Install software with cab archives

[Muji-FightR]

Hey folks !
I'm looking for a software for installing proggies like NSIS or Installshield (which is pretty expensive for private experimental use).
I really had very good experiences with Nullsoft Installer and some addons, but im lookin for an installer that can handle cab archives, just like many games (installshield can do this).
So there would be a .exe file with ~100kb and 2 cab archives with the files for the program on it, e.g. data1.cab, data2.cab,...
Is there a program that is for free (this would be great !) or not so expensive (30€+/-)...?
I dont want great UIs or graphics, just the cabs. I thought about doing it myself with c# but that wold take too much time (that i dont have ;) )

Any suggestions ? help appreciated !
THX in advance,
cheers muJi

[kosmiq]

Well I have no idea which IDE you are using but if you are using Visual Studio .NET 2003, .NET 2001, or Visual Studio C++ that installshield installer comes bundled with it.

Anyway, here are a few related articles from codeproject. I guess most of them could be easily modified to fit your demands.

http://www.codeproject.com/tips/installshield.asp
http://www.codeproject.com/dotnet/WebpartInstaller.asp
http://www.codeproject.com/netcf/PackagingAndDeployingPPC.asp

I hope some of them can be of help... :)
Otherwise you can also take a look in the forums over at www.cprogramming.com or ask around at codeproject. www.programmersheaven.com is also a great place to go.

[DABhand]

WinAce has a one also.

[Muji-FightR]

Is there a trial version of Install Shield ?
I only wanted to do 2 installs which wouldnt take more than 1 week
So 30 days trial would be enough...
Is there anything like this ?

I already tried WinRAR selfextracting and NSIS but they both cant do a setup and external archives with the data in it...

[kosmiq]

There is en evaluation version of installshield avaible. Go to the link below and see what you can do with it.

http://www.installshield.com/products/installshield/editions.asp