Instructions on Installation of Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP Programs

Close all other non-essential programs that may be running including the ones on your system tray. The system tray is where the little icons together with your system clock is usually displayed. It is most commonly found on the bottom right hand side of the screen.

Programs may be supplied in a single file or in multiple files. Follow the instructions that correspond to the particular application that you are trying to install.

1. Single File Installations
   • Single *.zip file
   • Single *.exe file
2. Multi-file Installations
   • Install or Setup File Present
   • Install or Setup File Absent
3. Creating a Desktop Shortcut to a Program
4. Making the Program Available from the Start Menu

Single File Installation

Single *.zip File

If a single *.zip file is supplied, then unzip the file into an empty folder with the name temp_program-name where program-name is replaced with the name of your program, e.g. if the program is called Rname-it, then unzip into a folder called temp_Rname-it. You may place the folder anywhere on your hard-disk but make sure you remember its location.

Continue by following the instructions for performing a Multi-File Installation

Single *.exe File Installation

If the program is supplied in a single *.exe file, not named install or setup,

1. First create a empty folder with the name temp_program-name where program-name is replaced with the name of your program, e.g. if the program is called Rname-it, then create a folder called temp_Rname-it. You may place the folder anywhere on your hard-disk but make sure you remember its location.
2. Then copy the file into this newly created empty folder.
3. Next, double click on the icon to the left of the file.
4. One of 3 things may happen.
   • The application will automatically extract and install itself. Just follow the on-screen instructions and you're done. This is the best kind of installation.
   • If the program immediately runs, it means that the whole application consists of a single file.

   1. In this case, you should rename the folder to program-name by deleting the "temp_" prefix. In the above example, it would be called Rname-it.
   2. Next, cut and paste the whole folder together with its contents into the C:\Program Files folder.
   3. You may then create a shortcut to it on your desktop or make the program available from the Start Menu, if you so desire.

   • In the last case, the *.exe file may extract the files either into a newly created folder, or into the folder in which it was run from. This happens when the *.exe file is actually a special kind of zip file that has, within itself, the instructions to extract the zipped files on its own, but not the instructions to install the program.

   1. Continue by following the instructions for Multi-File Installation.

Multi-File Installation

Install or Setup File Present

1. If there are several files supplied (after unzipping if necessary), use Windows Explorer or My Computer, to look in the appropriate folder for a file labeled install or setup with an .exe, .com, or .bat extension. Nowadays, with Windows based systems, .exe is the most common extension. If there is both an install and a setup file, always try the install file first. In some computers, depending on your personal settings, the three letter extension may not be visible. If there is only one file of the chosen name, you can just choose that file even if the extension is not visible.
2. Double click the icon to the left of the filename to run the installation program.
3. Just follow the onscreen instructions.
4. You may have to reboot the computer at the end of installation.

Install or Setup File Absent

1. If there is no install or setup file, then you should rename the folder to program-name by deleting the "temp_" prefix. In the above example, it would be called Rname-it.
2. Next, cut and paste the whole folder together with its contents into the C:\Program Files folder.
3. You may then create a shortcut to it on your desktop or make the program available from the Start Menu if you so desire.

Creating a Desktop Shortcut to a Program.

If the installation program did not create a shortcut on the desktop or if there was no installation program, you will need to create it yourself if you so desire.

1. First navigate to the folder containing the files for the relevant program. Most commonly, the files are found in the folder named C:\Program Files\program-name, where program-name is replaced with the name of the program or something similar. For example, the files for the program Rname-it may be found in the C:\Program Files\Rname-it folder.
2. Next, look for a file named program-name.exe. In our example, this would be Rname-it.exe. The name may vary slightly.
3. Right-click on the file and without releasing the right mouse button, drag the icon of the file onto the desktop. If you cannot see the desktop, fold the pointer over any empty portion of the Taskbar for a short while and the desktop will appear.
4. Release the right mouse button and then click (left or right mouse button) on the selection Create shortcut here.
5. You may rename the shortcut if you like.

Making the Program Available from the Start Menu

If you like to run your programs from the Windows Start Menu, you should follow the instructions below.

1. First, if you prefer, create a new folder with the name program-name in any subfolder of the C:\Windows\StartMenu\Programs\ folder
2. You can then use a similar technique as when creating a shortcut on the Desktop. The only difference is that instead of dropping the icon on the desktop, drop the icon in any folder found in the C:\Windows\StartMenu\Programs\ folder or in the folder that you created in Step 1. If the folder you are looking for is within a collapsed folder, hold the pointer over the "+" sign to the left of the parent folder-name and the folder will be expanded.
3. If there are more than one sub-programs in the application, you should create a new folder as in Step 1 and then create shortcuts to each sub-program using the technique in Step 2..

SJMC Medical Staff CD-ROM Index