Msi's

[rob101]

Hi all,

 

I have looked in most of the posts on msi creators, and am frankly lost, My real issue is im after a effective way of gettng new programs out to pc's but without having to reimage the entire room to do it.

 

I have found pushing out msi's with gp's to work well, but not all programs come as msi's so is there a very easy program i can use to covert .exe's into msi's?

 

Or can any one give some advise on the best way or the way they push out app's?

 

We are currently using Microsoft app v but find it very flakey and not realy up to the job.

 

Cheers

[BrianG]

InstallShield does the job, very well.. but it's costly.

[rob101]

InstallShield does the job, very well.. but it's costly.

 

Is it easy to pick up and use though? As i am a complete msi noob.

[Guest Guest]

WinInstallLE for snapshots (but imo this is a last option)

 

Tools i use are;

Windows Installer Wrapper Wizard (WIWW)

Orca

FileMon

RegMon

a permissions/ACL program such as subACL

and thats pretty much it. Most programs contain an msi nowadays (sometimes wrapped up in the exe), so all i need do (if anything) is use Orca to edit it.

If a program doesnt come with an MSI chances are all you need to do is pass "/silent" or "/vs" or similar. So then all you do is use WIWW to "wrap" up the command.

Any problems i just get filemon and regmon out and see what exactly is happening.

 

IMHO a firm understanding of how programs install and interact on windows is more benificial than paying for snapshot msi builders

Edited June 10, 2009 by Guest

[ricki]

Also have a look at windows install wrapper wizard VinsVision Downloads

 

Richard

[rob101]

WinInstallLE for snapshots (but imo this is a last option)

 

Tools i use are;

Windows Installer Wrapper Wizard (WIWW)

Orca

FileMon

RegMon

a permissions/ACL program such as subACL

and thats pretty much it. Most programs contain an msi nowadays (sometimes wrapped up in the exe), so all i need do (if anything) is use Orca to edit it.

If a program doesnt come with an MSI chances are all you need to do is pass "/silent" or "/vs" or similar. So then all you do is use WIWW to "wrap" up the command.

Any problems i just get filemon and regmon out and see what exactly is happening.

 

IMHO a firm understanding of how programs install and interact on windows is more benificial than paying for snapshot msi builders

 

 

That list scares me.

[Guest Guest]

Oh yeah;

 

7Zip to extract msi's from exes. Just open it asthough it was a zip file.

Also if you run "program.exe /a" you often get a network/admin install of the app, which in most cases spits out an msi for you.

 

BTW everything ive mentioned is free.

[K.C.Leblanc]

Advanced Installer is very quick and easy for writing MSis from scratch.

 

If all the program needs is a folder full of files in programs files, a few shortcuts and a registry entry to associate a filetype I find this the quickest way.

 

The other thing you can do is use PSEXEC to push out your silents installs.

[OverWorked]

See this thread on a the same topic

 

I use Wininstall LE to create the package initially, then Orca to tweak it if necessary.

 

Wininstall isn't too bad, but Orca is harder to learn.

[chrbb]

purgos! I can install msi and exe (with a silent switch) in minutes:)

[burgemaster]

advanced installer is really easy to use, i think you can create working MSIs with the trial also

[rob101]

Ok, im having a look at the advanced installer so far it seems very nice and easy, my first problem though is how do i give the msi a licence key thats needed for the install?

[chrbb]

Using 7zip I've just managed to install an exe silently that drove me mad today at work! Cheers J17Sparky:dance:

[swhymark]

Advanced Installer is very quick and easy for writing MSis from scratch.

 

If all the program needs is a folder full of files in programs files, a few shortcuts and a registry entry to associate a filetype I find this the quickest way.

 

The other thing you can do is use PSEXEC to push out your silents installs.

 

I have a few of questions:

 

1. Can the resulting MSI created by the 'Advanced Installer' be distributed by SMS, SCCM and GPO or is it more likely to work in one rather than another?

 

2. Can any MSI be edited, whether or not it was created in the 'Advanced Installer'?

 

3. Can PSEXEC be used to distribute any MSI and is it configurable?

 

Thanks all.

[Ambient]

I use WinInstall LE for ALL my Msi's...and it works great.

 

In my opinion, problems start creeping in when msi's are made (snapshots in this case) in a computer which isnt "clean".

 

In my case, i have a virtual machine (using Virtual Box) which i use to make my Msi's. When i make an Msi, it is done from a totally clean install of Windows XP, as if its only just been installed.

 

As i say, i've never had an issue with making an Msi fusing snapshot technology...I've even made one for VNC!

[Griff]

Another one for Advanced Installer nice and easy

[Newton]

Use Emco MSi builder all the time - its quick and simple...

MSI Package Builder - Create MSI ready for silent unattended install