I'm just wondering if there are any tips and tricks for speeding up the install build process, aside from staying away from LZX compression.
I tested the time difference between that and MSZIP and the latter takes 1/2 the time. For some strange reason though, I believe we used to use that compression for some reason and it caused trouble in the past. I've been digging through my emails and other info to see if I can find any reference to that, but no luck so far. If anyone knows of MSZIP pitfalls, please let me know.
We currently use LZX compression and the build time hasn't been a killer, but due to additions to our product suite, we now have numerous installs and it can be quite time consuming. I'm just trying to optimize things as much as possible.
Don't pull your source files from a network share. Have your files stored locally.
Don't build directy to the network - copy the built installer across instead
Don't use COM extract at build when you don't need to. The library will need to load, have the reg data processed etc which all adds significant build time if there are a lot of files performing this. Instead consider adding the registry data manually to your project - this obviously has pro's and cons with the time required to add the registry information and the human error of possibly missing changes.
Make sure the harddisk which you are building to is a fast one.
Thanks for the suggestions, but I think I'm covered with all of those.
I'm guessing the only alternative is to switch from LSX to MSZIP compression. I really wish I remembered what my issue with the latter was a few years ago.
