Time flies, for sure – it’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since I last looked at Ninite, a bulk downloaders services/application that downloads and installs multiple user selected applications, in one pass.
Just a small sampling of what’s available:
The chances that a computer user will have to rebuild a system at some point is fairly high. There are multiple reasons why this might be necessary – an unrecoverable malware infection; system file corruption; system upgrade; and more.
As a “super geek”, the only reason you’ll rebuild is system upgrade time, hopefully. But, your friends and family … well, that’s a different story.
It’s probable that you (as the “on call” tech expert), have a specific list of freeware applications that you install on all machines on which you get the “help me” call. And, if you do, you can save yourself a “service” call by utilizing Ninite to your advantage.
Here’s an example:
I choose to download the following applications – Klitecodecs, Recuva, Skype, and Winamp. Ninite then created a specific URL – http://ninite.com/klitecodecs-recuva-skype-winamp/, in this case, from which the download was launched.
Should I then wish to share these applications (which will install automatically, without user intervention), with ……. – it’s as easy as sharing the URL.
How cool is that!
Fast facts:
No Clicking Next – Ninite fully automates installers offscreen.
No Toolbars – Ninite automatically says “No” to toolbars and other junk.
Always Up-to-date – A Ninite installer always gets an app’s latest version no matter when you made it.
It Updates Too – Just run your Ninite installer again and it will update the apps to their latest versions.
No Signup – Ninite just works. No account, signup, or client needed.
32 and 64-bit – Ninite installs the best version of an app for your PC.
International – Ninite installs apps in your PC’s language.
This is a terrific way to help less experienced users install the freeware applications that you know, through experience, are “must have”. Best of all, once the installer is activated Ninite does the rest – automatically and in the background.
System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Win 7 (x64 support).
Go to: Ninite site
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Hi Bill,
Ninite is great for fresh installs, makes a tedious job so much easier.
Take care.
Mark
Hi Mark,
Exactly – takes the tedium out of a re-install. Well, sort of.
Best,
Bill
Hi Bill,
This sounds like a great idea so I tried it straight away. Unfortunately it did not work for me. I selected quite a few of the programs I currently have installed. Unfortunately, when I tried to download the software using Ninite, I kept getting a message saying a connection with the server could not be established. This happened on both IE8 and Firefox, yet I can connect to the Ninite website (http and https) without problem.
Patrick at Ninite has made a number of suggestions but, so far, the problem persists. Shame really.
Kind regards
John
Hi John,
That’s disappointing. A quick question – Can you download, or at least bring up, the download applet noted in the article http://ninite.com/klitecodecs-recuva-skype-winamp/?
Best,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Yes it downloads without problem, as did the one I did for myself. The problem arises when I try to run them; that’s when I get the message “unable to connect to server”. Everything else on line works as normal.
Kind regards
John
Hi John,
Is it likely that one of your defense applications is set up to disallow a Web based executable from launching?
Best,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Thanks for your interest in this problem. One of Patrick’s suggestions was to disable ZoneAlarm which I did, along with TrueVector internet monitor. I’ve just now tried again in Safe Mode with networking and still get the same error message.
Kind regards
John
Hi John,
No, I would not have thought it was a ZoneAlarm issue. I reviewed this while running ZoneAlarm, and I’m aware you run ZoneAlarm as well. But, if you’re running Zemana AntiLogger, ThreatFire, or WinPatrol, I would check to make sure that this app has not been disallowed from running. Any other security application in which you might have set a “rule”, would be worth checking as well.
Best,
Bill
Hi Bill,
I assumed these would not be active in Safe Mode. Anyhow I’ve tried again with WinPatrol disabled and still get the error message.
To be honest if it’s this much trouble (to me) I think I’ll forget this one.
Thanks for your suggestions.
Kind regards
John
Hi John,
I hear ya. There are definitely times when trying to diagnose an issue is just not worth the effort.
Best,
Bill