Installing Python on Windows XP hangs

[Tim Peters]

[Frank Gurtus]
> When I try to install Python 2.2.2 (or even 2.3a1) on my Windows
> XP Pro it hangs at 1%.
> I select all options I need (standard options) and click the Next
> button to install and then I can only see a little window saying
> "Installing". It says it is copying the unwise.exe
> into my destination directory and hangs at 1%.
> Restarting the computer does not help.
>
> Do you have any tips for me?

None beyond general Windows tips:  make sure you have enough disk space; log
in to an account with admin privs if you can; close all other programs (and
especially virus scanners! they routinely interfere with the normal
operation of all kinds of programs); avoid paths with embedded space
characters; try accepting all the default choices.  Reports of the installer
hanging are rare but not non-existent.  No specific cause is known.  Since
the installer engine is a closed-source product we didn't write, there's not
much else we can do about it except gather clues.  Most people with
installation problems see them vanish as mysteriously as they began after
trying one or more of the suggestions I just gave.  If that doesn't work for
you either, try, e.g., using ActiveState's installer instead, which uses
different installer technology.  BTW, one exceptionally persistent person a
couple years ago discovered they could complete installation if and only if
they never touched their mouse during the process; presumably there was some
inscrutable low-level conflict between their mouse driver and the GUI
systems the Wise installer invokes.  There may not be enough money in the
world to *pay* someone to endure this kind of silliness to a successful
conclusion <wink>.