What will happen if we try to install a software using powershell which has already installed in a server . For an example I already have notepad++ in my server, Now I try to install same notepad++ version in my server using powershell. Then what will be the output?. Besides, Is there a way that I could find whether a software has already installed in server or not.
There are many kinds of installers, but most add records in the Add / Remove list of programs, but there are no guarantees. Here is C++ code to scan the registry and check via WMI. You can use scripts instead of course, but it is not an exact science to find what is installed - some installers are very custom and non-standard and follow few guidelines.
Registry Entries:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
MSI Packages:
For MSI packages there are ways to check whether the exact same version or a related version is installed. If you have the product code of the MSI, you can simply check whether it is installed like this:
Dim installer : Set installer = CreateObject("WindowsInstaller.Installer")
MsgBox installer.ProductState("{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001}") ' <= PRODUCT CODE
Longer sample linked here.
You can find the product code for an installed MSI using several approaches: How can I find the product GUID of an installed MSI setup?
If you have the upgrade code for a family of MSIs you can use the RelatedProducts method to find out whether a related product is installed:
Set installer = CreateObject("WindowsInstaller.Installer")
Set upgrades = installer.RelatedProducts("{UPGRADE-CODE-GUID-HERE}")
For Each u In upgrades
MsgBox u, vbOKOnly, "Product Code: "
Next
How can I find the Upgrade Code for an installed MSI file?. You can get the upgrade code for an MSI due to be installed by looking in the Property table using Orca.
Pragmatic Approaches:
One option is to identify a key file from each installation and check for its existence using any language you want - scripting will do.
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
MsgBox fso.GetFileVersion("C:\Windows\System32\vcruntime140.dll")
The above script snippet from this rant on how to find the installed VCRedist version.
Link:
Adding entries to MSI UpgradeTable to remove related products
Related
I'm testing the compatibility of two products (A) and (B) within a TestAutomation project. The test verifies that product (B), which is actually the product under test, can be installed eventhough (A) is already installed --> to do so, the installer of (B) looks up if the UpgradeCode of (A) is present.
NOTE: I already know the UpgradeCode of (A). What I'm trying to do is to write it into the table that will be looked-up upon installing (B), WITHOUT actually installing the MSI of (A) - this is kind of like a "mock" in integration-testing.
The test is running on a VM where (A) is not already installed by default. My goal would be to write a script which would allow me to skip the "real" installation of (A).
QUESTIONS:
I'm not sure of where it looks the UpgradeCode up. It is NOT looking it up in the registries (I aready tried that hack). I have found the UpgradeCode within the Win32_Property table... is that the right place to look into?
My guess is that I have to emulate the API-call, with which the original MSI from (A) sets its UpgradeCode... any idea of how that works? Possibly with a Powershell script. I have seen online people modifying the WMI properties tables can with calls to gwmi (then using put) or swmi, but all my attempts so far failed.
NOTES:
I do not really know my way around with the Windows Installer nor with PowerShell... this is not at all what I usually do. An answer in Layman terms would be much appreciated.
I know that there are other ways around this (e.g. a dedicated VM or performing a "real" installation of (A)), but I'd like to know how to achieve this programmatically.
Why I need to do that? It's an automated test that only concerns the installer of (B). I do not want the success of my test to be depending from (A)'s successfull download or installation.
The easiest way to do a test without installing the actual A would be to produce a small MSI with the same UpgradeCode and ProductCode and install it. I can't see why you want to "fake" it when you can just do the real thing.
If you want to prevent the install of B when A is already installed you could add A's UpgradeCode to B with OnlyDetect=yes, that will set a property that can be used to prevent B from being installed. It's not clear what the context is for not installing B, whether you have external launchers, a bootstrapper, or which tool is being used to generate the MSI (because some tools will give you help if you want to skip B if A is installed with their built-in detection features).
You can get the UpgradeCode via WMI (Win32_Property WMI table) or via MSI API (Windows Installer Database - registry).
I would not hack the upgrade code in the Windows Installer Database for any reason. Why do you need to fake the UpgradeCode? Is the install of product A very large?
WMI / PowerShell / VBScript:
How can I find the Upgrade Code for an installed MSI file?
WMI is very slow to use, and can cause side effects such as self-repairs and in certain cases spam the event log with error messages. See the Disclaimer section here.
MSI API:
You can use MSI API COM calls (VBScript, Javascript, etc...) or MSI API Win32 calls (C++).
Here is a hacky way of getting the Upgradecode via
a session object using VBScript. I am not sure what side-effects - if any - result from spinning up many session objects: Is MsiOpenProduct the correct way to read properties from an installed product?
I am trying to install software using command prompt using below command
start /wait /d "C:\abc" C:\Users\abc.exe /silent /norestart
I want to install software in c:\abc folder but it is installing in the software default directory. Is there any way to install it into the custom directory using the start command or are there any other alternatives to install the software on the target directory.
SHORT VERSION:
This may be the most "accessible" and "quick" explanation for your particular case: http://unattended.sourceforge.net/installers.php
If you are dealing with an MSI file, you should use the admin install feature to extract all the installation files first and then customize your install by setting public properties or utilizing a transform to configure the install. Details here: How to make better use of MSI files.
See the link towards the bottom to find a list of different parameters you can use for different types of setup.exe files.
DETAILS:
A setup.exe file can be "anything". It can be an old, legacy Installshield or Wise installer, a modern Windows Installer file (MSI) embedded in a setup.exe launcher, an Inno setup file (non MSI), an embedded Advanced Installer MSI setup, a compressed and self-extracting zip file, a unique and custom made installer (proprietary), or any number of other technologies, the list goes on and on and on - it is impossible to tell what tool or technology was used to create your setup.exe from the information supplied.
Just for reference, let's link to installsite.org's information on different setup technologies and available tools. Most likely your setup.exe is made using one of these tools:
Non-MSI installer tools: http://www.installsite.org/pages/en/tt_nonmsi.htm
Windows installer tools: http://www.installsite.org/pages/en/msi/authoring.htm
This may also be of help: Wix - How to run/install application without UI.
The point is, naturally, that every, different technology has its own way to enable silent installation and to customize installation parameters. So the first step for you is to determine what this file really is. Right click the file, select properties and check the details tab for any clues. Or just run the setup.exe interactively and see what the window title is (top window title bar). It will generally indicate what tool was used to create the setup.exe.
Rather than rewriting it all, and since it is a stackoverflow link (unlikely to be removed), I will just link to a similar answer on how to install setup.exe files silently: How can I use powershell to run through an installer?. See the "some links" section for links to documentation for various tools.
The Code documentation suggests that it is added to the PATH during installation, but that did not seem to work for me (at least not in PowerShell). Where is it installed such that I can add it myself?
The install path is C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Code
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Code\bin is added to the PATH by the installer, but it might be that tools such as PowerShell will pick this change up only until after a log off/log on or a restart
On macOS, VS Code these days seems to have a Command Palette (shift + Cmd + P) command to install it to the path called "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH".
It seems that a good old restart of the box fixed the issue. Interestingly, merely restarting PowerShell or logging out and back in didn't fix it.
Modern Software Installation.
Many of the larger software packages have finally caught-up with the times. Make sure the correct choice(s) are made during the software download and during the software installation.
Most individual PC users are the sole users of their PCs. Yet many software packages have always defaulted the installation processes to assume otherwise. This is why so many software packages install to a path that includes C:\ .... user\ ...
But most of us individual PC users don't want the software installation including a path that involves using the ... user\ ... path. And instead we want the software installed into the default C:\ path without the "user name".
Some of the most common software installation packages are becoming available for the individual PC user and these packages install on the PC in our preferred path - (not involving a path through the ... user\ ... ).
And if there is not a separate download package for the individual PC user, then during installation make sure to closely read each step which will often now include a checkbox of whether the installation is for a "user" or for "all users". Select all users.
When you install your product locally, all the needed files are stored in the machine.
When you set the features to Advertise, files will be installed locally when the user launches the application.
What happens then when yo set the features to "run-from-source"? I Googled it and was only able to find this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367538%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
Thanks!
This is a rarely used feature of Windows Installer and I don't normally reccomend using it. It was invented back in a day when hard drives were small and the thought was you 'advertised' ( pretend install aka install source ) a feature and that when the user clicks the shortcut it would go to the source and finish the installation of the feature ( aka install local )
It just adds a lot of complexity to your servicing model. It's not worth it IMO.
When placing all installation files next to the MSI (similar to advertised installation), you can install features from source. This means that all files in these features will be used from the MSI location (they are not copied in the target folders during install).
Running from source can be used when the installer remains permanently on the target machine. So the application can use the installer directly instead of using installed files.
We have a windows app and we were using Wise for deployment. Recently we switched to InstallAware and though it has some good points we are facing some issues. Can someone recommend another deployment and packaging app? We are a small company and we do not have a dedicated staff for packaging etc. Also our package includes SQL server express installation and we would love to have the simplicity of such includes as is in IA.
How about NSIS or InnoSetup? They're both widely used, and not that hard to use. (If you choose InnoSetup, also download ISTool, it's a lot easier than writing the script file manually.)
We've used NSIS several times, both for full regular desktop installers, and for small, silently installing patches. It's easy to write a basic installer, especially if you use HM NIS Edit which acts as a wizard and IDE for NSIS. Because it's scriptable, you'll be able to check if SQL Server Express is already installed - if not, it can be installed as part of your installer process.
I have never used anything but Windows Setup and the setup projects that come with Visual Studio. Do you have any unusual requirements that prevent you from doing that?
I assume your requirement as follows,
You are using wise package studio to create\customize the application to create MSI and these msi package will be deployed or installed to your environment.
My question is : How many desktops \laptops are their in your company (Infrastructure)
Solution to your question based on my assumption:
At present Admistudio is the best product to replace the Wise and you can use Installshield repackager to create or customize the applications.
Install anyware is used to customize the Dll files (Build and release method) and create custom actions in that build file and build it to MSI
Installshield Repackager is used to create MSI from Exe files and also customize existing MSI using transform file (no need to modify existing MSI instead we can create MST file to MSI and perform the customization to MST file and same file will be applied while deployment.)
Please let me know if you need further assistance.