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Ever wonder what really goes on during a software installation? When you click Next, Next, Finish, what really happens under the covers while you watch that progress bar slowly creep from left to right? The reality is probably far less interesting than you'd think. At its core, a software installation is little more than a really big file copy, along with a set of registry changes.

Indeed some installations perform special activities like installing drivers or registering ActiveX controls. But at the end of the day, even these 'special' activities are still not much more than file copies and registry updates. I wrote an article for this site not long ago titled. In that article, I talked about some of the ways to automate this process. In every way, one of the biggest tasks is in getting that software installation to run silently.

In a silent installation, everything that happens after you initiate the installer occurs without interactively prompting the user.

Some dialog boxes might pop up, but they'll disappear on their own. Eliminating anything that requires the user to enter data or click a button is what makes a silent installation so powerful for automating software installation.

That power comes in distributing software through an automated tool. Many of such tools exist on the market today, including one that's built directly into Active Directory Group Policy. Using Group Policy Software Installation or any of the other solutions in combination with a silenced installation, you can fully eliminate all the time-consuming manual steps required for handling your user's software.

Today's software installations are most commonly distributed with one of two file extensions. Silencing the first, those with. EXE extensions, tends to be a slightly more challenging process. EXE-based installations do not have a universal switch structure for sending instructions to the installer as it goes about an installation. Installations with the other file extension, MSIs, tend to be much easier. That's the case because MSI-based software installations all share in a universal switch structure.

Sending instructions to an MSI-based software installation requires learning only a single syntax. That syntax looks generally like this:. This command can similarly be used for patching or uninstalling software as well. This is the most important switch for instructing an installation to run silently. You can insert a full path into logfile.

While this switch is functionally optional, the log file data it produces becomes invaluable in troubleshooting an installation that doesn't complete correctly. Since the installation is silenced, the data in this log file often contains the only clues you'll ever get about what problems the installation is experiencing. This UNC path support is extremely useful, because it enables you to store your software installation files on a file server somewhere and invoke them over the network.

While every MSI leans on a universal structure for sending commands to the Windows Installer, every installation is obviously different. Installing Adobe Acrobat, for example, requires an entirely different set of questions than does installing Microsoft Exchange. This final switch identifies those specific characteristics that are unique to each MSI installation by name and value, and enables you to set them at the command line.

So, for example, if you wanted to install the Adobe Flash Player to your desktop and had the correct MSI available, you might do so with the following syntax:. Where did that come from? As I mentioned earlier, each MSI has its own custom name and value pairs that answer questions the installation requires.

Those pairs might identify an install folder, or add a license key, or in this case instruct the installer to prevent a post-installation reboot. The hard part with these name and value pairs, as you can surmise, is in discovering what they actually are. One published method to do this requires downloading the Orca database editor from Microsoft. This database editor has the ability to peer into an MSI to identify its characteristics.

It can also edit those characteristics as a highly-advanced function, although doing so is an exceedingly complex activity. In fact, even getting the Orca software requires multiple steps. NET Framework 4. Once downloaded, install the SDK's debugging tools. Double-click this file to install it to your management desktop. Once within Orca, you can open an MSI and peer around to locate its custom settings.

Remember that MSIs are above all big databases of content and configurations that apply files to disk drives and keys and values to registries. Orca exposes these databases for what they really are. Inside every MSI is a table called Property. That table identifies all the properties that are tagged to an installation. The name and value pairs discussed above are in fact properties along with their values as seen in Orca. Its value defaults to Yes.

For this one, change its value to No. Just about any property you see in this table can be adjusted at the command line as you execute msiexec to kick off an installation. While this method is the comprehensive approach, it is also the time-consuming approach. Another alternative is to simply search the Internet for clues that others have found. A popular website that contains installation hints for many common software packages is www. A growing number of software companies also recognize the need to provide silencing information about their installation packages.

A second alternative is to find a software repackaging solution that handles much of this work for you. These solutions incorporate a range of tactics to gather the necessary silencing and customization information with the goal of presenting it in meaningful ways.

MSI packaging solutions can be found by many third-party companies with a range of price points and feature sets. One final element of MSI installations merits discussion.

This element consolidates a series of property changes and other MSI reconfigurations into a single file. An MST, or transforms file, is commonly used when an MSI's configuration database requires large scale changes to prepare itself for installation. Rather than requiring you to enter a long list of alterations at the command line, a transforms file consolidates changes into a single file that is invoked at the command line.

Creating your own transforms typically requires the use of a software. At the end of the day, getting a software installation packaged for silent installation is only the first step. It can also be arguably the most difficult step. One packaged, you'll need a software deployment solution to execute the command you've created on entire groups of computers at once. Or, since this is a command line, you can keep walking the halls.

Except this time you're not clicking Next, Next, Finish; you're typing long command strings into each computer's Run prompt. Sign up today to participate, stay informed, earn points and establish a reputation for yourself! Log in. That syntax looks generally like this: msiexec.

So, for example, if you wanted to install the Adobe Flash Player to your desktop and had the correct MSI available, you might do so with the following syntax: msiexec. Sleuthing for Custom Properties As I mentioned earlier, each MSI has its own custom name and value pairs that answer questions the installation requires. Transformers One final element of MSI installations merits discussion. The generic use of a transforms file follows this structure: msiexec.

Creating your own transforms typically requires the use of a software Packaging is Art. Deployment is Science. My advice: Get a software deployment solution.

Posted 10 years ago views. Comments When I try to do a silent install using the below, it keeps showing the install wizard to click next, any suggestions? In your example RebootYesNo is a private property. Private properties cannot be passed via a command line. You would need to use a transform to set RebootYesNo. I recently wrote a tool that pragmatically creates the scripts necessary for installing and uninstalling an MSI. It does this by reading the Windows Installer Database and searching for the correct switches.

It can be downloaded from my Blog I recently wrote a tool that automates the creation of MSI install scripts. The app produces six scripts 3 install and 3 uninstall, in each of the following languages, PowerShell, VBS and Batch.

The app creates these scripts by reading the Windows Installer database and looking for the relevant information. Blass 7 years ago. I am trying to write silent installation script for my company software. But that software is only in exe file format. I tries these above option but its not working for me.

Its still asking to click next button and then accept license. I am using chef tool for automation. Can you please tell me how can I write script for exe file and can do silent installation. And one more thing how can I set and able to know about custom name and value pairs. Search this site for the application name and see if there's any tips or tricks.