The present solution addresses conflicts and incompatibilities between an installation and the files or components existing on a computer at the time and point of installation. The adaptive installation technique of the present solution performs real-time cross referencing of the files and components to be installed with the current environment of the computer where the application is to be installed. In this manner, only actual or real conflicts at the point and time of installation and in view of the current environment are resolved. The present solution dynamically adapts the installation instructions of the installer at the installer's run time to prevent or avoid conflicts and incompatibilities that may exist on the computer targeted for the installation. This adaptive technique adapts the installation instructions specifically for the computer environment at the time of install and s suitable for this computer.