git-annex/doc/forum/Windows_installation_notes.mdwn

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# Introduction

Hello.

I've installed git-annex and git-annex assistant on Windows 7 in a corp environment (hello gotchas!).

In this post I'll describe issues I encountered, how I fixed them, recommendations I have for the installer, and some results from a couple `git annex test` runs.

# Background

My regular domain user doesn't have permissions to write to `C:\Program Files (x86)`, so I use a secondary domain user which is in the Administrators group.  I use "Run as different user" to run installers, etc.  (cf. "Run as Administrator")

During msysgit installation I checked "only bash, don't add to path, don't integrate with Explorer" etc, since I like my third-party applications isolated.

# The installer

## Where to install `git-annex.exe`

The nightly build of git-annex/assistant from NEST (20140908) only prompts for the base path of the msysgit location and it installs files in `$BASE/bin` and `$BASE/cmd`...  I'll try manually copying files post-install to mitigate the path issues described in other posts on this forum.

The msysgit installer (1.9.4-preview20140815) presents a certain screen with three radio options:

1. git bash only
2. just git in `cmd.exe`
3. git + unix tools in `cmd.exe`.

I *think* this is the meaning of each:

1. cmd.exe's PATH is not touched.
2. `$GITBASE/cmd` is added to PATH
3. `$GITBASE/bin` is added to PATH

Therefore, I think that if you do something so that `git-annex.exe` is added to both $GITBASE/cmd and $GITBASE/bin (perhaps a symlink or even a .lnk file) then all three user preference options will be covered.

All I did was copy `$BASE/cmd/git-annex.exe` to `$BASE/bin/git-annex.exe` and now both `git annex` and `git-annex` work in my msysgit "git bash" console.  I didn't test `cmd.exe` since I selected option 1 in the msysgit installer.

## Installer locations: user profile or system-wide?

I found a shortcut for the webapp in Start Menu/Startup ... for the wrong user.  Please prompt the user during the installation: "Install startup link system-wide or for current user?"

# git annex test results

## `$HOME` defaulted to some mapped drive, whoops!

The test suite has been running since before I started this post.  Is that normal? :)

I notice that it emits "Detected a crippled filesystem", "Enabling direct mode." and other messages again and again.  If those checks are expensive, maybe the result should be memoized/cached.

Oh goodness, the test is reading and writing to my "home directory": a remote filesystem I never use.  It's slow.  I'll have to configure msysgit to use a different, more local `$HOME`.  This a common problem on this workstation.  I'll let the test finish in case it reveals something useful to you, but this will not be how I use it going forward...

I am unable to attach `testWithMappedDriveHomeDirConsoleOutput.txt` to this post.  1 out of 84 tests failed.  Here is the only case sensitive occurrence of FAIL in the console output, with some lines of context.

    OK
        info:                                             Detected a filesystem without fifo support.
      Disabling ssh connection caching.
      Detected a crippled filesystem.
      Enabling direct mode.
    git-annex: Data.BloomFilter.Util.suggestSizing: capacity too large to represent
    FAIL
          Exception: user error (git-annex ["info","--json"] exited 1)
        version:                                          Detected a filesystem without fifo support.
      Disabling ssh connection caching.
      Detected a crippled filesystem.
      Enabling direct mode.
    git-annex version: 5.20140908-g378fbb1
    build flags: Assistant Webapp Webapp-secure Pairing Testsuite S3 WebDAV DNS Feeds Quvi TDFA CryptoHash

## test results with local NTFS `$HOME`

...The console output is scrolling by much more quickly.

2 out of 84 tests failed.

        prop_past_sane:                                 OK
          +++ OK, passed 1000 tests.
        prop_duration_roundtrips:                       OK
          +++ OK, passed 1000 tests.
        prop_metadata_sane:                             OK
          +++ OK, passed 1000 tests.
        prop_metadata_serialize:                        OK
          +++ OK, passed 1000 tests.
        prop_branchView_legal:                          OK
          +++ OK, passed 1000 tests.
        prop_view_roundtrips:                           OK
          +++I nOiKt,  Tpeasstsse
    d  1 0i0n0i tt:e sts.
        prop_viewedFile_rountrips:                      FAIL
          *** Failed! Falsifiable (after 51 tests and 1 shrink):
          "a:"
          Use --quickcheck-replay '50 592211036 1831676953' to reproduce.
      Unit Tests
        add sha1dup:                                    init test repo
      Detected a filesystem without fifo support.
    
      Disabling ssh connection caching.

and

    OK
        info:                                             Detected a filesystem without fifo support.
      Disabling ssh connection caching.
      Detected a crippled filesystem.
      Enabling direct mode.
    git-annex: Data.BloomFilter.Util.suggestSizing: capacity too large to represent
    FAIL
          Exception: user error (git-annex ["info","--json"] exited 1)
        version:                                          Detected a filesystem without fifo support.
      Disabling ssh connection caching.
      Detected a crippled filesystem.
      Enabling direct mode.
    git-annex version: 5.20140908-g378fbb1
    build flags: Assistant Webapp Webapp-secure Pairing Testsuite S3 WebDAV DNS Feeds Quvi TDFA CryptoHash

...Note the corruption.  I think this happens when I drag the scroll bar while console output is being emitted.  (msysgit's problem?)  I would presume and hope that this is a "display only" issue. UPDATE: see section Corruption below.

# .vbs failure

I copied the `git-annex.lnk` out of my admin user's start menu onto my desktop and double clicked it.  `wscript.exe` got stuck in a loop where new copies were being spawned over and over again (and old copies dieing at the same rate).

I think I know why.  `git-annex.exe` isn't on the path... but `git-annex.lnk` is in the CWD (Desktop in this case).  Yeah, that is the problem.  The vbs attempts to run "git-annex webapp", and this .lnk points to a valid "executable": `git-annex-webapp.vbs`...  So it just calls itself with an argument over and over again.

Workaround: invoke `git annex webapp` from the normal git bash console.

# Corruption?

In some section above I speculated that the "jittery" corruption I was seeing in my console was a "display only" problem caused by scrolling around while new characters were being printed to the console.  Now, I don't think so.

The corruption can be seen in the Log in the webapp.  Here's an example from the top of the log:

    [2014-09-08 13:37:45 Central Daylight Time] main: starting assistant version 5.20140908-g378fbb1
    Launching web browser on file://d:\annex\.git\annex\webapp.html
    [2014-09-08 13:37:45 Central Daylight Time] Cronner: You should enable consistency checking to protect your data. 
    (scanning...) [2014-09-08 13:37:45 Central Daylight Time] Watcher: Performing startup scan
    (started...) rreerrcceevvcc::vv  ::ff  aaffiiaalliieellddee  dd((  NN((ooNN  ooee  rreerrrroorrrroo))rr
    
    ))

I have no clue about this!  (Well...  "I think it's trying to communicate!") 

# Conclusion

I hope this information is helpful.  I've enabled the 'email comments to me' option on this post and I'd be happy to perform further tests upon request.

Cheers!