Vanilla Network Package Creation

[Ambient]

I've used Wininstall LE for many years to create snapshot packages, and not once have i had an issue with it.

 

I always use a totally 100% clean install of XP off the disk to create the snapshot.

 

In my last school (I was the NM), before i moved into a new job, i had literally every software package being deployed via Msi apart from Sims.

 

This meant that our RIS images were very small, and only included the OS and drivers.

 

So, +1 for correctly made Wininstall LE snapshot Msi's

[Arthur]

We should have a sticky thread for Windows installer tips, as posts like Norphy's are great. Here are a few more...

 

1. To obtain the latest version of Orca (currently v5.0.7693) directly from Microsoft without downloading or installing the huge Windows SDK, click the link below to download a 10.6MB .cab file, open it up and look for a file called WinSDK_Orca_Msi_5E20C107_DAA3_4D49_AFAE_7FB2594F0CDC_x86. Extract this file (you can drag-and-drop it to your desktop), rename it to Orca.msi and double-click to install.
    
   http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/6/A/A6AC035D-DA3F-4F0C-ADA4-37C8E5D34E3D/setup/WinSDKTools/cab1.cab
    
   http://i.min.us/ilVsoc.png
    
    
   
2. To run through an MSI without actually installing the software, set its execution mode to none. If you add /l*v Install.log onto the end, you can also find out what the installer does to your computer without any changes being made.
    
   

   msiexec /i "Sample.msi" [color="red"]EXECUTEMODE=None[/color] /l*v Install.log

   
    
   

3. To speed up the installation of large MSIs you can use the MSIFASTINSTALL property. This property is only supported by Windows Installer v5.0 (which means it won't be recognized by OSs older than Windows 7 or 2008 R2), but can be a huge time saver, particularly if an MSI contains hundreds/thousands of files.
    
   

   MSIFASTINSTALL=6

   
    
   

4. One little known feature of Windows Installer is its ability to read transform files which have been embedded into the MSI itself using programs such as EmbedTransform.exe. To get MSIEXEC to look inside the MSI for the transform, all you need to do is insert a colon before the name of the MST (look in the _Storages table of the MSI to find the name of the embedded MST).
    
   

   msiexec /i Sample.msi TRANSFORMS="[color="red"]:[/color]en-GB.mst" /qb!

   
    
   

5. Windows Installer also has the ability to install MSIs directly from a web server. HTTP and HTTPS protocols are both supported, although FTP isn't. This could be useful, for example, if you wanted to create your own Ninite-style installer.
    
   

   msiexec /i http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/sevenzip/7-Zip/9.20/7z920.msi /qb
   msiexec /i https://dl-ssl.google.com/edgedl/chrome/install/GoogleChromeStandaloneEnterprise.msi /qb

   
    
   

6. You have an MSI which includes advertised shortcuts, but want to convert them into standard (non-advertised) shortcuts when it gets installed. The easiest way to do this is to use the DISABLEADVTSHORTCUTS property.
    
   

   DISABLEADVTSHORTCUTS=1

   
    
   Left = Advertised Shortcut, Right = Non-advertised Shortcut
    
   http://i.min.us/ijIPFO.png
    
    
   

7. Universal Silent Switch Finder (Download Link). Although this program hasn't been updated in more than six years, it is still very useful if you need to quickly determine which silent switches to use with a particular installer, or you aren't sure what type of installer it is.
    
   http://i.min.us/ilVHLA.png
    
    
   
8. Universal Extractor. Another really handy program. This enables you to extract files from a huge range of installers and archives. The full UniExtract installer can optionally add a context menu to Windows Explorer which gives you the ability to right-click an installer and extract all of the files inside. It supports almost every installer there is, from InnoSetup and NSIS to Wise and InstallShield.
    
   http://i.min.us/ilZABY.png
    
    
   
9. To import the contents of a .reg file into an existing MSI/MST, the quickest way I have found is to use InstEd. Open up the MSI/MST, go to the Components tab on the left, right-click the component you want to add the registry entries to, select "Import .reg file" and then save the MSI/MST.

[Jamo]

It does work. Your internets fail.

 

doesn't work for me :s

[sparkeh]

doesn't work for me :s

 

Still working here. Odd huh?

[Hightower]

doesn't work for me :s

 

Watch out, someone might give you neg rep for such a bold and opinionated post!

[webman]

Another fail for our ISP

 

Works fine for us on the same ISP.

[Hightower]

Works fine for us on the same ISP.

 

Are you going through the same caches though?