Am I Crazy (answer = probably)
 

But seriously … has anybody else installed the Fix Pack 4 for Lotus Notes R8.5.1? I installed it on 2 machines today. And both times I experienced the following:
 

- Super long delay before anything appears on the progress bar (5 to 10 minutes … no, I’m not kidding!)

- Once installed, the version reported in the person document of the employee is “Release 8.5.1FP4″ … there is no “space” between the release number and the FP number like in previous fix packs.
 

Here’s a bit more details …
 

About the “Delay” …
 

After you start installing the Fix Pack 4, the Install Shield wizard starts as usual and you have to click “Next” a couple times … but at one point, this screen appears and nothing happens for 5 or 10 minutes. The users think it’s frozen and want to click on “Cancel” but if I check in the Task Manager, I see that “fixpack.exe” is busy chewing away the cpu …
 

 
So … what’s going on behind the scenes and how hard would it be to update the progress bar to indicate what’s going on? Is it busy uploading my mail file to somebody? Or scanning my hard drive for music? … just kidding … but seriously, what’s happening?
 

About the “Release Number” …
 

I have some private views in my Domino Directory to track down all the versions that we are using “in the wild”. So, I was surprised when I saw “Release 8.5.1FP4″ for my 2 newly upgraded users. Normally, there’s a space between the Release Number and the Fix Pack Number. However, with Fix Pack 4, that’s not the case. I opened a PMR with Lotus Support and they told me it was normal … really? Ok then … not consistent but normal … see below for examples.
 

For the 1st employee that I upgraded, you can see that there is a space between the Release 8.5.1 FP3 release number but not with FP4 (yes that particular employee has used a few version and many machines).
 

For the 2nd employee, there was no previous version listed in her person document … so here’s what it looks like.
 

Does it matter in the end? Well, not really … but so much for consistency …
 

Conclusion?
 

Well, there isn’t much to say … I just wanted to share this … maybe this will help someone somewhere (?).
 

Thanks for reading!
 

Marc

My New Addiction…
   

Right out of the gate, I have to confess to something: ever since I got Smart Upgrade to work correctly, I got addicted to watching the views in the Smart Upgrade Tracking Results database.  There is something oddly satisfying in watching the results appear in the database now that it just plain works. I really can’t explain it. So while I can’t say this thing is a “sport”, I have to admit that I’m watching it often … anyhow, I thought I’d share my new addiction with you.
  

You Mentionned Something About a Fix Pack I Believe?
     

Oh yes and that’s why I’m writing about it! As you all know, the Lotus Notes & Domino 8.5.1 Fix Pack 1 was released about a week ago. The technote with the links to the various versions of the Fix Pack 1 can be found here. A few of you have followed my two previous posts here and here on how to create a Smart Upgrade kit for the R8.5.1 client and are now wondering “How can I package an deploy the R8.5.1 Fix Pack 1 the same way?”. Well, here’s how I did it.
  

The Joys of Smart Upgrading a Fix Pack
 

Truth be told, Smart Upgrading a Fix Pack is a walk in the park. It’s a piece of cake. It’s … well, you get the point. Smart Upgrading a standard client is the equivalent of undergoing root canal without anesthesia in an airplane flying in heavy turbulence in my own personal opinion but Smart Upgrading a Fix Pack is so much easier that it dosen’t even compare. Smart Upgrading a Fix Pack is like getting a chair massage in the Certification Lounge at Lotusphere when your back really really really hurts from walking around with a heavy backpack all day … maybe the guys from the special forces can do that all day long without breaking a sweat but I sure can’t … and oh … wait I just remembered there were no chair massages this year!
  

Right out of the gate, you won’t need to use the Install Shield Tuner! So, with this simple fact, you just saved yourself from a few more gray hairs. And the command line? Simple too! So, how do you Smart Upgrade a Fix Pack? Well, download the presentation to view the steps. It’s fairly quick and easy and it just plain works.
    

How to Smart Upgrade the Lotus Notes R8.5.1 Fix Pack 1
  

Writing down step-by-step instructions in this blog post would take 10 pages so, instead of boring you to death with a super long post, I offer you my usual step-by-step slides to get it done. So simply click on the icon below to download the 82 page step-by-step PowerPoint presentation with the instructions:
  

Parting Words …
  

Please note that another blogger, Mr. Mick Moignard, posted a nice entry on his blog about an error message that said “Error encountered when installing Notes Hotfix Core component” when he tried to install the Fix Pack. If you ever run into this error, make sure to read his blog post on how to get around it.
  

Thanks for reading & have fun Smart Upgrading!
  

Marc
  

I hope this helps you!
 

Marc