How can Icreate a Setup Project that doesn't leave an entry in the Currently installed programs list? I just want to install some files on top of an existing installation.

If you have the original files installed by an MSI, I think you can do it by using the same Upgrade code.

However, the best solution, assuming you have the original installer as a project, is to update the installer project with the new files, build it, and use the tools in the Windows Installer (Platform) SDK and create a patch.

With Windows Installer installs, you don't just want to overwrite files, you want to manage them according to component rules, and the systems they have provided to upgrade or manage patching.

If your first setup was an MSI install,I believe the Visual Studio recommended way is to use RemovePreviousVersions so that the old version is removed and the new one replaces it.

If you have the original files installed by an MSI, I think you can do it by using the same Upgrade code.

However, the best solution, assuming you have the original installer as a project, is to update the installer project with the new files, build it, and use the tools in the Windows Installer (Platform) SDK and create a patch.

With Windows Installer installs, you don't just want to overwrite files, you want to manage them according to component rules, and the systems they have provided to upgrade or manage patching.

What I actually have is an installed system that was not installed via an MSI that I need to update a couple of times a week. I really don't want the end-users to be able to uninstall the updates. I can mark all of the individual files in the update so that they are removed by the uninstall, but a) that's a pain and I might make a mistake, and b) it still leaves an item in the Add/Remove programs.