Web Installer "Decompression Error #501" [Interesting Support Issue #1]

[NewsArchive]

[Interesting Support Issue #1]

We had an interesting support issue recently. SetupBuilder installer
compiled as Internet-based (Web Installation "enabled"). The symptom of the
issue was that when the installer downloaded the cluster file from the web
server, it displayed "A decompression error has been detected" with an
additional error code #501 reported.

Background: The SetupBuilder Web Installation technology compiles your
project into one setup executable and several data files, called "cluster
files". The setup executable contains all the server connection information
and deployment logic. When the setup executable is launched, it connects to
the appropriate Web site, checks the target system configuration to
determine what it needs, then starts downloading (and installing) files.

Decompression error #501 means the "magic number" of the downloaded cluster
file could not be found. Error #501 translates to human-readable error
message "Bad magic number for archive file header detected". You can use
the so-called "magic number" to identify the type of specific well known
archive files (e.g. ZIP, RAR, TPS, etc.).

We analyzed the SetupBuilder cluster files on the companies' web server, but
they all had the expected and correct format. That means the issue was not
caused by an upload transmission error. Then we investigated the download
data stream. The installer did not report any download error code, so the
transmission process itself succeeded. But we found out that the received
file was not a SetupBuilder cluster file. Instead, the server sent a HTML
file format (generated on-the-fly as an answer to a 404 page-not-found
action).

Resolution: the cluster files were manually uploaded to the wrong server.
The suggested solution is to upload the cluster files again to the correct
server (location) or to change the host (server) address in the Web
Deployment -> Internet-based Installation -> Enable Web Installation
properties. The later requires a recompile of the project.

--
Friedrich Linder
Lindersoft | SetupBuilder | www.lindersoft.com
954.252.3910 (within US) | +1.954.252.3910 (outside US)

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