Troubleshooting the Application Manager

To identify and avoid problems that might occur when you install or remove an application on a Windows CE–based device, follow these guidelines:

• Use the full path for the location of the CeAppMgr .ini file when you call Ceappmgr.exe to register an application.
• Use the /report parameter in debug versions to verify that CeAppMgr is using the correct information for the .cab files.
• In the CeAppMgr .ini file, verify the following:
  • The string list in the CabFiles key contains no unnecessary spaces and matches the actual .cab file name and relative path.
  • The string value in the Component key exists elsewhere in the .ini file.
• Verify that the desktop computer's setup application is calling the correct CeAppMgr .ini file, using the full path.

There are various third-party desktop setup applications that do not correctly update the actual file sizes when overwriting existing files. Because the Application Manager verifies the actual file size with the embedded file size of the .cab file, be sure that the installed .cab file sizes are correct. To ensure that this happens for future upgrade scenarios, delete the known existing .cab files when you reinstall an application.