C:\Windows\System32). Your app could have placed libraries (DLL/OCX/TLBs) here.
3. Run CCleaner to see if it has created any registry entries. CCleaner also shows some other changes the app could have made such as registration of a MIME type, etc.
4. Remember to check the .NET GAC (Global Assembly Cache). It contains all the .NET assemblies your app might have registered on your machine. It’s usually in the folder C:\windows\assembly
5. The obvious (but sometimes the obvious is overlooked!):
   • Start Menu and desktop shortcuts
   • Files in C:\users\USER-NAME\Application Data (CCleaner will show these)
   • Entries in Startup menu and boot.ini (run msconfig to check these)

在使用應用程式檢查快照和手動簽出檔案之間，您將擁有所有的基礎。您可以在這裡檢視超級使用者的完整討論。有什麼工具或技術可以新增到列表中嗎？在評論中發出聲音。