Active Setup on a 3.5gb app
Hi,
Im re-packaging ArcGIS 9.2 and need to add some HKCU keys and files in the local userprofile. I have created an active setup and it all works fine apart from it takes around 14 mins for a user to login while the repair is running!!!!
I assume it takes so long as the app is doing a full repair using the 3.5gb source. I have set msiexec.exe on the stub command with a /fup switch and I have put the configuration updates in a new feature and component but still get the same results.
Can i tell the MSI just to repair the specific feature or is there any other way to reduce the time it takes to repair via active setup? I have had a scour around the message boards and although there is a lot re Active Setup, cannot find anything re a resolution to my problem.
TIA.
JK
Im re-packaging ArcGIS 9.2 and need to add some HKCU keys and files in the local userprofile. I have created an active setup and it all works fine apart from it takes around 14 mins for a user to login while the repair is running!!!!
I assume it takes so long as the app is doing a full repair using the 3.5gb source. I have set msiexec.exe on the stub command with a /fup switch and I have put the configuration updates in a new feature and component but still get the same results.
Can i tell the MSI just to repair the specific feature or is there any other way to reduce the time it takes to repair via active setup? I have had a scour around the message boards and although there is a lot re Active Setup, cannot find anything re a resolution to my problem.
TIA.
JK
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Posted by:
timmsie
13 years ago
you need to have a look at your feature structure and create a current user key feature at the top of the tree. This way it's only that small feature that will be repaired and not the child features.
there's a good description of this here
http://johnmcfadyen.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!9DD01136FC094724!123.entry
there's a good description of this here
http://johnmcfadyen.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!9DD01136FC094724!123.entry
Posted by:
jk01
13 years ago
I've already created a new feature for the current user info. The feature is at the bottom of the tree though. Does the repair go through the features in the order diplayed on the tree?
Posted by:
cygan
13 years ago
your hkcu feature will need to be the parent feature and all other features will need to be child features
hkcu - parent
feature1 - child
feature2 - child
feature3 - child
etc
etc
hkcu - parent
feature1 - child
feature2 - child
feature3 - child
etc
etc
Posted by:
jk01
13 years ago
The feature tree was displayed as :
Feature 1 - Parent
Feature 2 - Parent
Feature 3 - Parent
Feature 4 - Parent
HKCU - Parent
It is now configured as :
HKCU - Parent
Feature 1 - Child
Feature 2 - Child
Feature 3 - Child
Feature 4 - Child
I still get the same issue in that after i have installed the app on a fresh VM, and login as a new user, it takes 14 mins to login due to the active setup.
Any more ideas?
Feature 1 - Parent
Feature 2 - Parent
Feature 3 - Parent
Feature 4 - Parent
HKCU - Parent
It is now configured as :
HKCU - Parent
Feature 1 - Child
Feature 2 - Child
Feature 3 - Child
Feature 4 - Child
I still get the same issue in that after i have installed the app on a fresh VM, and login as a new user, it takes 14 mins to login due to the active setup.
Any more ideas?
Posted by:
mekaywe
13 years ago
why not create a wisescript EXE which holds the logic to add user specific settings i.e., HKCU keys and user profile files and install it in ur INSTALLDIR. Then point your activesetup to wisescript EXE to load user settings on next login.
Posted by:
kardock
13 years ago
or populate each HKCU when installing?
i do this as a last resort, but it works!
i do this as a last resort, but it works!
Posted by:
cygan
13 years ago
I still get the same issue in that after i have installed the app on a fresh VM, and login as a new user, it takes 14 mins to login due to the active setup.
do you have an advertised entry point ie a shortcut then you don't need to use active setup
Posted by:
pjgeutjens
13 years ago
...and login as a new user, it takes 14 mins to login due to the active setup.
Unfortunately I'm pretty sure a trigger in an active setup (msiexec /fu...) does not take feature structure into account during the repair. For this you need the trigger to be an advertised entry point (shortcut, AppId, etc..) that has an actual link to a certain feature, so there's a starting position for 'climbing' the feature tree.
If it's just for HKCU keys, and you have no option of an advertised shortcut, maybe running a script in Active Setup to put your keys in place would be a better option.
EDIT: just read you're also looking to copy files, but even in this case, considering the size of the application, a script might be the better way to go.
Rgds,
PJ
Posted by:
kardock
13 years ago
i still think the better way to do this is loading all HKCU and user data when installing. it's pretty easy with a script.
Posted by:
jk01
13 years ago
ORIGINAL: cygan
I still get the same issue in that after i have installed the app on a fresh VM, and login as a new user, it takes 14 mins to login due to the active setup.
do you have an advertised entry point ie a shortcut then you don't need to use active setup
I have several entry points as the package is a suite of 5 or 6 applications. I think i'll script the HKCU and file entries and add the script to the StubPath.
Posted by:
jk01
13 years ago
ORIGINAL: kardock
i still think the better way to do this is loading all HKCU and user data when installing. it's pretty easy with a script.
How do you mean??? Populate the HKCU profiles on install? What about for users who have ot logged into the workstation previously? Im confused.
Posted by:
timmsie
13 years ago
you could replace the shortcuts with launcher scripts that populate the current user keys, then launch the app.
you can add all the logic you need then, weather they already have the keys etc
you can add all the logic you need then, weather they already have the keys etc
Posted by:
kardock
13 years ago
you need to enumerate all users and load each user.dat file from those profiles. in these, default user will make sure that future users will also have the reg keys.
Posted by:
jk01
13 years ago
ORIGINAL: timmsie
you could replace the shortcuts with launcher scripts that populate the current user keys, then launch the app.
you can add all the logic you need then, weather they already have the keys etc
Good idea but would not work in my environment. All shortcuts are removed via GPO and app entry points are assigned via AD grp at user level.
Posted by:
timmsie
13 years ago
shame, I'd do what you suggested in post 11
It's interesting though, because although I suggested the HKCU feature solution. I've never been able to get that to work myself and am fairly convinced it doesn't work as described by the massively cleverer than I am mr mcfadyen!
It's interesting though, because although I suggested the HKCU feature solution. I've never been able to get that to work myself and am fairly convinced it doesn't work as described by the massively cleverer than I am mr mcfadyen!
Posted by:
itolutions
13 years ago
Alternativly you can zip your userpart (Better to use archive with Executable wrapper). in this case you have to copy zip during installation to ProgramFiles folder and unpack files during activesetup trigger by using silent switches.
Posted by:
nheim
13 years ago
Hi JK,
the solution, which was introduced by John McFadyen, doesn't work well on big MSI's.
The problem is, that there are thousand of components, which will be checked, when HKCU-feature is installed via AS (you can reduce the number of components, if you only use one component per directory).
We circumvent this problem with a small second MSI, which only contain the components (we just copy the components one to one over to the second MSI) which install the user stuff and one small feature to install the registry keys to set the HKLM-part of AS.
Then the two of them are installed with the deployment system.
Hope, this gives you some ideas.
Regards, Nick
the solution, which was introduced by John McFadyen, doesn't work well on big MSI's.
The problem is, that there are thousand of components, which will be checked, when HKCU-feature is installed via AS (you can reduce the number of components, if you only use one component per directory).
We circumvent this problem with a small second MSI, which only contain the components (we just copy the components one to one over to the second MSI) which install the user stuff and one small feature to install the registry keys to set the HKLM-part of AS.
Then the two of them are installed with the deployment system.
Hope, this gives you some ideas.
Regards, Nick
Posted by:
anonymous_9363
13 years ago
you need to enumerate all users and load each user.dat file from those profiles.That's the amateur route, but paradoxically horrendously complicated. To script properly would involve pages and pages of code (since you'd need to include lots of error-trapping). Active Setup is the way to populate current user hives.
in these, default user will make sure that future users will also have the reg keys.How many times? The default user profile is used ONLY when creating new, local users. Network users do NOT get copies of ths profile's entries.
Rating comments in this legacy AppDeploy message board thread won't reorder them,so that the conversation will remain readable.