unattended install

Mar 30 2009

Unattended Installs – Google Earth

Google EarthGoogle Earth

Google Earth is the current pick of the bunch for viewing the world through the wonders of satellite imagery.  Most of our customers are keen on this one so it’s hard to avoid making it part of our standard build.  Unfortunately, Google doesn’t really help out on this one.  For starters, it’s actually not easy to get a current full version of the Google Earth installer.  The installer you get from http://earth.google.com/ is a downloader as much as installer.  It’s a small program that you then run which then downloads the rest of Google Earth and carries out the installation process.

So, first step is to find a full install version.  I found that Google can help.  Search terms like “full install google earth” will usually find you something.  As far as I can tell, the exact address changes periodically so what gets listed here may not keep on working.  That said, here’s one I found:

http://dl.google.com/earth/client/current/GoogleEarthWin.exe

Once you’ve got your current version, it’s time to do the install.  This is what  I use:

GoogleEarth-5.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.)

By David • Unattended Installs • • Tags: , , , ,

Mar 30 2009

Unattended Installs – Citrix ICA Client

Citrix LogoCitrix ICA Client

The Citrix client is used to offer a remote desktop, often coupled to a limited (or single) application.  While I need Citrix for things that I do here I hadn’t really considered it commonly used enough to integrate into the standard build.  In recent times there seems to be an increasing use of Citrix and we started getting enough support calls from people asking how they could get this software (or make it work) that I decided to add it to the build disc.  It doesn’t appear to have much impact on those who don’t need it but those who do need it appreciate it being available already.

The Citrix ICA Client can be downloaded from here.  Looking at this link it would appear that I’m now using an out-dated Citrix client although the one I’m using seems to work for most needs I’ve come across out here.

I used this Citrix knowledge base article as a starting point but, in the end, found that all I really needed for my particular use was this:

Ica32Web.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.)

By David • Unattended Installs • • Tags: , , , ,

Mar 30 2009

Unattended Installs – PDF Creator

PDFCreatorPDF Creator

PDF Creator is a great little utility that sets up as an extra printer.  Any program that can print can then be used to create a PDF.  Very handy to have around.

This method was tested and working on PDF Creator v0.9.7.

Details on the command line options can be found here.

In order to do an unattended install, you first have to create an inf file.  This is done by running the installer in a special mode:

PDFCreator-0_9_7_setup.exe /SAVEINF="pdfcreator.inf"

This will run through the installer and save out the setup options you use to the pdfcreator.inf file.

Once you’ve done that you can now set up your unattended install:

PDFCreator-0_9_7_setup.exe /SP- /VERYSILENT /NOCANCEL /NORESTART /LOADINF="./Installers/pdfcreator.inf"

(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.)

By David • Unattended Installs • • Tags: , , , ,

Mar 30 2009

Unattended Installs – Paint.NET

Paint.NETPaint.NET

Paint.NET is a free image and photo editing program.  Some of it’s features rival those found in packages like Adobe Photoshop without the same costs.

The method used here was tested and working on Paint.NET v3.36.

Download it from here.

There’s already a good guide to unattended installs on the Paint.NET website (I love it when they provide this information themselves).  Rather than repeat all that information, go here and read it.

Based on that information, I’m using this install command:

Paint.NET.3.36.exe /auto /CHECKFORUPDATES=0 DESKTOPSHORTCUT=0 "PROGRAMSGROUP=Utilities"

(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.)

By David • Unattended Installs • • Tags: , , , ,

Mar 29 2009

Unattended Installs – K-Lite Codec Pack

K-Lite Codec Pack (Corporate)Media Player Classic Logo

K-Lite does a codec pack that covers almost every type of media you could think of, including things like Real and QuickTime, as well as including Media Player Classic (a light-weight but feature-rich media player program).

The method used here was tested and working with K-Lite v4.7.5.

Download it from here.

Installing K-Lite is a two-step process.  First, you need to run the installer in a mode that lets you create an unattended install file.

klcodec475c.exe -MakeUnattended

This runs up the installer to let you select the options you want for your install.  Doing this doesn’t actually install the codec pack so you can do this even on a computer that already has the K-Lite Codec Pack installed.  Once it finishes, this process will create two extra files in the same directory as the installer program; klcpc.ini and klcpc.bat.

If you’re just looking for a silent install for K-Lite Codec Pack, running klcpc.bat will get you there.

In my case, where I’m integrating it into a larger batch file to do multiple silent installs, I’ve taken that basic klcpc.bat and customised it for the bit I needed:

klcodec475c.exe /verysilent /norestart /loadinf".klcpc.ini"

Here’s what the K-Lite folks have to say about doing a silent install.

(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.)

By David • Unattended Installs • • Tags: , , , , ,

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