PTC MKS Toolkit Knowledge Base

Section:IO
Product:MKS Toolkit (All)
Version:
OS:All
Keywords:installation, root directory
Category:Installation/Knowledge Base


Why won't the installer let me install Toolkit in the root directory of a drive?


We prohibit installation of the MKS Toolkit in the root directory of a drive for several reasons:

  • The Toolkit installation puts many files in its top level directory. Since FAT partitions are limited to 255 files in the root directory, this would clutter the drive root, and could fail if the root directory was full or nearly full.

  • It is desirable to keep one product's files isolated from files belonging to other products, when possible. This reduces the chances of naming conflicts among products, and makes it easier to uninstall a product consistently and safely.

  • The Toolkit installer does not function consistently when Toolkit is installed in the root of a drive. In particular, the installer often places files incorrectly in the /tmp directory if you try to install in the root directory.

With the introduction of symbolic links under Windows 2000, some of the advantages of installing the Toolkit in the root directory can be accomplished in other ways. In particular, you can create links between install directories and Unix-style directory names, as follows:

ln -s '/Program Files/MKS Toolkit/etc' /etc