Silent install /r not recording

[szerby]

I am trying to built a ISS file to make a silent installation.

My install is very simple - no custom dialog boxes.

But when I do "setup /r" there is no ISS file recorded anywhere on the hard drive.

I tried "setup /r /f1"C:\users\xxx\desktop\setup.iss" just in case this was a windows 7 security issue. Still no luck.

Any ideas? Is this a limitation the express edition?

[DebbieL]

The silent response file is applicable to InstallScript projects in the Premier and Professional editions of InstallShield. Express projects (or Basic MSI projects in the Premier or Professional editions) do not create or read response files.

To run an Express installation silently, all you need to do is type the following at the command line:
msiexec /i Product.msi /qn

If your release settings include Setup.exe, you can run the following command:
Setup.exe /s /v"/qn"

I hope that helps.

[szerby]

Thanks Debbie. They should put a table somewhere with the differences between products...

My build is a single setup.exe

The Setup.exe /s /v"/qn" command makes the windows cursor flash a little, but no install takes place. IS there a log file somewhere that can help tell me what is happening? Is there a flag or another setting in Installshield I need to set?

[DebbieL]

To log the installation, use something like this at the command line:
setup.exe /s /v"/l*v \"c:\My Log File.txt\" /qn"

For more information on logging and the available command-line parameters, see the "Setup.exe" help topic in the InstallShield Express Help Library (available when you press F1 from within the InstallShield Express Edition). It's available in the Reference section of the help (Reference > Command-Line Tools > Setup.exe).

I'm not sure where you found out about the response files for silent InstallScript installations, but it is not documented in the InstallShield Express Edition Help Library. That help system does have a help topic called "Upgrading to the Premier or Professional Editions of InstallShield"; it lists functionality that is not available in the Express edition, but is available in the Premier edition or is available in both the Premier and Professional editions. Although that help topic doesn't list silent response files specifically, it does list that InstallScript support is available only in the Premier and Professional editions.

I hope that helps.

[szerby]

I cut&pasted that statement into my command line windows and I just get a dialog box that pops up labeled "windows installer" and this text.


Windows ® Installer. V 5.0.7601.17514

msiexec /Option [Optional Parameter]

Install Options

Installs or configures a product
/a
Administrative install - Installs a product on the network
/j [/t ] [/g ]
Advertises a product - m to all users, u to current user

Uninstalls the product
Display Options
/quiet
Quiet mode, no user interaction
/passive
Unattended mode - progress bar only
/q[n|b|r|f]
Sets user interface level
n - No UI
b - Basic UI
r - Reduced UI
f - Full UI (default)
/help
Help information
Restart Options
/norestart
Do not restart after the installation is complete
/promptrestart
Prompts the user for restart if necessary
/forcerestart
Always restart the computer after installation
Logging Options
/l[i|w|e|a|r|u|c|m|o|p|v|x|+|!|*]
i - Status messages
w - Nonfatal warnings
e - All error messages
a - Start up of actions
r - Action-specific records
u - User requests
c - Initial UI parameters
m - Out-of-memory or fatal exit information
o - Out-of-disk-space messages
p - Terminal properties
v - Verbose output
x - Extra debugging information
+ - Append to existing log file
! - Flush each line to the log
* - Log all information, except for v and x options
/log
Equivalent of /l*
Update Options
/update [;Update2.msp]
Applies update(s)
/uninstall [;Update2.msp] /package
Remove update(s) for a product
Repair Options
/f[p|e|c|m|s|o|d|a|u|v]
Repairs a product
p - only if file is missing
o - if file is missing or an older version is installed (default)
e - if file is missing or an equal or older version is installed
d - if file is missing or a different version is installed
c - if file is missing or checksum does not match the calculated value
a - forces all files to be reinstalled
u - all required user-specific registry entries (default)
m - all required computer-specific registry entries (default)
s - all existing shortcuts (default)
v - runs from source and recaches local package
Setting Public Properties
[PROPERTY=PropertyValue]

Consult the Windows ® Installer SDK for additional documentation on the
command line syntax.

Copyright © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Portions of this software are based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

[DebbieL]

Oops. Sorry about that. Try this:
setup.exe /s /v"/l*v \"c:\My Log File.txt\" /qn"

[szerby]

OK I got a logfile finally to generate with this statement:

setup.exe /s /v/qn /debuglog"C:\users\scott\desktop\silent.log"

With Win7 you need to save to a directory with proper permissions.

The last statement in the log is:

Setup returning 1603

- My application requires .net 4.0 and the install program handles detection and installation just fine. But it looks like it is failing in silent mode. The computer
I am testing on already has .Net 4.0 installed.

The log file also shows this:

"Skipping prerequisite 'Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Full.prq' because it was installed before the reboot"

Where next?

[DebbieL]

The debuglog contains information about Setup.exe. It doesn't contain information about the .msi part of the installaton. Can you try logging with the corrected command line that I posted, and then post both of the log files?

[szerby]

The new statement still just pops open the dialog box I described.

I tried changing the directory just in case with the same result.

setup.exe /s /v"*/*l*v \"c:\users\scott\desktop\My Log File.txt\" /qn"

[szerby]

OK - I might have missed the new line or something this worked:

setup.exe /s /v"/l*v \"c:\users\scott\desktop\My Log File.txt\" /qn"

Logfile attached.

[DebbieL]

The log file contains this:

MSI (s) (D0:38) [10:13:41:521]: Product: Snap Will -- Error 1925. You do not have sufficient privileges to complete this installation for all users of the machine. Log on as an administrator and then retry this installation.

When Windows Installer doesn't display the installation's UI, it also doesn't provide the UAC dialogs or elevate. To resolve the error, launch the installation silently from an elevated Command Prompt window. (Right-click the shortcut for the Command Prompt and then click Run as administrator. Then use the same command line to launch the setup.)

[szerby]

Thanks -

I would like to try another approach. Is there a way to pass command line statements to the msi like this?

MSIEXEC.EXE /i package.msi /qn+

[DebbieL]

If you build an .msi package instead of a Setup.exe file in InstallShield, you can use that sort of command line to launch your installation.

However, note that if you want to include an InstallShield prerequisite, such as the .NET Framework one that you are currently including, you need to use a Setup.exe file instead of an .msi package. The Setup.exe file is what checks target systems for the presence of prerequisites, determines whether they need to be installed, and then launches their installations if needed.

[szerby]

Where can I find the ALLUSERS property setting? I am trying to follow this guide:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Aa367800

[DebbieL]

The following help topic has info:
Per-User vs. Per-Machine Installations

Note, however, that installing the .NET Framework requires elevated system privileges.

[shreeni17]

hi DebbieL,

i have the same problem and when browsing i happened to see your response.
as you mentioned, silent response file is not applicable to Basic MSI projects.
i have developed a windows 8 driver and we need to provide silent installation support.
i have created the setup.exe for the driver installation using Basic MSI project.
does that mean that i will not be able to auto generate .iss file using setup /r ?
and,
InstallScript projects do not give option for "Project" -> "Device Driver Wizard". So how can a driver developer provide silent installation option?

please let me know how to proceed.

thanks,
shreeni

DebbieL wrote:
The silent response file is applicable to InstallScript projects in the Premier and Professional editions of InstallShield. Express projects (or Basic MSI projects in the Premier or Professional editions) do not create or read response files.

To run an Express installation silently, all you need to do is type the following at the command line:
msiexec /i Product.msi /qn

If your release settings include Setup.exe, you can run the following command:
Setup.exe /s /v"/qn"

I hope that helps.

[DebbieL]

Basic MSI projects have support for silent installations. If, let's say, you want end users to be able to configure two different property values when launching through the command line (instead of entering values through the user interface of your installation), your end users can use something like this:
Setup.exe /v"/l*v c:\test.log MYPROPERTY1=value1 MYPROPERTY2=value2 /qn"

[Nayeli]

I'm testing InstallShield because I want to create unatended packages intallation (MSI) from any kind of applications,

I have seen that only that app create the package or bring together all the apps but not to install the apps, I want ti know if InstallShield is like a WinZip, if not, How can I create completely silent MSI installer, not only bring together all the apps if not also the complete apps installation (wizards). Is it possible?