visual studio 2005 setup project from xp to windows 7

I've been developing in VS 2005 on an XP machine for the past 3 years. We're now getting new PCs with Windows 7. What I've noticed is my setup projects require admin rights to run. This is a problem for me because no users (including me) have admin rights, only helpdesk support staff.

I'd like to run my Windows installer setup projects without admin rights- is that possible?

Also, I'd like to continue to create installer files that users without admin rights can run. Is that possible, or will all my setups now need to be installed by someone with admin rights?

I've looked into ClickOnce deployment, but I don't have a web server available for installations.

Also, I've looked into dig开发者_开发技巧ital certificates, but I have no budget. Is there a way to get a certificate for free? All my applications are for internal use, and I understand these security issues are for web applications.

Is free deployment of internal applications no longer supported?

Thanks for your input,

-Beth

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It is possible to run Windows Installer setup without admin rights. Look at Single Package Authoring article for an overview how to create a package that support that. You can also prepare a package that will run only in non-admin mode. Note however, you will not be able to write to Program Files and other system-protected areas when installer runs in non-admin mode.

You can use self-signed certificate to add digital signature to whatever you want. The only thing is that this certificate will not be trusted by default. However, it's not issue when used internally: it can be installed as trusted on machines where it's required. See makecert.exe and signcode.exe tools.