InstallShield Self-Extracting EXE - Revision history

Anonymoususer852: Add unshield to Software section, provide examples for unshield, add references.

2025-08-02T10:59:04Z

Add unshield to Software section, provide examples for unshield, add references.

Sembiance: /* Sample files */

2025-06-05T13:42:55Z

‎Sample files

Sembiance: Added a note about how to extract them silently

2025-06-03T13:37:32Z

Added a note about how to extract them silently

Jsummers at 15:25, 2 October 2022

2022-10-02T15:25:38Z

Jsummers: Created page with "{{FormatInfo |formattype=electronic |subcat=Archiving |extensions=special }} '''InstallShield Self-Extracting EXE''' is a executable installer file created by the [[InstallShi..."

2022-06-11T16:56:30Z

Created page with "{{FormatInfo |formattype=electronic |subcat=Archiving |extensions=special }} '''InstallShield Self-Extracting EXE''' is a executable installer file created by the [[InstallShi..."

New page

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Archiving
|extensions=special
}}
'''InstallShield Self-Extracting EXE''' is a executable installer file created by the [[InstallShield]] installation software for Windows.

This article is intended to cover only the outer-layer distribution file, and not the various executable and other component files that it may contain.

Not all editions of InstallShield supported creating self-extracting EXE files, and it's not uncommon to find InstallShield component files packaged in other ways (e.g. [[ZIP]]), or unpackaged.

''[Ed. note: This article needs much more research and expansion.]''

== Identification ==
For at least one version (3?) of InstallShield, ASCII "{{magic|InstallShield Self-Extracting Stub Program}}" appears beginning at offset 943.

== Software ==
* STIX - Extracts from InstallShield v3 files. (DOS, OS/2)
** [{{SACFTPURL|pack|stix.zip}} stix.zip] (from SAC)
** [https://kannegieser.net/veit/programm/index_e.htm] → stix.arj
** https://github.com/DeclanHoare/stix/
* [https://github.com/lifenjoiner/ISx ISx] - InstallShield installer extractor. Claims to support InstallShield versions released from about 2003 to 2016.
* IsXunpack.exe - For InstallShield v7. Can be found in [https://www.legroom.net/software/uniextract Universal Extractor]. Source is [https://web.archive.org/web/20130816000226/http://forum.exetools.com/showthread.php?t=3619 this forum post].
* [https://github.com/hifi/iss_extract InstallShield Setup Extract] (Probably very limited support.)

== Sample files ==
* {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/|100+ Great Games CD}} → {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/100_Games/Games/game17/solcon.exe|solcon.exe}}, {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/100_Games/Games/game26/bgf2int.exe|bgf2int.exe}}, {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/100_Games/Games/game38/gamchest.exe|gamchest.exe}}

''Wanted: Lots more samples from different versions of InstallShield.''

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:37, 3 June 2025
Line 9:		Line 9:

	Not all editions of InstallShield supported creating self-extracting EXE files, and it's not uncommon to find InstallShield component files packaged in other ways (e.g. [[ZIP]]), or unpackaged.		Not all editions of InstallShield supported creating self-extracting EXE files, and it's not uncommon to find InstallShield component files packaged in other ways (e.g. [[ZIP]]), or unpackaged.
		+
		+	Running the .exe with a `-s` flag seems to allow these to run silently and they then extract their contents into C:\users\<user>\Temp\

	''[Ed. note: This article needs much more research and expansion.]''		''[Ed. note: This article needs much more research and expansion.]''

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 == Identification ==
 For at least one version (3?) of InstallShield, ASCII "{{magic|InstallShield Self-Extracting Stub Program}}" appears beginning at offset 943.
 == Software ==
 * STIX - Extracts from InstallShield v3 files. (DOS, OS/2)
 ** [{{SACFTPURL|pack|stix.zip}} stix.zip] (from SAC)
@@ Line 29: / Line 36: @@
 * {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/|100+ Great Games CD}} → {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/100_Games/Games/game17/solcon.exe|solcon.exe}}, {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/100_Games/Games/game26/bgf2int.exe|bgf2int.exe}}, {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/100_Games/Games/game38/gamchest.exe|gamchest.exe}}
 * {{DexvertSamples|archive/installShieldSelfExtractor}}
 ''Wanted: Lots more samples from different versions of InstallShield.''

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 |extensions=special
 }}
-'''InstallShield Self-Extracting EXE''' is a executable installer file created by the [[InstallShield]] installation software for Windows.
+'''InstallShield Self-Extracting EXE''' is an executable installer file created by the [[InstallShield]] installation software for Windows.
 This article is intended to cover only the outer-layer distribution file, and not the various executable and other component files that it may contain.