Member Avatar for nileshdalvi

I downloaded the "msi "version seeing that i was not able to install and run the "as" version from activestate.com.However i got an icon on the downloaded file as " open with " sign. So i gave it a winzip format as the "as" version was in that format.Then i was unable to extract it.I read in the perl installation guide that the perl msi version comes in the form of installation package and the wizard helps you out but this did not happen with me.Is any software missing on my pc? Please help me out

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What happened in this thread boils down to two common causes: the .msi file was not being executed by the Windows Installer (so Windows offered an "Open with" action), or the installer ran but hit a slow/optional step (the reported "making html" stage that builds documentation). Posts from , and show both symptoms and partial workarounds; below are practical, non-redundant checks and actions that address the root causes.

  1. Confirm the download and type
  • Show file extensions and confirm the file really ends with .msi (hidden extensions can mask a .zip).
  • Compare file size to the download page or re-download with a different browser to rule out corruption.
  1. Check Windows Installer availability and association
  • If double-click yields "Open with", the .msi association or msiexec registration may be broken. Re-register the Windows Installer and then try again.
  1. Run the installer with logging
  • Running the package via msiexec gives clearer errors and a log you can inspect. A minimal useful command is below.
  1. Environment and permissions
  • Run from an elevated/admin prompt when available. Ensure TEMP has enough space, disable antivirus real-time scanning while installing, and check for filesystem permissions issues.
  1. If the install stalls building docs
  • That "making html" step can be slow on old hardware. Where possible choose a minimal install (skip docs) or use a binary/portable build that skips doc generation.

Example to re-register and install with a verbose log:

msiexec /unregister
msiexec /regserver
msiexec /i "C:\path\to\package.msi" /l*v "C:\temp\perl_install.log"

If the msiexec log shows file extraction errors or checksum failures, the download is corrupted. If it shows permission or Windows Installer errors, re-registering or installing the correct Windows Installer runtime for your OS usually fixes it. For modern Windows, consider using a maintained distribution that provides a ZIP/portable build if the MSI keeps failing.

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Member Avatar for kordaff

I tried it on my win98 machine. The MSI version kept hanging at the making html step. Extracted the AS version to D:\ActivePerl-5.8.7-813-MSWin32-x86-148120\ActivePerl-5.8.7-813-MSWin32-x86-148120\
using winrar (like that better as it does rar, zip, tar, gz, etc)

I would have been happy with D:\Perl but oh well lol. Cd'd into that directory and typed perl\bin\perl.exe installer.bat That ran thru a bunch of commands that didn't hang on the making html bit although it did take quite a while.

It seems to work now with .pl files although many of my old version perl files are dying with this version...

Did winzip display an error when you tried to unzip the AS file?

Kordaff

Member Avatar for Comatose

My MSI on 98 installed it without hardly any interaction at all, at c:\perl\bin\ (for the perl.exe and some other fun exe's that came with it).

Member Avatar for kordaff

Yeah I proly just got too impatient and stopped the MSI version. The installer.bat is in the zip AS version too. I was using slower computer so that might have been why it seemed so slow :) Only thing I found I really needed full path for is the *.pl script itself. Just perl.exe works from both start/run and dos prompt as long as perl/bin directory is in path (which installer.bat makes sure of).

Kordaff

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