I don't want winmac to install some components that I already have

[Dhyfer1]

Hi @Asteski

Thanks for Winmac. I have a question, before knowing Winmac I am already using PowerToys, Startallback and Everything. So how do I edit the script file so that it does not download these 3 components? Since they are already installed before I wanted to use winmac, then I don't want winmac to download and install them.

That's all.

[Asteski]

Hello,

it should not reinstall utilities if they already exist, unless an update is required. Will test it today as I'm not 100% certian on that, thanks!

Edit: it only reinstalls PowerToys if it exists, but I'm planning to write uninstall and update scripts, which will allow to select specific components you want to install/remove, maybe I'll integrate it into install script as well.

[Dhyfer1]

Thank you so much. That's what I want, to be able to select what I want to install, and also for the script to be able to uninstall winmac as well. I hope the next version of winmac can select what I want to install, thanks

[Asteski]

Here's an update with custom install and uninstall capabilties https://github.com/Asteski/WinMac/releases/tag/v0.3.2

[Dhyfer1]

Thank you so much. The new custom install and uninstall script work very well, although the only thing I don't like is that after installing Winmac the recycle bin disappears from the desktop. 🫤

I thought that the uninstall.ps1 file was also used to uninstall winmac, but it is not.

I hope that in the next version I can uninstall winmac with a script, and also update it to the latest version.

[Asteski]

Hello,

Recycle Bin removal is by design, it's moved to explorer and dock to resemble macos, which doesn't include Recycle bin on desktop by default.

I thought that the uninstall.ps1 file was also used to uninstall winmac, but it is not.

It is, but I forgot to remove description from install script, will update it today and I will include bringing back recycle bin to desktop as well, thanks for noticing.

[Dhyfer1]

Recycle Bin removal is by design, it's moved to explorer and dock to resemble macos, which doesn't include Recycle bin on desktop by default.

In the latest version, 0.3.3, the script removes the Recycle bin even if I have selected the option to be installed using option 7.

It is, but I forgot to remove description from install script, will update it today and I will include bringing back recycle bin to desktop as well, thanks for noticing.

As I said before, the recycle bin is removed when installing winmac. Here is a screenshot of the options I chose before installing the desired components

This is another screenshot with the components installed before restarting the PC. Note that the recycle bin was removed, and the blue shortcut arrows were replaced with a blank icon.

After restarting the pc, the recycle bin still does not appear, and the shortcuts continue with a blank document icon instead of the classic blue arrow.

In the uninstallation process, see the error that shows winmac when uninstall openshell, this error can be solved when the Windows Explorer task is finalized from the task manager (In Task Manager right click on Windows Explorer>End task) before running the uninstall script.

When the script finished the custom uninstallation of the selected components, I reboot the pc and log in, but I see that the uninstallation was incomplete. As you can see in the following screenshot, the recycle bin still does not appear and the file explorer icon in the taskbar should not be expanded to display the tab title, and not only that, change the normal view to a compact view both in the navigation panel and in the file explorer area, besides it does not return the icons to the center of the taskbar.

Fortunately, I had created a restore point before installing Winmac.

[akamienski]

Thank you for your valuable input, will look at it this week and fix it.

[Dhyfer1]

Thank you. Take your time, I'll keep an eye out for the next version.

[Asteski]

@Dhyfer1 can you please test the latest version (by cloning main branch) and let me know if issues still remain? Also please provide me an info about your os edition, os version and os build.

[Dhyfer1]

@Dhyfer1 can you please test the latest version (by cloning main branch) and let me know if issues still remain? Also please provide me an info about your os edition, os version and os build.

Hi. I have already tested the latest version of winmac, 0.3.4, but it still has some problems, very small ones. For example, after installing winmac we still have the problem with the recycle bin, it still doesn't appear after installation. Also the blue arrows in the desktop shortcuts no longer appear, only the icon appears but without the blue arrow, although it looks good without the arrows, I don't know if this is a planned change that you forgot to mention in the changelog or if it is a new bug.

The problems I mentioned before when uninstalling winmac, such as the icons in the taskbar not returning to the center, or that the recycle bin can did not appear on the desktop, or that the Windows Explorer icon on the taskbar was expanding, or that when the explorer was opened it remained with compact view, all these problems that you already saw in my last screenshot have been fixed.

After uninstalling everything goes back to the way it was before installing winmac, except the folder icon for my username, remains with a custom icon instead of the normal folder icon as you can see in the following screenshot:

Other than that, so far I have not found any other errors.

Using winmac 0.3.4 on Windows 11 Pro 23H2 stable version, build 22631.3593

[akamienski]

I don't know if this is a planned change that you forgot to mention in the changelog or if it is a new bug.

Both changes - removal of recycle bin icon from desktop and removal of shortcut arrow are intended changes to resemble MacOS design. Will check that user folder thing as well, thanks!

[Dhyfer1]

Both changes - removal of recycle bin icon from desktop

@akamienski, in latest versions of winmac, @Asteski added an option to install recycle bin in custom installation, as you can see in the screenshot my custom installation also includes option 7, where several things are installed, including the recycle bin, but the recycle bin is not installed even when I have selected option 7

and removal of shortcut arrow are intended changes to resemble MacOS design.

So it's not a bug. It's okay, no problem

[akamienski]

@Dhyfer1 is ther anything else I can help you with, or can I close the issue?

[Dhyfer1]

@Dhyfer1 is ther anything else I can help you with, or can I close the issue?

Well, winmac still has problems with the recycle bin in the latest version 0.4.1

In this screenshot I am doing a custom installation, see that the recycle bin icon is on the desktop and I did not choose option 8 to remove it

In this screenshot, before rebooting after installation, see that the recycle bin icon was removed without my permission.

This is what appears after reboot, recycle bin still missing

In this screenshot I am doing a custom uninstallation, see that the recycle bin icon still missing, I am uninstalling the same components that I had shown in the first screenshot

In this screenshot, before rebooting to complete the uninstall, shouldn't it say Uninstalling StartAllBack completed?

Finally, after rebooting, the taskbar, start menu, and file explorer are back to normal, but the recycle bin still doesn't appear. I had to manually add the recycle bin shortcut from the themes settings in Windows

I hope the dev can find the solution for this, that's all.

[akamienski]

I've noticed that you haven't selected option 9 (option 10 in latest build) while uninstalling, which includes reverting Recycle Bin icon. In install.ps1 script, the Other step includes a list of what is installed, and uninstall.ps1 script reverts all those changes mentioned in Other step in install.ps1.

[akamienski]

@Dhyfer1 Is there anything else I can help you with or can I close the issue?

[Dhyfer1]

@Dhyfer1 Is there anything else I can help you with or can I close the issue?

There is something else. I've been using the latest version 0.5.2 and it has problems both installing and uninstalling. In the screenshot you can see the components I want to install

Installs some components until it gets stuck in the Winmac menu installation, in this screen it remains unchanged for a long time.

This is the uninstallation, in this part it was able to uninstall the Winmac menu, but it gets stuck trying to uninstall TopNotify. I could not take a screenshot when trying to uninstall TopNotify, because the Windows Explorer process was closed during the uninstall process.

After the failed uninstall, I reboot my pc and find that autohotkey was installed when I didn't ask for it. Here it appears in the start menu.

And not only that, in this and previous versions, every time I uninstall winmac the recycle bin icon does not appear on the desktop, I always have to add the icon manually from the Windows settings.

For things like this, I always create a restore point before installing Winmac.

[akamienski]

@Dhyfer1

1. Please provide an OS build/version and CPU architecture.
2. Please run install/uninstall script from debug branch to see what error comes up.
3. AutoHotkey also does install with WinMac Menu component. Will include that information in next WinMac version or compile it to standalone exec if possible, to avoid installing AHK in that step overall.
4. By today I've tested WinMac on 7 machines with different os builds/versions and architectures, and all of them do remove or restore Recycle Bin icon, so I'm sorry I can't really recreate the issue you're having. In the last post you were mentioning that, I saw you haven't included Other component while uninstalling, which includes recreation of Recycle Bin icon to the desktop.

[Dhyfer1]

1. Windows 11 64bits stable, version 23H2 build 22631.4037

2. I chose the same options as in the first screenshot: 2, 4, 5, 6 and 9 but it keeps getting stuck on installing Winmac menu. The options I chose for the Winmac menu were: rounded shell corners and dark themed

3. Understood. So it is part of the Winmac menu.

4. In my previous message, you can see that I am including option 9 "Others" on installation and also option 10 "Others" on uninstallation, but on uninstallation it also gets stuck on some component, I don't know what else to do about it, I could install previous versions of Winmac without any problem. Maybe Winmac requires the computer to have some specific version of visual c++ redistributable or .net framework installed in order for it to work?

[akamienski]

@Dhyfer1

I would still need to ask you tu run debug version of scripts, as I can't recreate the issue you're having. I've tested scripts on latest Windows 11 Home and Pro 23H2 - 22631.4112 build version.

Maybe Winmac requires the computer to have some specific version of visual c++ redistributable or .net framework installed in order for it to work?

Doubt it, as I usually test scripts on fresh Windows 11 installations and I didn't installed any additional C++ redistributables, except WinMac Menu component, which needs and also installs .Net 6.0 Runtime x64 package.

[Dhyfer1]

Sorry, in point 2 of my previous answer I forgot to mention that I used the installation and uninstallation scripts of debug version, but Winmac still can't be installed without any component getting stuck in the process.

This week I will reinstall Windows and then I will reinstall Winmac to see if the problem continues or not after a clean install of Windows

and also installs .Net 6.0 Runtime x64 package.

I have .net desktop runtime 8.0 installed, maybe this is the problem? I will try installing version 6.0 to see if anything changes.

Edit: I uninstalled version 8 and installed version 6, I still have the same problem on a custom install/uninstall. This week I will do a clean installation of Windows and check again if the problem persists or not.

[Asteski]

I have .net desktop runtime 8.0 installed, maybe this is the problem? I will try installing version 6.0 to see if anything changes.

This shouldn't matter, because version 6.0 is installed with WinMac Menu component and one shouldn't block the other from installing and both should be able to coexist with each other. If issue will persist, I'll then compile the executable to 8.0 version instead.

[Dhyfer1]

Update: Nothing, I have reinstalled Windows but I still have the same problem. In a custom installation with options 2, 4, 5, 6 and 9 it gets stuck on installing the winmac menu, so I closed the PowerShell window and rebooted the system.

In custom uninstall with options 2, 4, 5, 6 and 10, it shows me that it was able to uninstall winmac menu but it gets stuck on uninstalling topnotify, so I closed the PowerShell window and rebooted the system. Then I use a restore point I had created before installing winmac.

As I said before, winmac 0.5.2 does not install/uninstall properly on a clean installation of Windows. Before installing winmac I did not install the latest version of visual c++ redistributable and also no version of .net framework. I don't bother trying with the debug version of winmac because I know I'll get the same result.

Before this latest version I could install WinMac without any problem, now I can't. I hope to be able to do it in the next version.

Tested on Windows 11 Pro version 23H2 build 22631.4112

[Asteski]

I've updated debug script to include .Net 8.0 version of WinMac Menu component, you can try that as well. It's a selectable option in configuration stage of the install script. I have no other ideas why it may not work, as when I've tested it on 3 new VM instances and 2 new laptops with both 23H2 and 24H2, it worked on all of them so I'm not able to recreate the issue.

I'll just shoot blanks here, but do you happen to use:

• 3rd party antivirus,
• unsupported processor,
• local user account.

Please provide me a specific processor name/model.

[Dhyfer1]

Sorry, in point 2 of my previous answer I forgot to mention that I used the installation and uninstallation scripts of debug version, but Winmac still can't be installed without any component getting stuck in the process.

Sorry, this answer was wrong when I said that I used the installation and uninstallation scripts of debug version, that time I just changed from Main to Debug, and I downloaded the latest version release thinking it was the latest debug version because I didn't know how to download the debug version. I thought I was downloading correctly but I was wrong and confused. I think my problem would have been solved earlier if I had known how to download the debug version.

Now I know how to download it. So I ran both scripts and winmac was able to install and uninstall without any problems, this debug version worked very well, thanks.

I'll just shoot blanks here, but do you happen to use:

3rd party antivirus, unsupported processor, local user account.

If you still need that information, then:

• None, just the one that comes with Windows 11. Windows Defender
• Maybe this is it? I did not install Windows 11 the official way, I had to use Rufus because my processor is not supported, besides my PC doesn't have TPM or secure boot
• No, both scripts were executed under the administrator account

Please provide me a specific processor name/model.

AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics, it's the processor that came in my laptop that I bought 13 years ago.

[Asteski]

Thanks for leting me know, I'll update next version with changes included in debug script. Is there any difference when you choose either .Net 8.0 and .Net 6.0 version?

[Dhyfer1]

In the installation I chose .Net 8.0, I don't know if there is a difference in the installation with .Net 6.0. You said no before, but I don't think there is any. 🤷

Edit: tomorrow I will reinstall winmac together with .Net 6.0 and see what happens.

[Asteski]

It shouldn't be theoretically, I'll include .Net 8.0 version then anyway.

[Dhyfer1]

It's ok. Now that my problem has been solved (at least on the debug version) I will close this issue, thank you both for your help. 😊

[Dhyfer1]

Is there any difference when you choose either .Net 8.0 and .Net 6.0 version?

So I reinstalled winmac, this time I chose .Net 6.0 and found no difference.

By the way, when I installed winmac debug with both versions of .net separately, I noticed that it also installs Aspnet core runtime, I didn't have this before installing the stable version of winmac. Maybe because I didn't have aspnet installed at the beginning, Winmac was giving me problems when I wanted to install the stable version?

Also, I have noticed on both installations of winmac debug with .net 6 and 8, that when I click on the Windows icon in the taskbar repeatedly or press the Windows button repeatedly, sometimes the normal Windows menu appears. You should check it.

[Dhyfer1]

@Asteski I have installed the latest stable version of winmac, 0.6.0, and it downloads and installs .Net Desktop Runtime 8.0 when I already had it installed, I wanted to let you know. By the way, there have been no problems installing/uninstalling winmac.

In addition, I also wanted to know if you can integrate mactype. MacType is a free tool that allows you to render Windows fonts to be similar to Mac OS fonts. I think it's a great addition to winmac.

[akamienski]

@Dhyfer1 Glda to hear it, thanks for letting me know! Will check out mactype.