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unattended install

fbachofner
2009-07-07
2012-11-13
  • fbachofner

    fbachofner - 2009-07-07

    Is there any way to perform unattended installs?  Can I specify the target directory?

    What installer are you using -- many allow for switches to make an "answer file" like Inno's /SAVEINF=

    Then, on later installs, one references the .inf file

     
    • fbachofner

      fbachofner - 2009-07-07

      Hi Christian:

      We put Notepad++ on each new machine we install.  It would be easy for us to make it the first program in the install sequence after the OS.

      But the question remains: how can we make an "answer file" so that we can automate subsequent installs on other machines.  If an answer file can NOT be generated, what switches can be used with the installer to specify language, installation folder, components to be installed and whether the program is to be run.

      Thanks for any insights!

       
    • cchris

      cchris - 2009-07-07

      Just thinking aloud. Perhaps the easiest way is to not use the installer, and instead extract from a .7z archive. Any script can probably drive 7zFM.exe thru command line. It will be probably simpler to extract all config files in Notepad++.exe's folder.
      The only trick left to perform is to register the shel extension. This is a plain call to regsvr32.exe.

      It now depends on which script language you are able to run on your new machine. See the 7zip documentation for the command line switches of the file manager.
      The script could even go to Internet to download extra plugins, or perform other customisation tasks. Again, this depends on the requirements and resources you have.

      CChris

       
    • Rob D.

      Rob D. - 2009-07-13

      I have not seen a good answer to this question anywhere yet, so what we do is run an install batch script that deletes all the plugins first, then runs the installer with the /s switch for silent, then copy back any plugins we want that are not part of the standard install (like compare and XML). That may not fit your need exactly, but it works. I can roll out upgrades with Altiris this way successfully.

       
    • cchris

      cchris - 2009-07-07

      I personally would recommend against unattended installs except on a new machine. The installer flags various pugin dll's as not compatible even though they are. If left unattended, it would delete the dll's or abort.

      CChris