Which of the following is NOT a method of software installation?

Which of the following is NOT a method of software installation?

• A. Online downloads with installers
• B. Online downloads without installers
• C. Physical media on a CD/DVD
• D. USB flash drive installation

Answer: (D)

Understanding how software gets onto a computer is about the process, not just the medium. An installation method describes a concrete procedure that ends with the software being set up and ready to use on the system. Online downloads with installers clearly fit this idea: you obtain an installer program and run it, following its steps to install and configure the software. Online downloads without installers describe portable versions that run without an installation process at all, so there isn’t an installation step to perform. Physical media on a CD or DVD also fits, because you use the contents on the disc to install the software. A USB flash drive, however, is a storage medium. Whether you end up installing software from it depends entirely on what’s on the drive: it could just hold files or a portable app, or it could contain a bootable installer that performs an installation. Without specifying that there’s an installer or bootable installer on the drive, the phrase describes the medium rather than the installation process itself, making it the option that does not inherently describe a method of software installation.

Understanding how software gets onto a computer is about the process, not just the medium. An installation method describes a concrete procedure that ends with the software being set up and ready to use on the system.

Online downloads with installers clearly fit this idea: you obtain an installer program and run it, following its steps to install and configure the software. Online downloads without installers describe portable versions that run without an installation process at all, so there isn’t an installation step to perform. Physical media on a CD or DVD also fits, because you use the contents on the disc to install the software. A USB flash drive, however, is a storage medium. Whether you end up installing software from it depends entirely on what’s on the drive: it could just hold files or a portable app, or it could contain a bootable installer that performs an installation. Without specifying that there’s an installer or bootable installer on the drive, the phrase describes the medium rather than the installation process itself, making it the option that does not inherently describe a method of software installation.