Force Managed Installations after Scripted Install has completed
We're currently deploying Windows 7 with our K2000 box without any issues at all.
I have a question however.
We also have a K1000 with a few Managed Installations. These install on the machines but only after the first proper checkin (which with out interval is 15 minutes after the installation has finished). That means that machine is sat there for 15 minutes not doing anything.
What I'd like to do is for the KACE Agent to run a Inventory and the Managed Installs as a Post Installation Task from the K2000.
I've tried adding a batch file to start "runkbot 4 0" and "runkbot 6 0" but this doesn't appear to work.
The batch file works fine once the desktop has loaded, but not during a Post Installation task.
Has anyone solved this?
Answers (3)
Although I never used it to kick off, K1 managed installs - I used to use a Startup Script (simple script copied to startup folder via a Postinstall Task) that forced a check-in to the K1000 on first boot. Presuming you last Post-Install Task is a restart & you have some autologons set in your unattend.xml that might work.
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I was thinking the same thing. Just using HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Runonce. I've never had the need to do this, but I would think it would work. - dugullett 12 years ago
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RunOnce seems to be doing the trick. I don't know why I didn't think of this before asking the question.
I've set the AutoLogons to 2, then my last two Post-Install tasks are a Restart with a 3 minute timer and then the following batch which add the commands for a Inventory Snapshot, MI Deployment and then another restart.
REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce" /v "K1000 Inventory" /t REG_SZ /d "CMD /C \"C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\KACE\runkbot.exe\" 4 0" /f
REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce" /v "K1000 MI Deployment" /t REG_SZ /d "CMD /C \"C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\KACE\runkbot.exe\" 6 0" /f
REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce" /v "Reboot" /t REG_SZ /d "shutdown -r -t 120 -f -c \"This stystem will automatically restart in 2 minutes to finalize the installation.\"" /f
The only problem I'm having now is that some MI's are failing using this method, however they install fine if the desktop is fully loaded. - Arcolite 12 years ago-
I'm doing something similar with mixed results. Sometimes the MIs install after a reboot, but other times they don't. I think it has something to do with the K1000 not having all the needed files (based on errors in runkbot.log). I've even tried a runkbot 2 0 and runkbot 3 0 first, but that has not helped. - dummptyhummpty 12 years ago
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That's exactly what I saw too. It's completely random.
I've moved to putting everything on the K2 as a Post-Installation Task. Not as easy to manage as the MIs on the K1, but it's reliable.
This worked fine before the 5.3 update. Since then it's hit and miss.
In 5.1 and 5.2 our Windows XP Scripted Installation would start installing the MI's more or less straight after then KACE Agent was installed.
Now on both Windows XP and Windows 7 the 5.3 agent takes at least two check-ins before it will install everything assigned to it.
I haven't been able to get any information from KACE. My sales contact at Dell has also been unable to get any support on this issue either. - Arcolite 12 years ago
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Maybe you can change the reboot time, and add the runkbot.exe 6 0 to the end of one of your installs. To check in again?
I started doing what you are doing when I first started. It seemed to be much easier to just add them to the K2. - dugullett 12 years ago -
I'm starting to think this might be the simplest solution in the long run.
runkbot 6 0 seems to be finished without being interrupted. I've tried it without the second reboot and the MI's still fail.
I'll start putting them in the K2 instead.
I guess I'll use the K1 MI's for pushing out applications inbetween build cycles instead. - Arcolite 12 years ago
I would look closer at the issue with the runkbot command failing as postinstallation task. Maybe some timing issue with the installation of the k1 agent?
Have you considered installing the software as K2 postinstallation tasks?
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We tend to only install software from the K2 if it's massive (because it's less stress to install Adobe CS5 from Script than via the KACE Agent!). Anything greater than 100mb we've got in the K2 already.
It's smaller apps like Google Earth or Paint.NET which are only tiny. It seems pointless putting them in the K2.
It could be timing maybe. The KACE Agent Installer has a START /WAIT infront of it so it shouldn't be firing the next script off until the Agent is fully installed.
My last try I split the batch into two now.
The first one, which runs directly after the KACE Agent has installed does "4 0", the second then does "6 0". Both with START /WAIT before hand.
That normally does the trick with everything else.
It seems as if the first script is running correctly as I see that a new inventory capture is uploaded just after the machine loads the desktop for the first time. However the "6 0" MI installation doesn't work. - Arcolite 12 years ago