Is Installer.exe safe, or is it a virus or malware? (optional offer for Reimage - Website | EULA | Privacy Policy | Uninstall) Recommended: Identify Installer.exe related errors Please read the following to decide for yourself whether the Installer.exe file on your computer is a virus or trojan horse that you should delete, or whether it is a valid Windows operating system file or a reliable application. In some cases, executable files can damage your computer. exe extension of a file name displays an executable file. The software is usually about 11.75 MB in size. Installer.exe is an executable file that is part of the Web Companion program developed by Lavasoft.

However, in this case the question was about the difference in size between the EXE and the MSI coming out of an InstallAware build, and then the difference is the runtimes explained above. Legacy Setup.exe Installer: Note that an EXE file can also be a non-MSI installer In other words an old-style installer not based on the Microsoft MSI format (which is a MS-SQL database stored in an office-style binary file), but rather an installation script of various formats such as Wise Script, Installscript, Inno Setup, NSIS, etc.

Logo files and splash screens, potentially in different languages for multi-lingual setups.

Can you set it to download rather than embedding? You can also supply it as a separate download. I would prefer using Windows Update for this as well, but if your application is cutting edge, you might want to include the required engine. NET runtime version required by the application.

Scripting runtimes required by custom actions in the MSI (Installscript for Installshield).

These days this runtime should be installed by Windows Update, and your setup should just verify it is present.

The version of the Windows Installer Engine Runtime the MSI requires (current version 5.0).Various components an EXE file might include:

Most systems are up to date with the latest engine versions since it comes down via Windows Update.ĮXE File: The EXE file you generate is a self-extracting launcher application containing both the MSI itself as well as various runtime requirements that the setup might have. It requires the right version of the Windows Installer Engine Runtime at the very minimum to be installable. An MSI file is a Windows Installer database file capable of installing software. MSI File: An MSI file can only be launched by msiexec.exe - The Windows Installer Engine. Uninstall and Install App on my Computer silently.UPDATE: Some resources with information on how to handle various types of setup.exe files:

Exe file installer for pc