How to fix multiple installation?

[sl@sh]

Forgive me if this has come up before (I am quite sure it has), but searching the forum didn't turn up anything useful - at least not within the last 500 days, and using the search expressions I used.

I have just installed the full version of EA, but in my state of joyful expectation unfortunately forgot to first uninstall the trial version. Moreover, just to see how it works, I installed EA Lite on top of that! (before I noted my first mistake, obviously)

Call me stupid, but now I have three versions of EA on my PC with only one (the most restricted) easily accessible. I can still access the full version (I simply created a desktop shortcut) and can run it in parallel with EA Lite.

However, I would like to get rid of at least the trial version. Is there a way to cleanly remove it from my system without disturbing the other two versions? Or, alternately, is there a way to cleanly remove all three of them, so I can install a fresh version?

As an aside, the EA Lite installation replaced the start menu program group entries with links to the EA Lite installation folder. This in itself doesn't impose too much of a problem. I wonder however, if this installation has removed links from the program group section that I would have access to as a registered user. If so, can I restore those?

As an additional question: I am not sure if this could be useful, but is it possible to install and use both the full version and Lite version without repercussions? Currently I indeed can run both versions at the same time, and there don't *seem* to be any problems, but you never know... And anyway, I would prefer the two installations to use seperate desktop links and seperate program groups, not share them the way they were installed on my PC....

Thanks,
Stefan

[sl@sh]

To answer my own question:

After uninstalling all three versions I was able to cleanly set up EA Lite. I then renamed both the start menu program group and the desktop icon, then installed EA as well.

EA Lite and EA appear to work well enough concurrently.

I'd still like to know whether such a use might cause unforeseen problems - I wouldn't want to accidentally loose my work just because EA Lite functions are messing with system ressources EA is also relying on.

Does someone know the answer to that question?

[thomaskilian]

I don't have an exact answer. But in the past when EA switched from version 4 to 5 and then to 6 it became apparent that users needed to have both installations in parallel. So they made precautions to allow that. It is pretty save to use any (also obsolete) EA-lite version as it only reads the database. The worst that could happen would be EA-lite crashing but it would not harm your DB.

[jamessher]

Hi Thomas,
Can you tell me how to get 2 versions installed concurrently please ? I have 6.5 and want to install and try out 7, but need to keep 6.5 working because this is version used by other users.
Thanks
  James

[thomaskilian]

The answer is hidden somewhere in the forum, posted in by one of the Sparxians. I think it was like: make a zip of EA 6.5. Install EA 7 (which uninstalls 6.5). Now restore 6.5 somewhere in the programs folder. When you invoke the executable inside that directory you have 6.5 running. Keep off hands from 7.0 audit and you can use both versions with not pain.

[jamessher]

Thanks Thomas for the reply.

So I suppose the fact that 6.5 can be 'restored' alongside 7 probably means EA doesn't use the registry.
I'll try this out, though I was disappointed to see your recommendation that I avoid using 7.0 audit since this is one of the features I was keen to evaluate. Can you please elaborate a little on what the problem is with 7.0 audit.

Cheers
   James

[thomaskilian]

Sure. The Audit will change the DB structure so 6.5 can't work with it any longer. If you want to try, make a copy of your model and evaluate that with 7.0. So you're on the save side.

Regarding the registry: EA is using it, but nothing seems to have changes or they use the keys with a version number. Not sure about that but it is uncritical.