TONT 37503 为什么安装程序不会问你是否要保留较新版本的系统文件？

原文链接：https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20041022-00/?p=37503

Windows 95 Setup would notice that a file it was installing was older than the file already on the machine and would ask you whether you wanted to keep the existing (newer) file or to overwrite it with the older version.

Windows 95 的安装程序会注意到正在安装的文件相较于机器上已有的版本比较旧，于是就会问你是否要保留现有（较新）的文件，或者用较旧的版本进行覆盖替换。（译注：用过Win95的人都知道这是一个很容易令人摸不到头脑的问题）

Asking the user this question at all turned out to have been a bad idea. It’s one of those dialogs that ask the user a question they have no idea how to answer.

事实上向用户提出这个问题本身就是一个很差劲的主意。这种对话框属于那种用户完全不知道如何作答的类型。

Say you’re installing Windows 95 and you get the file version conflict dialog box. “The file Windows is attempting to install is older than the one already on the system. Do you want to keep the newer file?” What do you do?

比如说，你正在安装Windows 95，然后碰到了一个版本冲突提示对话框，上面写着：『Windows 当前尝试安装的文件相较于您机器上的文件版本较旧，是否保留较新的文件？』你会怎么做？

Well, if you’re like most people, you say, “Um, I guess I’ll keep the newer one,” so you click Yes.

如果你跟大多数人的想法一样，会想：『唔，那就保留新版本的文件吧』，然后点击了『是』。

And then a few seconds later, you get the same prompt for some other file. And you say Yes again.

没过几秒钟，对话框又弹了出来，这次换了个文件，你又点了『是』。

And then a few seconds later, you get the same prompt for yet another file. Now you’re getting nervous. Why is the system asking you all these questions? Is it second-guessing your previous answers? Often when this happens, it’s because you’re doing something bad and the computer is giving you one more chance to change your mind before something horrible happens. Like in the movies when you have to type Yes five times before it will launch the nuclear weapons.

又过了几秒钟，对话框换了个文件又一次弹了出来，这下你开始变得焦虑起来了。为什么系统会问我这些问题？是想让我对前面的问题再作三思吗？类似这样的情况发生时，通常是因为你做错了什么事，而计算机正在事情变得无法挽留之前再给你一次改变主意的机会，就像在电影里，在发射核武器之前需要输入五次『Yes』一样。

Maybe this is one of those times.

而眼下大概就是那种场景。

Now you start saying No. Besides, it’s always safer to say No, isn’t it?

于是你开始点『否』了。说实话，说『否』更安全些，不是吗？

After a few more dialogs (answering No this time), Setup finally completes. The system reboots, and… it bluescreens.

又看过几个对话框之后（而你在面对这些对话框时都点了『否』），安装程序终于收工，计算机重启，然后……等着你的是一片蓝屏。

Why?

怎么会这样？

Because those five files were part of a matched set of files that together form your video driver. By saying Yes to some of them and No to others, you ended up with a mishmash of files that don’t work together.

因为你点了『否』的那五个文件是你的显卡驱动的一部分。对其中一部分文件选择了『是』，又对另一部分选择了『否』，结果新旧文件掺杂在一起，无法正常工作。

We learned our lesson. Setup doesn’t ask this question any more. It always overwrites the files with the ones that come with the operating system. Sure, you may lose functionality, but at least you will be able to boot. Afterwards, you can go to Windows Update and update that driver to the latest version.

我们接受了这个教训，安装程序再也不会问这类问题了，现在它总是会用随操作系统出厂的文件对其进行覆盖。的确，这样会损失一些新功能，但至少可以正常启动。在那之后，你总可以去Windows Update里将驱动更新到新版本。

Note, however, that this rule does not apply to hotfixes and Service Packs.

不过需要注意的是，这样的规则并不适用于系统补丁（Hotfix）和服务包（Service Packs）。