Installing BDE from BDEINST.CAB

Problem/Question/Abstract:

How to install BDE from BDEINST.CAB file

Answer:

If you have taken a close look at the listing of the BDE installation directory (usually \Program Files\Borland\Common FIles\BDE), you've noticed there's a file called BDEINST.CAB. If BDEINST.CAB isn't present in the BDE folder, you probably chose not to let it be installed. As this tip requires this file, you might want to run install again and install only BDEINST.CAB. Anyway, let's get back to the tip.

What is BDEINST.CAB?

BDEINST.CAB is a cabinet (Microsoft's compression format) file that contains only one large file: BDEINST.DLL. This DLL contains a simple installation program along with all the necessary files for a basic install of BDE. It will correctly install BDE with the native drivers for Paradox, dBase, MS Access and FoxPro. It won't install drivers for SQL database servers. If all you need is a basic installation of BDE for supporting one of the forementioned databases, then BDEINST.CAB is the best choice for you.

Given the problem InstallShield and Wise have with installing BDE 5, BDEINST.DLL has a great appeal, since it was created by the Borland folks and doesn't suffer from the same problems InstallShield and WISE do.

There is, however, a drawback: BDEINST.DLL is a quite large file, so it's that good if you're deploying on floppy disks. There's a workaround for this problem and we'll get back to it later on.

Using BDEINST.DLL

In order to use BDEINST.DLL, all you have to do is to extract it from BDEINST.CAB. There are several ways this can be done. Two of them are:

Using WinZip or another CAB-compatible archiver. Simply extract BDEINST.DLL from the CAB file.
Using Microsoft's EXTRACT utility that comes with Windows 9x and NT. From a DOS window, issue the command below (path is also shown):

C:\Program Files\Borland\Common Files\BDE>EXTRACT /E BDEINST.CAB

This will extract BDEINST.DLL to the current directory, since no destination dir was specified in the command line.

The task now is to use the DLL. This is as simple as issuing the command line below:

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\REGSVR32.EXE /S CABINST.DLL

If the command above fails, make sure you have REGSVR32.EXE on your machine. Not all machines have it, and, in case of deploying BDEINST.DLL, it's also a good idea to deploy REGSVR32.EXE. This file can be found in \WINDOWS\SYSTEM or \WINNT\SYSTEM32.

A progress dialog box will popup indicating that the installation of BDE is going ok. This is all it takes to install BDE without needing any additional tool such as InstallShield or Wise.

If you do not want to deploy REGSVR32.EXE, you can create a small VCL-less and formless application that simply calls DllRegisterServer from the DLL.