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 standard build needs to be able to be standardised.  This means installing the same programs every time.  With a standard install, you have to hit the “Next” button regularly and make other selections to get the software installed. This can become long and involved, it takes time.  When you get busy, things get missed.

The goal for getting this installation standardised was to have all of these tools work as a silent/unattended install.  The combination of this, and a scripted install, means that you can get through the complete install with minimum interaction.

Our current standard install includes:

• 7 Zip
• K-Lite Codec Pack – Corporate Version
• Paint.NET
• PDF Creator
• Citrix Client
• Google Earth
• Firefox
• Java Run-time Environment
• Adobe Flash Player
• Adobe Shockwave Player
• Windows Live Messenger
• Google Toolbar for IE
• CrossLoop
• Microsoft SyncToy
• Windows Media Player v11 (Win XP Only)
• Microsoft PowerToys (Win XP Only)
• XP Royale Theme (Win XP Only)
• A selection of registry hacks for Windows XP
• A selection of Sidebar Gadgets for Windows Vista

Rather than try and detail each of these programs individually here, they’ve all been split off to their own small articles (which will get written as I find the time).

For now, this will be the next priority in this series of articles.  Once I’ve sorted that, I’ll post a summary on I’ve tied it all together and then continue on to look at some of the extras that I’ve included for particular situations (e.g. supporting tools for Microsoft Office) as well as how I’ve tied all this together into a single package that offers good automation of the whole process and minimises Internet bandwidth use (fewer downloads, less often).

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(This article is written in reference to Offline Update v5.1 – it should remain relevant for other versions.)

It’s a two step process.  First, you need to run the Offline Update tool, tell it what updates you’re interested in, and tell it to go and download them from Microsoft.

This process can take quite a bit of time, but you only need to do it once (or, at least, once for each new version of the Offline Update tool – about every 3-5 months or so).

At the end of this first step, Offline Update produces .iso image files (you’ll find them in the “ctupdateiso” directory) that you can burn to disc.  Because I’m extending this I usually extract the created .iso images to combine with the other things I use on my build disc.

The second step is using the Offline Update installer to actually install updates on a target computer.  The installer is smart enough to figure out what updates are already installed and skip over them.  Depending on your configuration selections, this will work for Windows 2000, Windows XP (32 and 64 bit), Windows Server 2003 (32 and 64 bit), Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) and Windows Server 2008.  It will also handle Office 2000, Office XP, Office 2003 and Office 2007.  That’s a pretty comprehensive set of updates if you choose to use them all.

In my case, we only rarely handle Windows 2000, Office 2000 and Office XP so I don’t configure Offline Update to download these updates.  In my experience, a computer using these versions is probably reaching replacment rather than repair status anyway.

Offline Update makes use of Update.cmd to apply all the updates.  It can be found in the “client” sub-directory of whereever you extracted the ctupdate archive.  If you prefer, you can leave all these files on a network share and just run Update.cmd from there.  I prefer to combine it into my overall build disc and burn off a number of copies of the disc instead.  This way I don’t have to worry as much about overloading the network if I’ve got a lot of computers all doing updates at the same time.

This pretty much covers the subject of Windows updates.  In the next installment it’s time to look at the extra utilities that I have in our standard build/install.

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Why does it matter?  As previously discussed, a fresh install of Windows might need hundreds of megabytes of downloads before it’s fully updated.  Also, unless you take precautions, the time it takes you to download and install those updates might be all the time needed for your computer to be compromised.

For me, running a busy workshop, the final consideration is that downloading updates for every repair on every computer would mean a significant increase in our Internet needs.

The choices?

Transparent Proxy/Cache: It’s possible to use a cache engine (e.g. squid, ISA, etc) as a transparent proxy.  Every download from the Internet gets cached the first time and then just loaded from that cache each subsequent time it’s needed.  For me, the down sides to this are that Microsoft (and others) work on preventing caching of their updates.  There’s reasons for this and I don’t disagree with all of them.  However, it does mean that you’ve got to take additional steps to make caching like this work effectively.  Because it’s largely transparent, you don’t really know if it’s working properly without checking logs regularly.  Lastly, it means running another computer on my network (or beefing up a server already on my network) to fulfil this task.  I wasn’t happy with this so, for me, this isn’t an ideal solution.

Windows Software Update Service (WSUS): This is the Microsoft solution.  It works pretty well for Microsoft software, but, for this solution to work you have to tell computers to talk to your WSUS server instead of going direct to Microsoft.  This is a relatively simple process (can be done just with a registry hack) but then you also have to remember to remove that registry hack of a customer’s computer may not be able to obtain updates in future.  Again, not an ideal solution in a busy workshop.

Offline Updates: A process where all relevant updates are downloaded to a local computer together with some supporting software.  You run that supporting software on a computer that needs updates, it figures out which updates are relevant and installs them.  As far as I know, there are two main choices for this type of software at the moment.  The first is AutoPatcher; this used to be my personal choice until Microsoft sent them a cease and desist on the process they were using.  They’re still around but the new approach they’re implementing is taking a while to become stable.  My need was more immediate so, while I’m keeping an eye on what they’re up to I needed a more immediate solution.

The second is Heise Offline Update; it works as advertised and my only real complaint at the moment is that updates aren’t all that frequenty.  In reality, this is a minor issue because as long as it can get you within a few months of current you can then download the rest without a huge impact on your Internet access.

In the next installment, I’ll look at how I’ve actually put Heise Offline Update to use in my workshop.

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My goals for handling service packs were:

• Identify the operating system.
• Identify the current service pack level.
• Decide if a service pack is needed.
• If needed, go ahead and install the service pack without any further user interaction.

Identify the operating system:

While there’s plenty of choices out there, I’ve decided that I really only need to worry about Windows XP and Windows Vista for the time being.  Our business doesn’t handle enough servers to warranty including these on the disc.  This simplified OS identification down to an either/or choice.

Windows XP will report “Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]” while Vista reports “Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6001]“.

Taking this information we can now work out an operating system:

ver | find /i "Windows XP" >NUL
if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 (
  echo Found: Windows XP
)
ver | find /i "Version 6" >NUL
if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 (
  echo Found: Windows Vista
)

Identify Service Pack Level:

This time we’re going with ‘SystemInfo’ to get the information we need.  The command actually provides a considerable amount of information but, among that information, is the OS Version including service pack level.

For Vista this lets us do something like this:

ver | find /i "Version 6" >NUL
if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 (
  echo Found: Windows Vista
  echo  - Checking for Service Pack Level...
  set OSVER=5
 
  SystemInfo | FIND /I "Service Pack 1" >NUL
  IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 (
    echo Found: Service Pack 1 - no update required.
    goto End
  )
 
  echo No Service Pack Installed - installing Service Pack 1
)
:End

with a similar approach for Windows XP (taking into account three service packs).  This step also determines if a service pack needs to be installed.  By using a “goto End” for the current service pack and leaving all the rest to go through the batch file you can skip over service pack installation if the current service pack is already installed.

Silent Install:

If you run up a command prompt and type “servicepack.exe /?” you’ll get a short description of command switches.  This helps work out what you need to do a silent install.

For Windows XP’s service pack 3 I’m using:

start /wait .ServicePacksWinXP-SP3.exe /passive /warnrestart

and for Windows Vista’s service pack 1 I’m using:

start /wait .ServicePacksVista-SP1-KB936330-X86-wave0.exe /unattend /warnrestart

Putting it together:

Combining all these bits, plus adding some extra stuff to work out the drive letter for the DVD that the batch file is running from,  I end up with this batch file:

@ECHO OFF
echo **************************************
echo * Build DVD                          *
echo *                                    *
echo * Install Service Pack               *
echo **************************************
echo.
echo Checking drives for build disc...
rem ==========================================================
rem * When this batch file is launched from the gui prog 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 work 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 and see if it has the *
rem * latest service pack installed.                         *
rem * This will also start a silent install of the service   *
rem * pack as required.                                      *
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 Found: Windows XP
  echo  - Checking for Service Pack Level...
  set OSVER=5
  SystemInfo | FIND /I "Service Pack 1" >NUL
  IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 (
    echo Found: Service Pack 1 - installing Service Pack 3
    start /wait .ServicePacksWinXP-SP3.exe /passive /warnrestart
    goto End
  )
  SystemInfo | FIND /I "Service Pack 2" >NUL
  IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 (
    echo Found: Service Pack 2 - installing Service Pack 3
    start /wait .ServicePacksWinXP-SP3.exe /passive /warnrestart
    goto End
  )
  SystemInfo | FIND /I "Service Pack 3" >NUL
  IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 (
    echo Found: Service Pack 3 - no update required.
    goto End
  )
  echo No Service Pack Installed - installing Service Pack 3
  start /wait .ServicePacksWinXP-SP3.exe /passive /warnrestart
  goto End
)
rem ==========================================================
rem * Test for Windows Vista here...                         *
rem ==========================================================
ver | find /i "Version 6" >nul
if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 (
  echo Found: Windows Vista
  echo  - Checking for Service Pack Level...
  set OSVER=5
  SystemInfo | FIND /I "Service Pack 1" >NUL
  IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 (
    echo Found: Service Pack 1 - no update required.
    goto End
  )
  echo No Service Pack Installed - installing Service Pack 1
  start /wait .ServicePacksVista-SP1-KB936330-X86-wave0.exe /unattend /warnrestart
  goto End
)
rem ==========================================================
rem * Failed to find valid operating system.                 *
rem ==========================================================
echo.
echo ERROR: Operating system not supported.
echo        (Windows XP and Windows Vista only)
pause
:End

That’s it for service packs.  Next up we’ll look at Windows Updates.

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On a fresh install of Windows there might be hundreds of megabytes of downloads needed to make it fully patched.  Multiply this by many computers each week and the sheer volume of repetitive downloads becomes excessive.

Add to this that we have a ‘standard’ build for the computers that we sell (and repair) that includes a range of additional utilities as well as some particular configuration changes.

I want all of this stuff to happen every time we work on a computer.  I want it to happen the same each time so when we are doing follow-up support later we have a known standard in the build.  I also don’t want to blow out the businesses Internet bill downloading everything each time we do this.

This is the first of what will be a series of articles about my solution and how you can, if you want, implement it yourself.

The key points are:

• Ensure Windows is running latest service pack.
• Ensure Windows is up to date (all relevant Windows Update patches).
• Ensure our standard utilities are installed.
• Provide a central repository for additional utilities that might be needed depending on the system.
• Provide supporting tools that might be needed to complete the build process.
• Automate all of this as much as possible.

I have pretty much achieved these goals now with our build disc.  It’s a single DVD that handles service packs, updates, utilities and supporting tools.  To a large extent, the use of the disc is automated (i.e. tell it you want the latest service pack installed and it figures out which operating system, figures out the service pack level, and then installs the service pack if it’s needed – but doesn’t install it if it isn’t needed).

Stay tuned for more…

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