Software Deployment

Sounds like you are using a legacy install command line (e.g. setup.exe + switches) to achieve your silent install?

Never heard of a keystroke combination to get a different installation config - but I'll take your word for it. Personally - I'd capture the install with the keystroke and make a tidy MSI package out of it - sounds like a fun one.

If it's a vendor MSI and you can create a transform you may be able to find a property or custom action which you can fiddle with to activate the alternative config but it I'd say it's pretty unlikely. If it is a vendor MSI you could log the install with the keystroke and you may get the answer... The vendor really should be able to offer more support but I wouldn't hold your breath...

Of course you could present the app via Citrix or virtualise it but that depends on the options you have in your environnment. I won't mention the possibility of a documented manual install as they really are dirty words around here - and rightly so.

Let us know what you end up doing [;)]

Regards,
Rob.

ORIGINAL: MSIPackager
Personally - I'd capture the install with the keystroke and make a tidy MSI package out of it - sounds like a fun one.If it's not already an MSI, then this gets my vote, too.

Well, I have extracted an msi from the exe package, and if I run it by itself, I am not able to use the keystroke. The exe also extracted a setup.exe file, and if I run that, I can use the keystroke. Also, the setup seems to have a different set of dialog boxes than the msi. It didn't look like it put anything else in the temp folder, so I am not sure what it is actually doing. I am fairly new to this relm of IT, so even if there is something you think I would have already tried, please let me know. This even has my coworkers stumped, though.

Does the setup.exe support command line arguements to pass throught to MSIEXEC ? I can't remember them off hand but you could try passing through /a to create an admin install - but it's a longshot.

If it was me, I'd capture the setup.exe install with the keystroke and ignore anyone telling me to NEVER CAPTURE A VENDOR MSI OR THE SKY WILL FALL IN [8D]

If the setup stub is an InstallShield-authored EXE, it *may* take the '/V' switch which will enable you to add switches which will get passed to MSIExec. Try

. SETUP ?V"/L*VX %temp%\quicken2008.log"

which should write a log file 'quicken2008.log' in %temp%. If you run the install using the magic keystrokes using that command line, my guess is that a property is set which the MSI then processes. That property will be present and set in this instance, whereas in running the MSI on its, it either won't be present or set to a different value. Equally, features and components installed may be different.