RISC OS Select Installer 0.25 (28 Apr 2002)
========================

Introduction
------------

The Select Installer can install a Select boot sequence over a RISC OS 4.0x
boot sequence, upgrade a Select boot sequence, or install a clean Select
boot sequence.


Installing over RISC OS Select
------------------------------

The Select Installer will upgrade your current boot sequence to the latest
version supplied with the installer. This may have one or two side effects,
which are described in a later section. Many of the following sections deal
specifically with the installation of a boot sequence over a RISC OS 4
boot sequence. It is not necessary that you read these to install over
RISC OS Select. The sections from 'Manual Upgrading' onward provide more
details about the upgrade process.


Installing over RISC OS 4, or installing from clean
---------------------------------------------------

The Select Installer will preserve a copy of your current boot sequence and
install the Select Boot sequence and applications.

Installation of the Boot sequence can be achieved in two ways :

  * Ignoring the current boot sequence

  * Upgrading from the current boot sequence
  

We strongly recommend that you upgrade your boot sequence as this will :

  a) involve the least effort on your part
  b) ensure that the majority of resources and choices which you have made
     in other applications are carried over

Should you decide that you do not wish the automated installer to upgrade
your boot sequence, simply rename the !Boot directory before running the
Installer. Renaming !Boot to RO4Boot (or something similar) is sufficient.
You should continue reading for more details of what happens during the
installation and what you will require.


What you need to install RISC OS Select
---------------------------------------

This installer application contains a copy of the boot sequence. This is
held as a Zip archive inside the 'Data' directory. In addition to this,
you will require :

  1. A ROM image (or an archive containing a ROM image)

  2. Any additional components you wish to install. These will require
     installation by hand; the Installer will only install the boot
     sequence.


Before you install RISC OS Select
---------------------------------
Please ensure that all applications have been quit where possible. This will
ensure that the applications do not interact adversely with the installation
process (and that in turn the installation process does not affect the
applications adversely). On running the installer, you will be reminded of
this and asked if you wish tasks to be quit automatically.


How much space do we need
-------------------------

The installer will check how much space is available on the disc, and how
much will be required to merge the boot sequences. If the device you are
installing to has more than 1 gigabyte free (= 1024 megabytes), the
installer considers you to have 'enough' room, and avoids counting the boot
sequence to check whether there is enough space. If your boot sequence is
more than 1/2 gigabyte then you may have to make provision for this.

We recommend that if you have a boot sequence this large, and it is not
mostly held in the Scrap directory, you should ignore the current boot
sequence and install from clean. If this is unacceptable, then removing the
components from the boot sequence before performing the installation should
suffice.

When trying to decide how much room is used (and when you have less than
1 gigabyte free), the following things are taken into account :

  space needed = size of new boot when decompressed (plus a factor to
                 account for disc rounding)
               + size of original boot sequence
               - size of the temporary directory (Scrap) in original boot
                 sequence
               - size of ARMovie in original boot sequence
               - size of RISC OS 4 tools in original boot sequence

This is obviously a very approximate measurement, but the Installer will
try to err on the side of caution.


What the Installer does
-----------------------

The installer is complex when upgrading a boot sequence. It performs many
different upgrades as it processes your old boot sequence. The process it
executes is as follows :

 1. Move your old !Boot sequence out of the way.
    The old boot sequence (if there) will be moved to !Boot.OldBoot. This
    will be used by the Softload Selector to allow you to return to the
    old boot sequence should that be necessary.
    If the boot sequence you have selected is identified as already being
    a Select boot sequence, we put up a warning message and jump to
    section 11.

 2. Decompress the Boot archive.
    The archive is stored inside the installer as a Zip archive and will
    be automatically extracted and installed in the location you have
    indicated.
 
 3. Decompress additional applications.
    Additional application are also stored inside the installer as Zip
    archives. They will be extracted to the same directory as the boot
    sequence.
    If no boot sequence existed (a clean installation), we now jump to
    section 10.
 
 4. Merge the !System directory.
    The !System directory in your old boot sequence will contain 
    components installed by others that may be necessary for some
    applications to function. The merge will be performed using
    the standard System update tool that you are already familiar
    with from the Configuration system for RISC OS 4.
    You will be able to examine the modules being processed using
    the Agenda button, or just start the process using the 'Merge'
    button.
  
 5. Merge the !Fonts directory
    If you have installed additional fonts, these will be incorporated
    into the new boot sequence. Like the System merge, this uses the
    Font install tool.
 
 6. Update application Choices.
    The Choices directory contains application choices which you have
    made. These will be copied from the old sequence to the new. At
    the same time, the boot configuration will be updated. Any tasks to
    be run, applications added to the Apps resource, or tasks to be
    booted from the RISC OS 4 tools will be carried across. Any user-
    specific modifications that may have been made will not be copied.
    The Installer cannot know the effect of any modifications that the
    user has made and errs on the side of caution in not processing
    these at all.
    Certain choices will be moved to different locations in the
    progressive boot sequence. The primary example of this is the
    monitor configuration, which will be copied to the hardware
    configuration section.
    Importantly, the Internet configuration will NOT be copied by this
    process. Internet configuration has changed significantly. It is
    required that the Internet configuration be re-made by the user.
 
 7. Merge other system resources.
    The general Resources directory contains resources supplied by
    various companies to support their applications. The most common
    use is for shared tools (such as CCShared), shared resources (such
    as ZapFonts) or browser plugins (such as !Java). These will be
    copied to the new boot sequence to ensure that as many applications
    as possible continue to function without reinstallation.
    In addition, browser plugins will be identified and separated into
    a separate resource directory. This allows such plugins to be
    manipulated more reliably in the future.
    The !Internet resource no longer supplies the resources it previously
    did. In the progressive boot sequence, the internet configuration
    is split across a number of directories depending on what the settings
    relate to. In particular, the MimeMap file will be merged to form a
    new file in the Default section. The Hosts file will be merged with
    the file in the hardware profile (initially disabled).
    The CCShared resource, if present, will be updated with the modules
    supplied in the AWViewer resource.
    At the same time as this, the Softload configuration tool will be
    copied into the original configuration tools directory. This will
    allow reselection of the Select boot sequence.

 8. Merge Monitor definitions.
    The monitor definitions control what the monitor is and its
    capabilities. These are copied from the original sequence to provide
    any additional monitors you may have installed.
 
 9. Merge Library directory.
    If you have updated the Library directory, this will be merged with
    the new Library using the 'User' category. This may be unsuitable for
    some of the components installed there but the installer cannot know
    about every piece of software that might be installed there. Copying
    to the User category allows all the tools to function whilst also
    ensuring that they are separated from other tools.

10. Reset configuration.
    All unplugged ROM modules are re-inserted, and the caps lock state
    changes to NoCaps. Because the modules may be in a different order
    in the new ROM, re-inserting them ensures that important modules
    are not unplugged when you use the new ROM. Caps lock configuration
    has changed very slightly, so reverting to NoCaps ensures the same
    configuration. The territory will be reset to UK to ensure that
    resources are available.

11. ROM installation.
    If you have a ROM image you wish to install (we recommend that you
    install a ROM image at the same time as installing the boot sequence),
    you can drag it to the window. The Installer will accept either
    decompressed ROM images, or Zip archives containing a ROM image.
    The ROM you drag here will be installed in the boot sequence and
    selected as the default.
    If you do not have a ROM image to install, you can press the Continue
    button and the install process will be completed.

Once this process is complete, it will be safe to reboot your machine and
use RISC OS Select.

Pressing Abort at any time will put things back the way they were and
rename the part-installed Boot sequence to 'FailedBoot'.

If you missed the ROM installation stage because you just pressed Skip
like the other windows, re-running the installer will identify the
Select boot sequence and offer you the opportunity to install the ROM
again.


What the Installer does not do
------------------------------

  * The installer will not copy across user installed boot settings or
    resources known to be dangerous.
    Mostly, this means that if you have directly modified
    !Boot.Choices.Boot.*, you will have to make those changes again.
    This is (as stated in section 6 above) to ensure that the system,
    as installed, functions.
  
  * Internet configuration options are not copied across. You should
    ensure that you know these before installing.
  
  * Configuration plugins installed in RO400Hook will not be copied
    across. Without knowledge of what they do, the installer cannot
    know if they are applicable or not.
  
  * Some resources will not be copied :

      ARMovie - copying ARMovie would duplicate a very large amount
                of data. An updated ARMovie will be provided for
                Select.
      SysLog - Doggysoft's SysLog application will not be copied.
               The new !SysLogs resource provides the storage for
               SysLog files, and the SysLog module is present in
               ROM. You may wish to update the SysLog configuration
               by hand; the installer will not do so for you.
      Scrap - Scrap is implicitly temporary data. Copying it is,
              therefore, unnecessary.
      Internet - Internet is configured very differently, and instead
               the files in the Internet resource will be merged
               as explained in section 7.
  
  * Certain applications may have installed resources in non-standard
    locations. You may find that these applications fail to run in
    the updated boot sequence. It may be necessary to re-install those
    applications. An example of such an application is the Impression
    family.

  * The installer will not make your tea whilst you are waiting.


Manual installation
-------------------

If you do not wish to use the Installer to install RISC OS Select, we
recommend that you decompress the files held in the archives and replace (do
NOT overwrite) your original Boot sequence. The simplest mechanism to do
this is to rename the old boot sequence to something else (for example
'Old!Boot') and then extract the files to the root of the harddisc.

We STRONGLY recommend that you use the installer.

Whether you install manually, or via the installer, use of RISC OS Select is
in compliance of the terms of licenses in the directory
!InsSelect.Resources.Licenses. Where the installer is used, these will be
presented to you before installation.


Manual upgrading Select boot sequences
--------------------------------------

We do not support manual upgrading. It is not sufficient to use the Install
tool from the Boot configuration window as many of the files being installed
will be held in user-specific directories or need special handling.

Do NOT copy a later boot sequence over your current boot sequence.


Upgrade information
-------------------

During the upgrade process various files and applications will be
manipulated. The details of the changes being made will be recorded in
the !Boot.Log file. For a normal upgrade this file will be around 50k
long.
