Installation - SLControl

Instructions for Installating SLControl 3.0.2 and later (11th March, 2002 onwards)

Since Version 3.0.2, SLControl has been distributed as a single executable file created with InstallShield. This file is available for download from this link if you are a registered user. You will need to enter your username and password to access the file. If you are not a registered user, and you want to become one, please contact Ken for further information. (In a few rare instances, registered users have been prevented from accessing the installation files on the SLControl server. The cause remains uncertain. If you think this has happened to you, please get in touch with details which could help us to track down the rare problem.)

Copy the file (of the form Install_SLControl_X_Y_Z.exe) to your hard-drive and then execute it, either by double-clicking on it in Windows Explorer, or by selecting Run from the Start menu. The automatic installer should start after a short delay. Follow the on-screen instructions.

If SLControl is being installed on your system for the first time, the Installer will create a default calibration parameters definition file for you. (SLControl needs such a file to interface with your equipment correctly.) Note that the default file will not work correctly with your own experimental equipment and you will need to create your own parameters file before performing experiments. Detailed instructions on how to perform this operation are provided in the Getting Started tutorial.

If alternatively, the Installer is overwriting an existing version of SLControl, the program assumes that the existing calibration parameters file should be retained and does not overwrite the file on your system.

Trouble-shooting InstallShield

The installation procedure described above normally operates extremely smoothly. However, occasionally the program can hang during the installation. This does not seem to be a problem with SLControl itself but rather a problem with InstallShield on the host PC. Two separate issues have been encountered.

  • InstallShield crashes and warns of Error 432. There seem to be two possible reasons for this error. Either (1) you are trying to install SLControl without administrator rights (on WinNT or later) or (2) an uninstallation file on the host PC is corrupt. If you suspect the first case, log out, log back on with administrator rights and try to install SLControl again. In the second case, you might want to try renaming the file isunst.exe in your Windows directory and rebooting your system before reinstalling SLControl.

  • InstallShield crashes and warns of Error 115. In this case, the underlying cause is completely unknown. On the one occasion when this was encountered, SLControl installed correctly after (1) the existing installation was removed through the Control Panel and (2) the system was rebooted.

    Instructions for Installating SLControl 3.0.1 and earlier (versions preceding 11th March, 2002)

    SLControl versions preceding 11th March, 2002 were either distributed as zipped archives or as single executables created with Ghost Installer (which is available for free download). If your desired package is a zipped archive, download the file and unzip it in a temporary directory before running setup.exe. If alternatively, your package is a single executable, simply save the file to your hard-drive and execute it to initiate the installation program.

    Note that in all cases, you must completely uninstall any existing versions of SLControl before installing a new version. (You can do this from Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs.) You should also ensure that the directory path (by default c:\Program Files\UW_Madison\SLControl_Installation) is completely empty. The default installation settings will not over-write existing files.

    Last updated on 17th March, 2003 by Ken