What does 'repair Python 2.5a1' do?

["Martin v. Löwis"]

Thomas Heller wrote:
> What does the repair command in the 2.5a1 msi installer do?
> 
> Apparently it does not replace changed files, although it seems
> to replace deleted files.

MSI's repair procedure is somewhat complicated. Invoking repair
just sets the REINSTALL property to ALL:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/msi/setup/reinstall.asp?frame=true

By default, this installs all missing files, and reinstalls all files
whose version is lesser than the one in the MSI package. As the Python
files are not versioned, they don't get replaced.

You can further control the actions taken in REINSTALL by setting the
REINSTALLMODE property:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/msi/setup/reinstallmode.asp

So if you want to reinstall everything, you need to set REINSTALLMODE
to, say, "amus" (or "saum").

Regards,
Martin