MSI's :) HEEELLLLPPPP

[Athlona]

Hi All I am a newbie here

 

Please could anyone help me with any advise on the best software to use to create MSI setups??? Also does anyone know of any good websites that could run through A to Z on how to create them...?

 

Need to MSI deploy ESM"ALAN" and Sims to over 300 PC`s... and lots of wonderful educational software too:o

 

Doing it manually would kill of off

 

WISE seem way to complex:(

 

Thanks...

HEEELLLLLPPPPP

[SYNACK]

AppDeploy is good, is has a really big knowledge base of applications and how to repackage them. As for software I usually use Winstall LE for repackaging. Its a little harder to find now but its free theres even an MS Tutorial. Edited January 14, 2008 by SYNACK

[sidewinder]

Winstall is good, but I would only recommend it for simple programs, definately not SIMS or anything

[ICTNUT]

I have found that you can deploy SIMS using the MSI deplyment method but then you get to have to do an upgrade BANG it all goes wrong.

 

As it ties into the .Net framework and various other bits you end up with a steaming pile of software that's no good for anything.

 

Clean install of SIMS everytime, may take you a while initailly but will save you buckets of time later...

[dezt]

I've just found a program called MAKEMSI, don't know if it's any good or not, but it may be worth a look.

 

I'm going to use it for some birchfield software that doesn't have a msi file...... grr birchfield.

[Athlona]

Many thanks for all your advise, I am going to try MAKEMSI, lets hope for the BEST:) I need it LOL

 

THX dezt

[Athlona]

Sorry but that software looks worse then WISE LOL

Which I didn`t think was possible...

 

But thanks anyway...

[dezt]

I'm going to try wininstall, makemsi is to complicated for me as well...

[Athlona]

Good Luck with WinInstall its no better...

 

They all seem way to complex to use...

 

Why so difficult I wish I knew...?

[K.C.Leblanc]

Another option might be to use Autoit.

[Guest Guest]

Once you get yoru head round it making MSIs is a breeze. Every peice of software we have is packaged up and ready to deploy. Took a while to get to this stage but now its done...

[K.C.Leblanc]

Once you get yoru head round it making MSIs is a breeze. Every peice of software we have is packaged up and ready to deploy. Took a while to get to this stage but now its done...

 

What tools do you use?

[Guest Guest]

WIWW - Windows Installer Wrapper Wizard -- For "wrapping" up exes inside of an MSI

RegMon & FileMon -- for watching whats happening when you install a program.

Orca -- for editting/generating a transform file from the MSi

Then for registry changes i usually do that via DesktopStandards PolicyMaker GP reg addon, which allows you to make reg edits via GPMC

 

Then occationally i have to use WinInstall, but tha vast majority of the time the above tools do it.

[PEO]

WIWW - Windows Installer Wrapper Wizard -- For "wrapping" up exes inside of an MSI

RegMon & FileMon -- for watching whats happening when you install a program.

Orca -- for editting/generating a transform file from the MSi

Then for registry changes i usually do that via DesktopStandards PolicyMaker GP reg addon, which allows you to make reg edits via GPMC

 

Then occationally i have to use WinInstall, but tha vast majority of the time the above tools do it.

 

 

fancy puting a 'how to' document togeather?

[dezt]

Help, I can't find wininstall le for download anywhere, does anyone have a download link for this that I can use?

 

I don't want to use the evaluation version of wininstall msi producer pro.

[Guest Guest]

fancy puting a 'how to' document togeather?

 

You cant really as every peice of software is differant, but basically your looking at;

 

 

How does the software work, does it communicate with a server? If so where does it store its settings? Does it have any other settings that need changing, again where?

 

For the above you can either guess, or use Regmon and Filemon to watch what gets written when you edit the config page of the software. Make a note of what, usually this will be in the registry so, as ive said, i use the registry GPO addon. If you cant use this then WinInstall has the ability to change/add reg setting. Or even a script will do the job.

Usual place for setting are;

registry - CU/software/[manufacturer]/[app name]

registry - LM/software/[manufacturer]/[app name]

%userprofile%\app data\[manufacturer]\[app name]

%programfiles%\[manufacturer]\[app name]

 

 

Now you've got the settings sorted you need to know does it need write access to any files and folders, or even registry as ive occassionally found, for temp files etc? Again Regmon and Filemon. I generally use CACLS in a script for this, but again you can use WinInstall iirc, to set the perrmissions on the folders. I use the GPO addon for perrmissions on reg keys.

 

 

Now hopefully you've got a program which will run and pull all the correct settings. Now time to take out any unwanted features like SplashScreens or file accosiations. This is usually achieved by editting or transforming the msi, i prefer to use orca for this. http://www.appdeploy.com is your friend here and will tell you exactly what to change. Think of the MSI as instructions on how to install the package which is (usually) contained within itself. ORCA lets you view these instructions (or tables as you will see when you open ORCA), so for example;

 

"Splashscreen = true" can be changed to false, giving you the obvious result.

 

You can write changes to the MSI with ORCA, or you can create a "transform file" which you link to the MSI in GPMC. The tranform file simply overrules any of the MSIs instructions you have changed. To transform in ORCA;

Import the MSI

Drop down one of the toobars and find "Generate Transform" (sorry i cant remember which toolbar it is) - make sure you perform this step now or else it wont work.

Make your changes to the tables

Save the transform .mst

 

 

One consideration is remembering when things execute. Scripts can run at computer Startup or user Logon. So if you need to point the program at a server share of the settings.ini or a database for example you have to make sure that when the MSI is executed it can see the file. If you have pointed it by use of a mapped drive letter it will not be able to see the file as drive mappings happen at Logon, while installing software happens at Startup ie before the drive is mapped. In this case you must use UNC paths ie \\server\share

 

 

But wait there, step back a second and think "Do i need to change any settings, or does the program work perfectly well as it is?"

If it does then all you need to do is deploy the package. But what if it doesnt come as an MSI?

If it comes as an EXE the likelyhood is the MSI is contained within it. To extract the MSI use 7zip or run a network/admin install of the app - usually done by running "setup.exe -a" from cmd. iirc iTunes is like this and actually contains seperate MSIs for both iTunes and quicktime within its setup.exe

 

 

If you find there is no MSI then you have 2 options;

 

Make a new MSI by using Winstall, either manually or by use of the before and after snapshot feature.

Or we can "wrap" the exe up in an MSI using WIWW, assuming the exe supports the silent switch - usually "setup.exe /s" or "/vs" or "/silent" or "/verysilent". This can sometimes be case sensitive.

 

Baically all you do with WIWW is point it to the EXE, tell it which switch to use to install, and which to use to uninstall (if availible) and "wrap it up", putting the newly created MSI in the same directory as the original exe and any cab files etc.

Again http://www.appdeploy.com will help you here.

 

 

 

The way i approach making MSIs is to look at the job as 2 steps; Getting the software deployed, and getting the settings done. As ive said i use the GPO addon for registry, and tbh you rarely need to change files so i generally focus on getting the app deployed and working at a basic level first, before moving onto sorting out the settings. But as you'll find you will probably stumble accross the settings part of the job as you are working out how to deploy it.

Edited January 14, 2008 by Guest

[Athlona]

Hiya j17sparky thats some very good reading many thanks...

 

I am spending all day Tuesday playing around with WinInstall what FUN:)

 

Thanks Again

[SimpleSi]

Once you get your head round it making MSIs is a breeze.

 

in no way shape form or otherwise is this statement true

 

It is the ultimate geekdom to do this - the chances of getting a return on intellectual investment is so slim that only a determined geek would do it

 

If you think you've saved time by doing this - you need a reality check!

 

Or - pop off to see Mr Hawking at Cambridge and ask him for a job

 

regards

 

Simon

[Athlona]

L O L

 

I Hate All This MSI Stuff

 

Will Someone Please find a program with 2 or 3 simple clicks of the mouse after that you have a MSI...???

 

:(

 

I think going around all 300 pc's will hurt my poor brain alot less then trying to make one simple MSI of ESM"ALAN"... L O L

[meastaugh1]

I don't mind MSI repackaging/authoring. To make a good MSI you need to know, or at least have a good idea what should and shouldn't be captured and included in the package. A comprehensive exclusion list will certainly help (see appdeploy for exclusions). On top of that, there are plenty of MSI tricks which you tend pick up over time/experience. The MSDN and appdeploy sites are invaluable packaging resources. I use a combination of Wise Package Studio and Orca.

 

If repackaging is oversimplified, you risk producing MSIs that have the potential to break other applications, or parts of the OS.

[ajbritton]

Must agree with those that repackaging to make MSIs is not a breeze. I've repackaged more than 200 education titles over the last few years (some with AdminStudio but most with Wise) and I would say that the breakdown of difficulty and time is roughly as follows;

 

15% - Trivial (30 mins to 1 hour)

45% - Moderate (1 to 2 hours)

35% - Difficult (1 to 2 days)

4% - Very Difficult (up to 1 week!)

1% - Not possible/practical

 

My personal view is the SIMS .NET should not be re-packaged partly because of the issue with regular updates and partly due to it's relatively complex nature and .NET dependence.

 

Having said that, here is a SIMS MSI creation utility.

 

EDIT: I've looked at the SIMS MSI mentioned above and it does appear to be a partially repackaged installation. I would suggest very thorough testing before using in a production environment.

Edited January 14, 2008 by ajbritton

[Athlona]

Has anyone repackaged ALAN/ESM exam software yet? If so what software did you use?

 

I have created a MSI of it but after the installation it keeps coming up with a DLL error, I have tried 4 times all with the same result...

 

I have made sure that the PATHs needed are correct in the registry.