Adobe CS3 silent install

[Lithium]

Can't say I'm exactly very happy with the either the support from Adobe, or the software installation process itself.

 

Quite a few people have insisted that they can install via MSI and GP now... but I can't find any guides on this... Does anyone have a link to the above solution in the way of deploying over Group Policy...

 

*gives a cheer* Yay for pointless errors!

 

Any solutions to Error 7?

 

I did the batch file way as part of a computer startup script (as well as racking the GP Timeout thingy to 8 hours - enough time to install...

[R.M.B]

Hi Lithium

 

You can deploy Adobe CS3 using Group Policy - here is how I have done it...

 

First I needed to be able to avoid using UNCs (\\name) - the install routine fails if you try this. So I made a temporary network drive (z:) that pointed to the Adobe CS3 subdirectory of the image of the CD on my server.

 

I ran -

z:\Setup.exe --mode=Silent --deploymentFile="z:\install.xml"

 

In the same directory as the install.xml is the application.xml.override file.

 

It is worth trying a manual interactive deploy on a machine first because the install routines does not log any useful failure reasons.

 

Things to beware of

1) The install checks the screen resolution - it WILL FAIL if it is less than 1024x768

2) The install checks for memory - you need a minimum of 384Mb

3) The install checks for Disk - you need at least 4.4Gb free on c:

4) It takes a very long time - You need to ensure that Group Policy does not time out. I ended up setting the timeout to 30 minutes!! (Even on new high spec systems with Gb network)

 

Hope that helps.

[Lithium]

manual installs all work :/

 

all the other stuffs are ok...

 

I have a feeling after an attempted look into the log file %commonprogramfiles%/adobe/installers that it's not taking my key, which is correct... so whether it's in the wrong place or what...

 

EDIT: posting ambitiously... I removed all but Flash, Fireworks & Dreamweaver from the isntall.xml file... and it's running (well... it has been for 5 minutes and Defender is shouting at me)

 

I might just put a copy of app.xml.or into every folder imaginable in the pitiful attempt to protect the remains of my sanity.

[TimH]

Things I tried to get this to work (some may well be unnecessary) !

 

1 Enter serial number without the dashes "-".

 

2 No blank spaces at end of lines in application.xml.override (placed in "AdobeMasterCollectionSuiteen_US_Volume" in our case)

 

3 Be aware of spaces and case(!) in paths.

 

4 Use setup.exe --record=1 to generate your own install.xml file - using supplied install.xml (in "deployment") didn't work.

 

5 Use command line like

 

path to..\Setup.exe --mode=Silent --deploymentFile=pathto..\cs3all.install.xml

 

I couldn't find a way to deploy as a group policy msi and trying as a startup script only installed the shared components, I assumed because being run as local SYSTEM - maybe a drive mapping or timout issue as mentioned above.

 

In the end, ensured rooms switched on and did roomfuls using PSexec to run the command remotely.

 

Tim

[tonymoir]

TimH, thanks you saved me a lot of time, the --record=1 worked a treat.

 

I am deploying by group policy, the install only works when run as a logged on user, they are idiots at Adobe, because they are using environment variables not available at startup.

 

So I use a startup script that looks like this:

 

C:\WINNT\system32\REG.EXE QUERY HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{60B28ECA-78BC-4D18-AB63-4A9A93BF881D}

IF ERRORLEVEL==1 GOTO Logon

IF ERRORLEVEL==0 GOTO END

 

:Logon

 

TITLE Add local install account

C:\Winnt\System32\NET.EXE LOCALGROUP Administrators domain\user /ADD

 

TITLE Set Auto Logon

c:\winnt\system32\REG.exe ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V DisableCAD /D 1 /T REG_DWORD /F

c:\winnt\system32\REG.exe ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V ForceAutoLogon /D 1 /F

c:\winnt\system32\REG.exe ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V AutoAdminLogon /D 1 /F

c:\winnt\system32\REG.exe ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V DefaultDomainName /D Domain /F

c:\winnt\system32\REG.exe ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V DefaultUserName /D user /F

c:\winnt\system32\REG.exe ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V DefaultPassword /D password /F

ECHO AutoLogonSet >C:\Winnt\AutoLogonSet.txt

C:\WINNT\system32\REG.EXE ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" /V "AdobeCreativeSuite3DesignStandardVL" /D "\\server\AdobeCreativeSuite3MasterCollectionVL\InstallAdobeCreativeSuite3MasterCollectionVL.cmd" /F

 

C:\Winnt\System32\SHUTDOWN.EXE /r /t 02

GOTO END

 

:END

 

The install script called InstallAdobeCreativeSuite3MasterCollectionVL.cmd looks like this:

 

C:\WINNT\system32\REG.EXE QUERY HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{60B28ECA-78BC-4D18-AB63-4A9A93BF881D}

IF ERRORLEVEL==1 GOTO Install

IF ERRORLEVEL==0 GOTO END

 

:Install

TITLE Install AdobeCreativeSuite3MasterCollectionVL

\\server\AdobeCreativeSuite3MasterCollectionVL\setup.exe --mode=silent --deploymentFile="\\server\AdobeCreativeSuite3MasterCollectionVL\deployment\custominstall.xml"

 

 

TITLE Remove local install account

C:\Winnt\System32\NET.EXE LOCALGROUP Administrators domain\user /DELETE

 

C:\WINNT\system32\REG.EXE DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" /V "AdobeCreativeSuite3MasterCollectionVL" /F

 

TITLE Remove Auto Logon

c:\winnt\system32\REG.exe ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V DisableCAD /D 0 /T REG_DWORD /F

C:\WINNT\system32\REG.exe DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V ForceAutoLogon /F

C:\WINNT\system32\REG.exe ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V AutoAdminLogon /D 0 /F

C:\WINNT\system32\REG.exe DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V DefaultPassword /F

c:\winnt\system32\REG.exe DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V DefaultDomainName /F

c:\winnt\system32\REG.exe DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /V DefaultUserName /F

 

:Restart

C:\Winnt\System32\SHUTDOWN.EXE /r /t 02

 

:END

 

This works on hundreds of desktops in labs, it is not suitable for use staff desktops of laptops due to the autologon required.

 

Tony

[bjd2k1]

Hi everyone I am new to posting here but I have read many solutions here that have helped me out. I am trying to install adobe cs3 on every machine in our building (we are on gigabit LAN). I created a batch file that will check to see if it is already installed before trying to install again. The silent install seems to be working somewhat, but it does not finish the install, it only installs about 3 components with no error messages.

 

Has anyone had any success installing this suite via GPO?

[ZeroHour]

Right I will get a full guide live within the next too weeks. The geek conference and V2 of the geek is taking up a lot of time right now.

Here is a deployment script though for you all to use.

Look for the {} tags to see what to change. It will try to log things in the event log using a function I made.

I have not actually tested it as we used WinINSTALL to call the command but it should work as is. Please remember adobe seems to assume your deployment path is in the "deployment" sub directory so you dont need to specify it.

My script does not test for path etc as Adobe can change reg keys and file paths with each bloody patch. Also unless you check each features file path (aka for photoshop.exe or indesign.exe) you wont be sure each feature is fully installed. It will create a tag file that it uses to determine if its installed but reinstalling using this method should *hopefully* work too.

setup.vbs

[richard.thomas]

Sounds like it'd be easier to make a new image and deploy that over the network!

 

We're getting CS3 soon- Thats the way we'll be making the install

[srochford]

Sounds like it'd be easier to make a new image and deploy that over the network!

 

We're getting CS3 soon- Thats the way we'll be making the install

 

We're now putting it in the image.

 

I've no idea how Adobe have made such a pig's ear of this installation process. I don't know if they are probably trying to use something similar for Mac and PC which would make it a bit more difficult but this is just rubbish!

 

I also don't know why it takes so long to install - it's not that big a package!

[plexer]

Oh great we have this.

 

I just tried to install it on a teachers laptop for him to use next week and the installer failed telling me it needed 1gb ram?

 

Ben

[plexer]

Also is it possible to get say the flash 9 msi to install without running it from setup?

 

Ben

[plexer]

Well it looks like setup.exe and the installer from the CD wants your machine to have 1gb of ram but if you download the installers from adobe, flash 9 and dreamweaver only state 512mb ram.

 

Ben

[NikChillin]

I installed this 6 months ago and it was a pig! In the end the only way to get it on the machine was to do a machine re-build. Apparently the install is supposed to uninstall previous versions of flash but it can't. I did try to do this manually but it kept failing. Finally went with the re-build option and installed it before any flash and it was fine. There are plenty of comments on the adobe support site..........

[Lithium]

I gave up with unattended installs in the end.

 

They work for <10 computers, when a room gets asked it messes up and usually ends up just installing the shared applications - which you have to remove before a new install actually does anything useful.

 

I did decide in the end to nick an image of the PC's with it all on so I don't lose sanity too badly next time

 

The installer from the DVD's we have wants 1GB, BUT... when run from the network source - it's entirely random as to whether you need 1GB or 512MB... I've installed it with 512MB in a room.... with identical PC's... but for some reason (I think because I dropped the stick on a carpet) 1 has 512MB... but it installed fine... go to another PC... no chance!

 

768MB is the minimum to install the LOT, but it'll have a moan at you.

 

I had deployed Flash via Group Policy using the licensing from the Adobe Site for MSI's of Flash & Shockwave - but this beast appears to have broken that too

 

http://www.adobe.com/support/shockwave/info/licensing/faq.html <-- if anyone needs a link (I think...)

[pixelpusher]

So I got the silent install to work fine over a network source but I would ultimately like to deploy from DVD. I can use variables to find the deployment file (install.xml) with the silent command line, but It does not seem to recognize variables in the xml file. I always get an exit code 7 and in the logfile it states that it can't find the INSTALLDIR location. When I use drive letters it works no problem. So even though I can run the DVD from any drive letter it will only install if the system disk is C: and the DVD drive is D: ... Does anyone know of a work around?

[techie08]

Did anyone find a resolution to deploying this silently? I have the master suite collection which has 4 dvds. Ive transfered all the payloads from disc 2,3 and 4 to the payloads folder that was on disc 1 (Disk 1 was copied to the server)

 

I still get the error code 7 when doing a silent install.

 

I can do a manual install of everything when run from the server share and it take 12mins.

 

Thanks

[Melissa]

Looking for help! I have a volume license for Adobe CS3 {mac} with serial number but I cannot locate the install discs. Can someone point me in the right direction- or do any of you have an install disc that I could loan?

 

Thanks!

[Arthur]

I've no idea how Adobe have made such a pig's ear of this installation process. I don't know if they are probably trying to use something similar for Mac and PC which would make it a bit more difficult but this is just rubbish!

Adobe actually outsourced the installer work to a company called Blue Flavor. It seems Adobe left it all to the last minute and needed something quick before releasing CS3.

 

In the summer of 2006, Adobe came to Blue Flavor with a unique challenge—to create a cross-platform solution for the installation user-experience of their flagship product Creative Suite 3 (CS3).

 

Using XHTML, CSS, and Javascript, Blue Flavor and Adobe were able to create a single installer which was not only the first to combine Adobe and Macromedia’s products, but also the first used for the individual product installations themselves.

 

While Adobe’s development team had in-house resources to complete the project, they contacted Blue Flavor to help them meet their rapidly approaching deadlines. We sat down with Kevin Stewart, Adobe Engineering Manager for the project, to talk about the CS3 Installer. About selecting a vendor, Kevin said, “several people in Adobe recommended Blue Flavor to our team based on positive past experiences. Once we looked at their portfolio and discussed our needs with them, Blue Flavor seemed like a good fit.”

 

Creating a cross-platform installer

Kevin explained the problem the installer development team faced: “Previous installers were custom-built and used platform-specific user interface controls.” An installer needed to be built for both Windows and Macintosh versions of the suite, which would increase the amount of work for the team. “The development team chose DHTML as the solution, creating a cross-platform installer built on web technologies like XHTML, CSS and Javascript. This created a more consistent user experience, making it easier to customize for various products and suite versions as well as reducing overall development time and complexity.”

 

But the fun didn’t end there. Blue Flavor provided some user experience and interface design help, working on the UI for drive selection screens as well as some heavy scripting. “The development team needed some additional expertise in implementing an engaging design to support the underlying functionality.” For example, the installer needed to use AJAX to control the experience of the installer, capture user data, and communicate back and forth with the user’s system. And of course it needed to support multiple platforms and systems, as well as be web standards-compliant and accessible to people with disabilities.

 

Adobe’s team was working on a fairly aggressive timeline. On top of this, the installer needed to be incrementally added into weekly builds and had several dependencies that were not yet finalized by other groups. By fully separating design from the underlying application logic, we were able to make dramatic changes to the user interface ito match the new Creative Suite branding requirements and satisfy various stakeholders within the organization. (Source)

 

The reason the installer takes so long to install CS3 is explained below...

 

Why the CS3 installer takes forever and a day, just look at this excerpt from the 71 meg log file it generates:

 

[...]

 

Yes, that is right. Adobe’s CS3 installer copies each file individually, then checks the proper GID and UID for the path to the file, and sets it. One at a time. It takes 45 minutes for this 4 gig install to process, while a Final Cut Studio installation of 2x the size using a .pkg installs in just 20 minutes or so (if you don’t install the extra files, just the single DVD-9 full of stuff). It uses an excessive amount of CPU time just to copy each file, doing a permissions lookup on each file, and then changing flags on each file. The most frustrating aspect of the Adobe Installer is that there is nothing it is doing that couldn’t be done with OS X’s built in Installer.app. I mean it is literally copying files from one relative path to a definitive path on the target volume. It is then making sure that the files have proper permissions and settings. And then it serializes the app from the application.xml.override file. Why was this *not* done with PackageMaker, which can do this faster, and probably have a postflight script written to check for the presence of the application.xml.override file inside the .pkg, and if it existed to install the files. It also has support for multiple packages, so the main package could have called the default smaller .pkgs for each app (photoshop, illustrator, etc.) and installed as needed. The added benefit of the files being in a .pkg is that Apple Remote Desktop already supports the installation of .pkgs remotely, without the need to run a unix command on the remote machine. (Source)

[Arthur]

Looking for help! I have a volume license for Adobe CS3 {mac} with serial number but I cannot locate the install discs.

If I remember correctly, when we purchased CS3 we could download a copy directly from Adobe's Licensing Website (in addition to receiving DVDs). I think our reseller gave us the details we needed to login.