How to Update Locked WinBatch DLLs

Keywords: DLLs update DLLs  file locks locked files wininit.ini	 automatic update

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Question:

This is probably something you've been asked for before, but:
When copying files to local disk, what is the easiest way to update DLL files that is locked by the system ??

Answer:

This is a major problem.

In Windows NT it is fairly easy. See IntControl(30, ...)

In Windows 95 you make a file called WININIT.INI. It tells the system what to do when you reboot the machine. You copy the file to the drive you need it on with a different name and make a WININIT.INI file in the Windows directory "DirWindows(0)" that looks like:
P.S. You must use the SHORT version of the filename (see FileNameShort).

[rename]
;  newname=oldname
c:\xxx\myfile.dll=c:\xxx\myfile.tmp
c:\xxx\somedll.dll=c:\temp\tempname.dll

; to delete a file...
NUL=C:\yyy\trash.exe

In Win16 you make a BAT file and execute it with the RunExit function.

How to Update WB compiled EXEs

It is *really* hard for a WinBatch script to update itself. However you can solve the problem by the following trick (NB: pseudo code here):

   ; User launches compiled WBT file
   Exe file checks server to see if update is required.
   if update not required
        run normal code
   else
        run update program on server
        EXIT
   endif

;*******************************************
;And now for the update program
   TimeDelay(5)   ; wait for original program to exit
   FileCopy("new.exe","old.exe",0)
   Run the program again
   exit

Automatic Updating of EXE's: Another Option

If you don't mind restarting Windows 95, there may be an elegant enough solution:

The self-updating program could start like this:

If 

   RunOnce = RegOpenKey ( @RegMachine , `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce` )
   RegSetValue ( RunOnce , `[Command]` , `command.com /c copy \\SERVER\SHARE\WBNEWVER\mywbpgm.exe C:\myplace` )
   RegCloseKey ( RunOnce )
   IntControl ( 67 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 ) 

End If

When a new version is detected, the program itself places the command line in the registry and reboots. Anything placed in the runonce section is executed once and then automatically removed.

What I cannot tell is if the copy will take place before the program is executed. It depends on its location in the chain of events. This you will have to check...

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Article ID:   W13192

Filename:   Update WinBatch DLLs and EXEs.txt