Here's a quick question for you. Do you save the setup files or drivers you download? The reason I ask is I've recently encountered people who haven't kept their installation files. They install a program and then delete the downloaded setup file to save space or for some other reason. Their assumption is they can always go online and grab the file again. But can they?

In earlier days when we bought software through the mail or at a computer store, we had the source disk or CD. Should anything happen we could insert that media and reinstall the program. In a short time, we were back working.

If you fast forward, much of today's software is distributed online whether you purchase it or not. But what do you do with that source file once you install the software? If you said you delete the file, you're setting yourself up for problems.

Below are some recent scenarios I ran into with friends and family. In each case, some software needed to be reinstalled, but problems ensued.

The New Program Is Different

The most common case is some catastrophic failure. This problem happened to a friend of mine who is a trader and had his notebook crash. He's spent considerable time customizing a trading system which includes numerous screen settings for countless trading indicators, both fundamental and technical. These tend to be items that are a combination of intuition and tested methods. In his case, I've salvaged the preference and configuration files, but don't have the setup file. The vendor provided advanced warning that they don't think these salvaged files will work with the current software.

Company Merges or Goes Out of Business

A similar problem occurred with another friend who favored a specialized program. It's a program she's used for years and wanted to transfer to her new PC. She soon discovered that copying files from one computer to another seldom works as expected. Most likely this was caused by missing Windows registry entries or components in other directories which weren't copied. Trying to track down these entries requires utilities like Sysinternal's RegMon.

On calling the company, she learned the merged company has dropped her program from their product line. There is a name for these programs – abandonware. Her options are to either keep the old PC for this single purpose or to buy the new product.

You May Not Have Online Access

Although much of the world may be connected, that doesn't mean it's operational when we need it. I experienced this at a Marriott hotel which touted high speed access. My room lost Internet connectivity and I needed to download an external keyboard driver. My option was limited to using their Business Library where I could not hook up my notebook. (Next time, I'm putting the driver on my USB drive.)

Company Doesn't Support Older Versions

While we like to think products that work perfectly won't go out of favor, they do. Companies incur added expense for each version they support. More companies are limiting their support to fewer versions which means your installation files and drivers may no longer be available.

Maintaining Installation Files

I'm not advocating keeping obsolete software especially if it's subject to security vulnerabilities or buggy. However, there are times I don't upgrade to the “latest and greatest” software release. Sometimes the new features don't warrant the upgrade cost. This means I need to make sure I can reinstall my current version.

The easiest way I've found to do this is to maintain two distinct folders. The first folder is called “Downloads” in “My Documents”. I've set it as the default folder for downloaded software. In my case, I review a lot of software which gets downloaded to that folder, but ends up getting discarded.

My second folder is called “Saved Downloads”. It is a separate folder within “My Documents”. The distinction being anything that is in this folder is part of my back up routine. Once I decide that I want to keep a program, I move it from “Downloads” to “Saved Downloads”. In some instances, I need to rename a file from setup.exe to something more specific so I can remember the program. When I do upgrade, I replace the saved setup file with the newer one.

If by chance something happens to my PC or that setup file, I can easily find the source file within “Saved Downloads” or in the proper backup.

Discovering What Programs are Installed

The easiest way to start is to know what installation programs you need. One way to do this is to use a program that can inventory your machine and let you know the applications and version number. Some programs also include a website address that these programs can find.

A free program that does a good job of inventorying your computer is System Info by Gabriel Topala. The program is a single executable that displays useful information about your installed programs. In the screen snap below, I've highlighted the program version number and some contact info. The program also allows you to export information.

Finding Older Versions of Your Software

After doing an inventory, you'll have a better idea of what's missing. The first place to look for the setup files is the vendor's website. Hopefully, many of your cherished programs will still be online and you can grab the installation files.

Sometimes, the site has disappeared or the company no longer offers your program. For non-commercial programs, you can try sites like Older Version which maintains a large selection of programs. If nothing shows there, you should try using a search engine.

The point to remember is that nothing lasts forever. It's best if you can find the software files you'll need before any problems arise.

Referenced Resources:

• URL: http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Regmon.html
• URL: http://www.gtopala.com/
• URL: http://www.olderversion.com/

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