User friendly message for corrupt or incomplete installer

[robertwalker]

This is a suggestion to replace the message with one somewhat more user friendly and with a more step-by-step approach for non techy users.

Here is the suggestion so far:

"
NSIS Error

This installer has failed the file integrity check.

Common causes:
Incomplete download - re-download and try again
Damaged media - check hard disk or media integrity
Virus - check downloaded file for viruses with anti-virus software

You may also want to contact the author of this installer to obtain a new copy.

For more information about this message, visit:
http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Why_do_I_get_NSIS_Error

You can skip this check and attempt to run the installer anyway using the /NCRC command
(NOT RECOMMENDED)
"

For previous discussion:
https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=373088&aid=1795426&group_id=22049

What do you all think about it?

thanks,

[Wizou]

good idea to make this message more user-friendly !

[kichik]

No comments? This change is going to be in version 2.32. Now is the best time to get your comments and suggestions in.

[Anders]

The old error seems fine to me, all the info is there except the url, and if you google "The installer you are trying to use is corrupted or incomplete" it is the first hit

[kichik]

The new text is more step-by-step'ish, a bit more verbose, and suggests there's a problem with media integrity and not just disk. Google also serves first hit on "NSIS Error", but posting a direct URL pushes towards looking for more information on the web.

[kichik]

No comments?

[Wizou]

well .. I agree with you

[kichik]

How about:

Installer integrity check has failed. Common causes include incomplete
download and damaged media. Contact the installer's author to obtain
a new copy.

More general information at:
http://nsis.sf.net/NSIS_Error

It may be possible to skip this check using the /NCRC switch
(NOT RECOMMENDED).

I dropped the virus part because file altering viruses are far less common these days, as far as I can tell. It's mostly about spyware these days.

I've also changed the wording a bit to be more formal and to put more weight on obtaining a new copy.

The last change was to make /NCRC even more cryptic so people won't use it.

[pospec]

I think that it's general error message and it shouldn't be too long.

[kichik]

I don't think I understand your comment. How is this a general error? It's for a very specific case in which the installer is corrupted.

What would you consider not long? Is the old version long? Is the original message proposed in this thread long? Is my new one?

[vbguy]

Originally posted by kichik
How about:I dropped the virus part because file altering viruses are far less common these days, as far as I can tell. It's mostly about spyware these days.

I've also changed the wording a bit to be more formal and to put more weight on obtaining a new copy.

The last change was to make /NCRC even more cryptic so people won't use it.

I think the last bit about the /NCRC should be removed entirely. You could put more information (like /NCRC) on the error wiki page. This would prevent inexperienced users' eyes from glazing over.

Installer integrity check has failed. Common causes include incomplete download and damaged media. Contact the installer's author to obtain a new copy.

More information at:
http://nsis.sf.net/NSIS_Error

[kichik]

I've considered removing that too. But I thought a little nudge for power users might still be in place. I wouldn't want to force anyone to go online for a solution. An internet connection isn't always available. Even though, I'd still want to get rid of that so users won't try using corrupted installers.

Does anyone else has anoter take on this?

[pospec]

Sorry kichik for late reply. This is behind my english levels I tried to say that the old version is 100% OK {for me!). I don't have nothing against your version (Aaaarg, my english! Sorry for mistakes)

[robertwalker]

Both versions are fine as far as I'm concerned too - look forward to the update.

Thanks,

[kichik]

The new message is now:

Installer integrity check has failed. Common causes include incomplete download and damaged media. Contact the installer's author to obtain a new copy.

More information at:
http://nsis.sf.net/NSIS_Error

It can still change until 2.35 is released in four weeks.

[lroathe]

Originally posted by kichik
The new message is now:It can still change until 2.35 is released in four weeks.

I think this last message is the best.

[seg_telltale]

I know I can open a ticket for this request, but I wanted to address it in the forums first.

While I certainly agree the current incomplete download message is great for generic purposes, I and my coworkers are concerned about the message creating a perception of NSIS being a support line for our titles.

The scenario we're worried about is a user who goes to the NSIS Error page and not to our own support site. Now the user thinks all their support issues must be dealt with to NSIS, none of which will be addressed. Sometimes the user will know to contact us directly, but we're worried about others who don't and give up.

What I'd like to propose is a way to allow either:

1) Change this message entirely.

Though the scripting, allow the ability to change the default text entirely. Default is the current text, but allow me to change the text to our needs.

2) Replace the NSIS URL to a script-defined URL.

So instead of http://nsis.sf.net/NSIS_Error, I can make a script that changes this to http://www.telltalegames.com/support/.

[kichik]

I'm the last person on earth that'd want anyone to mistake me for a support line for any program. But it happens all the time no matter what I do. At least this way, I don't have to perform the extra step of pointing to the FAQ and by doing so actually starting a conversation and "support".

That page is the best page for resolution of that error. It states all of the known reasons, editable so users can add unknown reasons and both it and the message point multiple fingers to the installer's author so the user should "get the hint" and get a new installer.

As for your request, that was never implemented as it'd require the stub to open the installation data and read the string. That'd be a bad thing considering the data hasn't passed its verification and is considered damaged. The data parser doesn't have any checks for any malformed data but the CRC check.

[Joost Verburg]

Maybe we can add a bold message to the wiki page to clarify that NSIS is not the author of the installer.

[seg_telltale]

Just off the top of my head and not knowing a clue about the possibility, would it be possible to have a separate block containing only the string of the error message? Then if the installer can't even find that bit, it will revert to the default?

I stress being able to change the message because accommodating for installers that are obtained by either downloaded or disks looses the conciseness of the message. I made my attempts below, but since I have to nod to generics, it's a loosing battle.

---------

The conversation we're having in our office is that while the latest error message, while a signifiant improvement from the last message, still is a bit confusing and 'scary'. The problem is that the message is still written for a programmer or IT professional perspective, and not a end-user perspective.

As a test, I've been throwing to non-techy and tech savy friends I know the following situation:

1) You download one of our games from the Telltale Games website.
2) After the download is done, you run the file.
3) This message shows up: (I copy the exact text of the message)

From there I progress with the worse case situation. At best, none of them thought the message communicated the steps to fix the problem, including the website. At worse, they told me they wouldn't bother with the website and if it wasn't my game, wouldn't bother fixing the problem. That last part being what we're trying to avoid.

I've wrote this message as a replacement. From the few people I've reviewed this to, they thought it was more informative and makes the message a bit more human. Still lacks a more concise language of what to do, but better than before.

Don't panic!

This installer is either incomplete or broken. Please return to the place you obtained this file and download it again. If you still have problems, contact the support people who created this software. Make sure to tell them you are having a "CRC Error" problem and how you obtained this file.

For more information on this particular error:
http://nsis.sf.net/NSIS_Error

Important: For comprehensive support, please contact the creators of this software.

I thought about not including the URL as people tend to gravitate to a URL rather than read text. My compromise was starting with the one-line "Don't panic!" to draw attention to the start of the message and read down, then balanced by the ending line of text. This way the URL isn't at the very end and the user is less likely to see one URL and skip to it. Ultimately I want to keep the logic of 'go to the start' rather than going against logic with a separate new URL.

--------

As for the NSIS Error page itself, I have a few suggestions to make this better. First, as Joost Verburg suggested, we should start with a direct statement that this is not the support page for any piece of software and to contact the original developers for support.

Please notice that NSIS is not the developers of the software you are attempting to install. If you are having problems and need outside assistance, please check the support contacts from the creators of the software you are attempting to use. We'll help a bit with redownloading the file, but the people who make the software are better equipped to help you.

The problem you are having with this installer is due to an incomplete download or the file has been modified from it's original condition. This can happen to a number of reason, so we're going to go through a few steps to narrow down the problem and fix the issue.

Then I'd move the log of error messages to the very end or remove them completely. We really don't need to show the same error message again to the user before trying to fix the problem.

Next, I'd combine the single and multiple installer steps into one larger but tiered tree. No normal user is going to know the difference between the NSIS installer verses an InstallSheild or other installer program. To most users, installers are all the same: They install software.

I can propose further edits to the NSIS Error page, but this post is long as it is. Thoughts?

[Anders]

"Don't panic!" But it IS almost time to panic, you might have a virus, or in the best case, a bad CD or broken innernet tubes

[seg_telltale]

I don't want to deal with paniced users as they are too worked up to be able to help them. A bulk of dealing with support is calming down the user so you can help them.

[kichik]

seg_telltale, it won't be possible to add another block because blocks are read only after the CRC is checked. It would, however, be possible to add a resource string containing the string. The MessageBox API supports specifying resource strings instead of actual strings which is pretty cool. The only problem with that is that the string is saved as Unicode in resource string tables. That doubles its size and annoys me.

As for the message itself, I agree with Anders that "Don't panic!" would do exactly the opposite. The other text makes me feel like a complete idiot. But that's just me and I'd probably never get to it. I think I've already said I'm far from the best guy for the task, not having English as my main language and being way too techy. So anything you guys will think of as the best option here, is fine with me. So long as it's a result of a discussion and not just a suggestion and months of silence.

As for the website, same thing goes there. If there's something I won't like, I'll just update, but don't stop yourself from editing it yourself. I do want the error message to stay there though. There are other error messages and I don't want people to get confused with other things. Some users also search for the error text, so we need Google to find that.

As for the "multiple installers", it's not about InstallShield or others it's about a common error. But I do agree it'd be leaner to combine those two.

[seg_telltale]

Using "Don't Panic" is both a reference to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as well as being a bit light-hearted about problems. There are other alternatives though. Here's another go at it. What do you all think?

This installer is either incomplete or broken.

Please return to the place you obtained this file and download it again. If you still have problems, contact the creator or distributor this software. Make sure to tell them you are having a "CRC Error" problem and how you obtained this file.

For more information on this particular error:
http://nsis.sourceforge.net/NSIS_Error

Important: For comprehensive support, please contact the creators of this software.

I'll be working on the Wiki page over the weekend with the suggestions we covered. I won't remove the error message quotes, but I'll include them toward the bottom of the page.

The MessageBox API solution is very encouraging. As someone who deals with installers for localizations, moving to Unicode is fully accepted by this studio. While this thread isn't the venue for this topic, having Unicode support is well worth the footprint increase.

[seg_telltale]

Made my modifications to the page. It's a pretty big difference between the old one, but should be a bit cleaner to read. Obviously comments are welcomed and encouraged.

[kichik]

Page modifications look good. I like it. It's cleaner.

As for the text suggestion - it makes me feel stupid. But I'd probably not even read it if I had gotten it. It also assumes the file was downloaded, which is not always the case. But that's probably more understandable than "obtaining a new copy".

[djarewe]

Hey guys,

Sorry for replying on this post after it's been dead since more then two years now.
But is it possible to put a custom text in this dialog?

Thanks,
Rick

[Afrow UK]

You need to rebuild NSIS.

Stu

[Anders]

Or if your string is short enough, you might be able to hex edit the stubs

[djarewe]

Thanks Afrow and Anders for your replies.

@ Afrow; With rebuilding NSIS, I can't change that string.. Can I?

@ Anders; Do you have a quick tut for this?

Thanks

[MSG]

Originally Posted by djarewe

@ Afrow; With rebuilding NSIS, I can't change that string.. Can I?

He means changing the string in NSIS's sourcecode, and then recompiling.