A typical installation has InstallWatch Pro (IWP) placed in the Windows Startup folder, to run in the background waiting to intercept the installation of new software. IWP can also be manually started, optionally making a comparison under wizard control. When changes are expected to be made to a system, either installing new software or making questionable changes to the status quo, a snapshot of the system is made. The snapshot can capture the entire system (with certain exceptions) or any specified part.

After the changes, an analysis compares the system as it is now with the snapshot. The analysis creates a database listing all changed files and the nature of the change—file system dates, a CRC check, size, attributes, and version (if available). Changes to the registry are also listed. A special section of the database shows all INI-type files with a listing of the lines changed. The database can be edited to remove obvious irrelevancies such as entries in the "recent" folder and "Start menu sort order" entries in the registry.

The InstallWizard is an automated step-by-step approach to recording changes made to the system. A snapshot is made, the new application is installed, then an analysis is made. This wizard survives across a machine reboot and includes a "pause" feature, permitting the application to be executed and configured before the analysis.

There is no indication that certain files that are in use can or cannot be scanned. I recall from many years ago that during tape backups, certain files were skipped. (I don't know if such hindrances still exist.) And be aware that IWP doesn't actually "watch" an installation. Therefore, in my opinion, "Install Watch Pro" is a misnomer—perhaps "Install Pre/Post Compare Pro" would be a better name.

Exceptions to the snapshot include references to IWP and the files it creates, the swap file, temporary files, certain other files, and the Recycle Bin. IWP does not detect changes to the array of installed hardware directly—its analysis depends on Windows making updates to the registry. IWP makes no mention of phantom deposits—bytes written to places normally not visible—and so I believe the program cannot detect them. Certain programs that I am aware of splatter crumbs on the hard drive unbeknownst to the operating system.

In using InstallWatch Pro, I found several restrictive aspects that required a bit of thinking on how to work around them. For example, once a snapshot is made, you should copy it off to another location, restoring it later, if you want to make several analyses across a program's long-term activities.

Another experiment showed that reconfiguring what IWP takes note of will trigger a fresh snapshot. I managed to bypass this and was rewarded with an analysis having several thousand file changes. These unintentional changes were files that did not initially have "version info" recorded into the snapshot, but the analysis phase had scanned that data. So, while the file didn't actually change, the snapshot data vs. the analysis data was different— a false positive.

Once the analysis is finished, the listing can be exported to another file, text-based or Web browser-based. IWP can also export out to a .reg file a listing of the changes to the registry. All this information can then be used to burn a CD containing new and changed files that can, in many cases, be pasted directly into another computer.

There were some other quirks I found: the delete option is usually not available on the menu system (menu bar or the context menus) but entries can be deleted anyway via the delete key on the keyboard; the right-hand pane of the user interface is squirrelly; and the help file seems to be incomplete. InstallWatch Pro is freeware but the installation system, license, and information in the help files are all set up to enact a paid registration protocol.

I used the information IWP gave me after installing an application on machine #1 in order to find and delete or restore changes made to files, after having installed that same application on machine #2 more than 30 days ago and now wanting it completely removed. Not everything was found. There is still some residue of that application remaining. In conclusion, IWP is a very useful utility but I'm still looking for something more encompassing.

InstallWatch Pro is also included with InstallRite, Epsilon Squared's solution to efficiently "cloning" an application across several computers. Epsilon Squared provides solutions to assist developers with troubleshooting and documenting installation routines.

An interesting paper on using InstallWatch Pro as a "tripwire" system is available at Floydman's GeoCities Web page.

InstallWatch Pro 2.5c
by Gavin Stark
Epsilon Squared
Freeware