[Thomas Heller]
I was asking because I'm not sure if there will be problems with Windows file system protection with non-MSI installers.
I doubt it, and Python doesn't try to replace system files anyway. The Zope 2.7, Z4I and ZRS Windows installers are all written with InnoSetup, and nobody has reported problems with them; two of those include their own Python and win32all installations; I've tried all those myself on Win98SE, Win2K, and WinXP Pro. It's possible (don't know) that InnoSetup doesn't play "correctly" with XP system restore points. MSI does. I've found restore points to be an essentially useless feature, so I don't really care about that. If it were up to me (and it's certainly not!), I'd go with MSI at this point. I don't know how to drive that either, and am an advanced-level InnoSetup hacker, so that's not a self-serving position <wink>. The thing is that MSI is certain to play well with all Windows gimmicks (like Group Policy, install-on-demand, restore points, whatever new nightmares XP SP2 unleashes, etc), and free tools to make it palatable are appearing. For example, I've been told (but don't know) that this one is worth its weight in electrons: http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~dbareis/makemsi.htm