IBM OS/2 Feature Install Version 1.2.5 Package

________________________________________________________________

IBM OS/2 Feature Install Version 1.2.5 Package README

________________________________________________________________

The IBM OS/2 Feature Install Version 1.2.5 package provides the

latest version of Feature Install (FI) and the Netscape Navigator

plug-ins used for IBM Software Choice feature installations.

FEATURE INSTALL VERSION 1.2.5 ENHANCEMENTS

________________________________________

Improvements have been incorporated into Feature Install Version 1.2

to better support safe and reliable installations of new Software

Choice features.  Feature Install has also been enhanced to make it

easier to identify installed features enabling IBM service personnel

to support OS/2 systems after Software Choice features have been

installed.

Feature Install Version 1.2.5 updates include the following:

o  Feature Install has been updated to support Netscape Communicator

   4.04 for OS/2 Warp.

Feature Install Version 1.2.5 also includes the following

enhancements that were introduced in version 1.2.4.

o  The dependency checking capabilities of Feature Install have

   been greatly improved.  When a Software Choice feature is installed,

   Feature Install is able to accurately detect whether prerequisite

   system components, fixes, or other Software Choice features

   have been installed. The search logic in Feature Install is capable

   of resolving conflicts and ambiguities that might arise when more

   than one version of a system component that matches the dependencies

   of a Software Choice feature is found on the target system.

o  The Feature Install Inventory of installed features is now stored

   in an ASCII file that is readable and printable.  This file is

   named FI.INI and is located in the os2\install directory on the

   system boot drive.  Feature Install adds entries to the file

   when features are installed and deletes them when they are removed.

   The entries in this file appear in the order in which the features

   were installed.  The new inventory file makes it easy to identify,

   control, and service the changes that Software Choice features

   make to an OS/2 system.  The inventory is maintained as a read-only

   file and should not be modified without assistance from IBM

   service personnel.

o  The installation support has been enhanced in Feature Install

   Version 1.2.5 to enable Software Choice features to update previously

   installed system components when a feature is installed.

   Appropriate file version checks are made when a system module is

   installed with a Software Choice feature, which results in an

   installation that is safe and consistent with the service policy

   supported by other OS/2 maintenance tools.

o  The installation of "locked" system files are handled by a Feature

   Install locked-file device driver.  This enhancement to locked-file

   support ensures that if a Software Choice feature includes a

   collection of system modules, they can be installed as a unit.

   They are either all installed or none are installed to prevent

   installation failures.

o  An "archive" version is kept of any system modules that are updated

   when Software Choice features are installed.  The Feature Install

   Inventory and its backup and archive directories contain all the

   information and data required so that when a feature is removed,

   the system can be efficiently restored to the state it was in

   before the feature was installed.  The information is structured

   so that Feature Install can restore the "archived" versions when

   Software Choice features are removed from the system.  The support

   for the removal of features maintains system integrity even when

   Software Choice features that update system modules are removed in

   a different order than the order in which they were installed.

o  The Corrective Service Facility (CSF) included with FixTool 138

   integrates Feature Install "archive" versions of system modules

   into the archive and backup databases that the CSF maintains

   whenever an OS/2 FixPak is installed.  This new version of the

   CSF reads the Feature Install Inventory and warns the user when

   the backout of a FixPak might remove dependencies of one or more

   Software Choice features and affect their operation.

   NOTE: FixTool 138 works with FixPak 7 only. Fixtool 139 and higher

   work with all versions of FixPak.

REQUIREMENTS

____________

If you have installed a version of the Feature Install Toolkit on your

system, uninstall the Feature Install Toolit, delete any objects you

might have created with the Feature Install Toolkit, and shut down and

restart your system before installing the Feature Install package.

Netscape Navigator or Netscape Communicator is required to use

Feature Install and to install IBM Software Choice features. Netscape

Navigator and Netscape Communicator are available from at

http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/netscape.

DIRECTORY STRUCTURE

____________________

The recommended directory structure for features downloaded from

the IBM Software Choice Web site is as follows:

First create a top directory with any name you choose; for example,

FEATURES. Create a subdirectory named FISETUP. The FISETUP

subdirectory is where you should place the Feature Install package.

Create a subdirectory for each feature you download to install. For

example:

  \FEATURES

    쳐\FISETUP

    쳐\FEATURE1

    읕\FEATURE2

     .

     .

     .

NOTE: Feature Install provides prerequisite checking. If the

      directory structure described above is maintained and the

      required files are not found on the client system, Feature

      Install will automatically update the system with the

      required files. If you do not use this directory structure

      and the required files are not found on the client system,

      the client will be prompted for the location of the files

      when installing an IBM Software Choice feature.

INSTALLING THE FEATURE INSTALL PACKAGE

______________________________________

To install the Feature Install package, do the following:

1.  Change to the subdirectory containing FIRUNPKG.ZIP.

    (The Feature Install package should be located in the FISETUP

    subdirectory.)

2.  Use PKUNZIP2.EXE (typically located in the \IBMCOM directory)

    to unzip the files. Type PKUNZIP2 FIRUNPKG.

    When the program finishes, you are ready to install the

    Feature Install package.

3.  In the directory where you unzipped the Feature Install

    package, type FISETUP.

    FISETUP can be run with or without the parameters listed below.

    For a CID installation, specify any of the parameters.

/L1:     Drive, path, and file name of the log file. If you do not

         specify a log file, a default log file named FISETUP.LOG

         will be created in the root of your boot drive.

/B:      Drive letter of the boot drive (for example, C:)

         If a boot drive is not specified, it will be detected

         automatically.

/S:      Source path, including drive letter, where Feature

         Install and the FI plug-ins are located. The source path

         does not have to be specified if these files are located

         in the same directory as the FISETUP executable.

/NN      Do not install the FI plug-ins and do not check if

         Netscape Navigator for OS/2 is installed.

/H or /? View the available parameters and their function.

/U       Update installation software even if the version is older

         than the existing version.

/NORESTARTSHELL  At the end of install do not refresh the Workplace

                 Shell

/ML:     Path and Filename of the file which contains the minimum

         level of Feature Install required for this install.

Example:  fisetup /S:C: /L1:C:\err.log /U /NN

4.  When the program finishes, it might prompt you to stop all other

    programs and select OK to refresh your desktop.

TRADEMARKS

___________

The following terms are trademarks of the IBM Corporation in the United

States or other countries or both:

IBM

OS/2

Software Choice

Netscape, Netscape Navigator, and the Netscape N logo are registered

trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States

and other countries. Netscape Collabra, Netscape Composer, Netscape

Messenger, and Netscape Communicator are also trademarks of Netscape

Communications Corporation, which may be registered in other countries.

Other company, product, and service names, which may be denoted

by a double asterisk (**), may be trademarks or service marks of

others.

THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF

ANY KIND. IBM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER

EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE

IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE

AND MERCHANTABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN

THIS DOCUMENT. BY FURNISHING THIS DOCUMENT, IBM GRANTS

NO LICENSES TO ANY PATENTS OR COPYRIGHTS.

(C) Copyright IBM Corporation 1996, 1999. All rights reserved.