What do I install?  Pretty much just the file format converters to allow Office 2003 to read files created with Office 2007.

(As an aside, the Office viewers normally only open Office 2003 files but if you install them and then install the converter, they will also read Office 2007 files.)

I’ve worked out an unattended install but for only one install it’s not really all that relevant.

For what it’s worth, this is the unattended install command:

Office2003-FileFormatConverters.exe /quiet /passive /norestart

This article is part of a series dealing with my standard system build.  It starts with this article and the post you’re reading now is directly related to this one.

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Having already dealt with service packs, Windows/Microsoft Updates and standard utilities, now it’s time to come up with a good way of handling these extra items.  I’ve set this up with our typical customers in mind and it handles the stuff we usually need.  Obviously once you get to this level there is almost infinite scope for how you might handle things.

For me, the main areas that I need are:

• Extra bits that support Microsoft Office 2003 versions
• Extra bits that support Microsoft Office 2007 versions
• Extra bits that might be needed on an ad hoc basis

A large percentage of the computers we handle here have MS Office installed so I’ve gone to the trouble of scripting the installation of the bits for these.  The more ad hoc extras, though, I’ve approached from the perspective of just knowing they’re handy when I need them and then manually installing as required.  We don’t often need these (maybe once every 20-30 times we use this build process) but when we do it’s much easier to have them at hand instead of having to download or find from some other install media.

Having dealt with this bit of background, the next three articles on this topic will go into more specifics on what I actually install and why.

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The benefit of using unattended installs is that all of these tools get installed with no interaction required on my part.  Just set it going and come back when its done.  How did I do this?  Largely be combining each silent install into a single batch file that does the whole install process.

Unfortunately, it’s not just a matter of doing a cut and paste on each item.  In order to do this properly I need to work out which operating system I’m dealing with.  For example, there’s no point trying to install Sidebar Gadgets under Windows XP.

I’ve also found that the launcher I’m currently using does not retain any useful path information.  That means that in order to get things working properly I first have to identify what driver letter the batch file was called from and then ensure that I keep all paths correct from that point.

Working out operating system and drive path has already been discussed earlier in my article about an automated install of Windows Service Packs, check there for further background.

Where does that leave us?  Ready to take a look at the finished result for handing installation of all the standard utilities that I include in my build disc.

At this point I should also note that this batch file really doesn’t do enough error checking for my liking.  It should check if any of the standard utils are already installed before going ahead and installing them.  In my own workshop, this isn’t as much an issue as we only use this particular installer in certain circumstances (on a new computer or on a computer that we’ve just done a clean rebuild on).  In these circumstances, we already know what software is installed and, for us, there are rarely conflicts with these standard utils.

If anyone has a good way of doing the error checking here I’d love to hear from you (my thought is to check either registry keys or particular .exe’s that form part of the relevant util’s install).

So, here’s my complete batch file:

@ECHO OFF
 
echo **************************************
echo * Build DVD - 28 March 2009          *
echo *                                    *
echo * Software Installers                *
echo **************************************
 
echo.
echo Checking drives for build disc...

rem ==========================================================
rem * When this batch file is launched it                    *
rem * doesn't retain a path and, therefore, can't find any   *
rem * of the stuff it's supposed to install.  This routine   *
rem * is used to locate the DVD that contains the required   *
rem * information.                                           *
rem *                                                        *
rem * The batch file works in Vista but currently benefits   *
rem * from having UAC disabled.  Working on a future version *
rem * that will copy with UAC being enabled.                 *
rem ==========================================================
 
SET CDROM=
SET Temp1=%Temp%.%~n0%Random%1.reg
SET Temp2=%Temp%.%~n0%Random%2.reg
START /WAIT REGEDIT /E %Temp1% "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMMountedDevices"
TYPE %Temp1% > %Temp2%
TYPE %Temp2% | FIND "\DosDevices\" | FIND /V "\DosDevices\A:" | FIND "=hex:5c," > %Temp1%
FOR /F "tokens=3 delims=:" %%A IN (%Temp1%) DO CALL :ParseDrive %%A
DEL %Temp1%
DEL %Temp2%
SET Temp1=
SET Temp2=
 
echo Build Disc Found: %CDROM% drive.
 
cd /d %CDROM%:
 
GOTO:FindOSVer
 
:ParseDrive
IF EXIST %1:buildversion.txt (
SET CDROM=%1
)
GOTO:EOF
 
:FindOSVer

rem ==========================================================
rem * This batch file supports Vista and XP - need to work   *
rem * out which one we're dealing with.                      *
rem ==========================================================
 
echo.
echo Checking Windows Version...

rem ==========================================================
rem * Test for Windows XP here...                            *
rem ==========================================================
 
ver | find /i "Windows XP" > nul
if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 (
echo Build running - Windows XP Version
set OSVER=5
goto XP1
)

rem ==========================================================
rem * Test for Windows Vista here...                         *
rem ==========================================================
 
ver | find /i "Version 6" > nul
if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 (
echo Build running - Windows Vista Version
set OSVER=6
goto Vista1
)
 
goto Unsupported
 
echo.

rem ==========================================================
rem * Install XP-only pre-requisite software - basically,    *
rem * any dependencies for other software that may not be    *
rem * installed already.                                     *
rem ==========================================================
 
:XP1
 
echo Installing Windows Installer v3.1 ...
start /wait .InstallersWindowsInstaller-KB893803-v2-x86.exe /quiet /norestart

rem ==========================================================
rem * Install software compabible with XP and Vista.         *
rem ==========================================================
 
:Vista1
 
echo Installing .NET Framework 3.5 ...
start /wait .Installersdotnetfx35.exe /passive /norestart
 
echo Installing 7-Zip v4.65 ...
start /wait .Installers7z465.exe /S
 
echo Installing K-Lite Codec Pack v4.7.5 (Corporate) ...
start /wait .Installersklcodec475c.exe /verysilent /norestart /loadinf".Installersklcpc.ini"
 
echo Installing Paint.NET v3.36 ...
start /wait .InstallersPaint.NET.3.36.exe /auto /CHECKFORUPDATES=0 DESKTOPSHORTCUT=0 "PROGRAMSGROUP=Utilities"
 
echo Installing PDF Creator v0.9.7 ...
start /wait .InstallersPDFCreator-0_9_7_setup.exe /SP- /VERYSILENT /NOCANCEL /NORESTART /LOADINF="./Installers/pdfinf.inf"
 
echo Installing Citrix Client ...
start /wait .InstallersIca32Web.msi /passive /norestart
 
echo Installing Google Earth v5.0 beta ...
start /wait .InstallersGoogleEarth-5.0.11337.1968.exe /S /v/qn
 
echo Installing Mozilla Firefox v3.0.8 ...
start /wait .InstallersFirefox_3.0.8.exe /S /ira
 
echo Installing Sun J2SE Runtime Environment v6 update 13 ...
start /wait .Installersjre-6u13.exe /quiet /norestart
 
echo Installing Adobe Flash v9 and Shockwave v10 Players ...
start /wait .InstallersAdobeFlashPlayer_ie_v9.exe /S
start /wait .InstallersAdobeFlashPlayer_moz_v9.exe /S
start /wait .InstallersAdobeShockwave_v10.exe /S
 
echo Installing Windows Live Messenger v8.5
start /wait .InstallersWLSetup.exe /silent /configfile: .InstallersWLSetup.txt
 
echo Installing Google Toolbar v4.0 for IE (Enterprise) ...
start /wait .InstallersGoogleToolbarInstaller.msi /passive /norestart
 
echo Installing MS SyncToy Power Toy ...
start /wait .InstallersSyncToySetup.msi /passive /norestart
 
echo Installing Westnet Sign-up Tool ...
start /wait .InstallersWestnetD461.exe /S /v/qn
 
echo Installing CrossLoop ...
start /wait .Installerscrossloopsetup.exe /VERYSILENT /SP-

rem ==========================================================
rem * Install XP-only software                               *
rem ==========================================================
 
if %OSVER% equ 6 goto Vista2
 
echo Installing Windows Media Player v11 ...
start /wait .InstallersXP_WiMP11.exe /Q:A /C:"SETUP_WM.EXE /Q:A /R:N /P:#e"
 
echo Installing PowerToys for XP ...
start /wait .InstallersXP_ClearTypePowerToy.exe /S /v/qn
start /wait .InstallersXP_TaskSwitchPowerToy.exe /S /v/qn
 
echo Installing Eye Candy ...
@xcopy .Installers3DWindowsXP.scr %SystemRoot%system32 /q /y
start /wait .InstallersXP_Royale_Theme.exe /S /v/qn
 
echo Installing Additional Windows XP Tools ...
start /wait .InstallersXP_Uninstall_MS_JVM.exe /Q
start /wait .InstallersXP_WindowsRightsManagementServicesSP2-KB917275.exe /S /v/qn
start /wait .InstallersXP_KB925876.exe /quiet /norestart
start /wait regedit /s .InstallersXP_Reg_Hacks.reg
 
if %OSVER% equ 5 goto Finish

rem ==========================================================
rem * Install Vista-only software                            *
rem ==========================================================
 
:Vista2
 
echo.
echo Copying Vista Sidebar Gadgets (current user profile only)
echo.
echo   -o- CPU Utilization Gadget
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebarCPUUtilization v1.2.0.2.Gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsCPUUtilization v1.2.0.2.Gadget" /e /i /c /q
echo   -o- Drive Info Gadget
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebarDriveInfoByChris.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsDriveInfoByChris.gadget" /e /i /c /q
echo   -o- iWeather Gadget
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebariWeather.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsiWeather.gadget" /e /i /c /q
echo   -o- Memory Meter Gadget
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebarMemoryMeter.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsMemoryMeter.gadget" /e /i /c /q
echo   -o- Neptune Digital Clock
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebarNeptuneDigitalClock.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsNeptuneDigitalClock.gadget" /e /i /c /q
echo   -o- SysShutdown.gadget...
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebarSysShutdown.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsSysShutdown.gadget" /e /i /c /q
 
goto Finish

rem ==========================================================
rem * Failed to find valid operating system.                 *
rem ==========================================================
 
:Unsupported
 
echo.
echo ERROR: Operating system not supported.
echo        (Windows XP and Windows Vista only)
pause

rem ==========================================================
rem * Pause to permit whoever is doing the installs to check *
rem * for any install errors that may have occurred and give *
rem * path to installers if any manual installs are needed.  *
rem ==========================================================
 
:Finish
 
echo.
echo Installs Complete.  Please check output for any error indicators.
echo.
echo If needed, re-install manually from %CDROM%:Installers.
echo.
pause

There you have it.  The next step in this journey is handling the extra stuff that may be needed depending on other software (e.g. if a system has Office 2003 installed, what extra bits do we install?).

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A sidebar gadget lives in it’s own separate directory (that might have sub-directories), all the files needed for that gadget live in that directory.  Vista then stores these gadget directories in a number of places, each offering a different level of visibility on the computer.

Some gadgets are stored in

C:Program FilesWindows SidebarGadgets

These are accessible on all user accounts on the computer.  Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find a reasonably reliable way to work around the various security systems that prevent a batch file from putting data into this directory (UAC and other protections exist for copying data into the Program Files directory in Vista).

Gadgets that are only visible to a particular user of a computer are stored in

%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgets

and this directory is far more accessible for a batch file.

While I’d prefer to install my standard gadgets in a globally accessible location, this would require me to have a less automated approach.  The whole idea of an unattended install is to keep it unattended.  Therefore, I’ve chosen, for now, to go with the user profile location for gadgets on the basis that most of the computers we deal with really only have one normal user set up on them anyway.

Microsoft seems to prefer that we don’t download the installers for our sidebar gadgets but, rather, install directly from the web.  This also doesn’t help for a silent install.  While there are undoubtedly other solutions to this problem, in the end I did some experimenting and found that you can just copy the whole directory for an installed gadget to the correct directory on another computer and it will work.

So, I grabbed all my ‘standard’ gadgets out of “%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgets” and then use this command to install to a new computer:

@xcopy ".CPUUtilization v1.2.0.2.Gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsCPUUtilization v1.2.0.2.Gadget" /e /i /c /q
@xcopy ".DriveInfoByChris.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsDriveInfoByChris.gadget" /e /i /c /q
@xcopy ".iWeather.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsiWeather.gadget" /e /i /c /q
@xcopy ".MemoryMeter.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsMemoryMeter.gadget" /e /i /c /q
@xcopy ".NeptuneDigitalClock.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsNeptuneDigitalClock.gadget" /e /i /c /q
@xcopy ".SysShutdown.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsSysShutdown.gadget" /e /i /c /q

Once copied, these gadgets can be added to the sidebar normally.  I haven’t tried to automate adding them to the sidebar display yet – mostly because the final step on our build process is running through the Control Panel and finalising some other configuration options as well as doing a QA on the build.  It doesn’t add much to this process to manually add the relevant sidebar gadgets.

(This article is part of a series about the build disc I use to standardise system builds. The series starts here and this particular article follows on from this one.)

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Along with the standard utilities I install, there’s also a selection of little registry hacks that I’ve chosen to standardise on.  I should note that this is by no means an exhaustive list of possibilities.  I’d also note that my agenda here is to keep things relatively “normal looking” for the customer.  As a result, I only really do a few small things that, in my opinion, enhance XP rather than substantially alter how it operates.

Integrating registry changes is fairly simple in XP.  First up, you need the changes saved out to a file (e.g. reghacks.reg).  Here is the one I use.

This file has to have a certain format in order for this to work.  This MS knowledge base article provides details about the syntax of a .reg file and also includes details about how to add, modify and delete registry keys.  This KB article was the basis of my implementation:

regedit /s .InstallersXP_Reg_Hacks.reg

There are heaps of sites that offer registry hacks to achieve different results.  As with many things, Google can be your friend in finding the ones you want.

(This article is part of a series about the build disc I use to standardise system builds. The series starts here and this particular article follows on from this one.)

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This is basically the theme used for Media Centre editions of Windows XP.  At various times, it has been made available for download directly from Microsoft (particularly Microsoft New Zealand who also released some NZ-theme wallpapers).  Wikipedia has a pretty good explanation if you’d like more information.  Currently, most of these links appear not to be working.  The Royale Theme can, however, still be downloaded here.

There are also a number of derivations on Royale (including Royale Noir).  Personally, I haven’t really worried about chasing any of these down.  I’m happy to go with the standard Royale theme.

I usually also install the 3D Windows XP screen saver at the same time.  In this case, I’ve extracted just the .scr file and install it using a simple copy command.

The install I use for this eye candy is:

XP_Royale_Theme.exe /S /v/qn
@xcopy .3DWindowsXP.scr %SystemRoot%system32 /q /y

(This article is part of a series about the build disc I use to standardise system builds. The series starts here and this particular article follows on from this one.)

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Microsoft released a series of small utilities for Windows XP under the banner of PowerToys.  They don’t seem to have an equivalent for Vista so I only install these on Windows XP.

The actual tools I’ve chosen to install are:

• ClearType PowerToy – adds a control panel applet to set/tweek ClearType settings.  Now that most computers use LCD monitors this is a valuable tool to have around.
• TaskSwitch PowerToy – changes the ALT-TAB task switch functionality to add a slightly more graphical interface.  This is certainly nothing like what can be achieved under Vista but is at least a little more intuitive than the standard capability in XP.

Microsoft’s PowerToys are available here.

For the two tools I install, this is how I do it:

XP_ClearTypePowerToy.exe /S /v/qn
XP_TaskSwitchPowerToy.exe /S /v/qn

(This article is part of a series about the build disc I use to standardise system builds. The series starts here and this particular article follows on from this one.)

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CrossLoop forms part of the customer support strategy I use in the business.  It lets us do a remote desktop connection to a customer computer using, essentially, a custom VNC client.  The biggest advantage is that CrossLoop seems to be able to navigate through NAT routers and firewalls with ease.  I plan to write a full article later on the use of CrossLoop.  This one just deals with achieving a silent install.

The download for CrossLoop is here.

My unattended install works like this:

crossloopsetup.exe /VERYSILENT /SP-

(This article is part of a series about the build disc I use to standardise system builds. The series starts here and this particular article follows on from this one.)

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Vista has WiMP 11 included so this really only applies to Windows XP. My workshop still does enough work on Windows XP to warrant inclusion of this package – if only on the basis of reducing the Windows Update downloads.

The download for WiMP v11 is here.

The install command I use is:

XP_WiMP11.exe /Q:A /C:”SETUP_WM.EXE /Q:A /R:N /P:#e”

I believe I originally obtained this particular setup out of an one of the last working AutoPatcher downloads before Microsoft rained on their parade.  There’s quite possibly a more recent version now but this still works, and, in combination with Heise Offline Updates covers my requirements. YMMV.

(This article is part of a series about the build disc I use to standardise system builds. The series starts here and this particular article follows on from this one.)

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A nice little free tool from Microsoft that lets you synchronise data between your computer and a USB pen drive (actually, it will work between other directories too).

The most recent version I can find is SyncToy v2.0 which can be downloaded here.

The silent install for SyncToy is:

SyncToySetup.msi /passive /norestart

(This article is part of a series about the build disc I use to standardise system builds. The series starts here and this particular article follows on from this one.)

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