prompt a user for input during silent .msi install - deployment

We are trying to create a deployment of a software called lanschool to our organization, via SCCM 2012. It functions basically by having an admin account create a channel that client accounts connect to for monitoring. We're using our admins phone extensions as their channel numbers.
The issue here is that We'd like to create a silent deployment package for this software, but would need some way to create a prompt during the install so that the admin can input their extension. Is there a way to accomplish this?

Can you launch the MSI with a command line that includes the data? This is the standard method of passing in data during a silent install. The required input values are specified as properties that can be input by the user in UI mode or passed in during silent mode, something like:
msiexec /I [path to msi file] MYCHANNEL=12345
where MYCHANNEL is the name of the public property.

A silent install with user input? Ok then :)
My initial reaction would be to try to do it with a custom action (a simple VB script for example). However something at the back of my mind (I don't have access to InstallShield right now to test this) is warning me that any attempt at interaction would not show and could either timeout or throw an error. Don't take my word for that though.

What I ended up doing is writing a bat file that prompted the user for their extension, stored it in a variable, and then added that variable data to the specified registry key. Code below:
::create a prompt for extension input and store input in variable "channelNumber"
SET /P channelNumber=Please enter your phone extension, this will be used as your Lanschool channel:
::shut down lanschool
TASKKILL /f /im teacher.exe
::write variable to reg key
REG ADD HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Lanschool\ /t REG_DWORD /v channel /d "%channelNumber%" /f
::start lanschool
PUSHD C:\program files (x86)\Lanschool
START Teacher.exe
EXIT

Related

Call multiple .bat from another .bat without waiting for one to finish

So, I want to make a script that will execute 2 .bat files and start some .exe files.
However, the .bat files are supposed to keep running.
I have something like this :
pushd tools\wamp64
start wampmanager.exe
pushd ..\..\server\login
call startLoginServer.bat
pushd ..\test
call startTestServer.bat
start "C:\DEV\P2\Test\client" P2.bin
The problem is that call startLoginServer.bat will not exit and therefore, I'm stucked here.
How can I run my 2 .bat files and let them keep running.
(Ideally, I want them to run in 2 different command prompt windows)
Also, there is probably a better way to handle relative path than using pushd if you can correct me on this.
Thanks
You could use:
start "Wamp Manager" /B /D "%~dp0tools\wamp64" wampmanager.exe
start "Login Server" /B /D "%~dp0server\login" startLoginServer.bat
start "Test Server" /B /D "%~dp0server\test" startTestServer.bat
start "Text Client" /B /D "%~dp0" "C:\DEV\P2\Test\client.exe" P2.bin
Run in a command prompt window start /? for help on this command explaining the options.
"..." ... title for new console window which is optional, but must be often specified on program to start is or must be enclosed in double quotes. The START command in last command line in batch file code in question interprets C:\DEV\P2\Test\client as window title. It is also possible to use an empty window title, i.e. "" which is best if the started application is a Windows GUI application on which no console window is opened at all.
/B ... run without opening a new window, i.e. in "background". This option can be omitted to see what the started applications and batch files output to console if the executables are not Windows GUI applications.
/D "..." or also /D"..." defines the directory to set first as current directory before running the command specified next. %~dp0 references the directory of the batch file containing these commands. This path always ends with a backslash. Therefore no backslash must be added on concatenating the directory of the batch file with a file or folder name or path.
Run in a command prompt window call /? for help on %~dp0 explaining how arguments of a batch file can be referenced from within a batch file.
See also the answer on How to call a batch file that is one level up from the current directory? explaining in total four different methods to call or run a batch file from within a batch file.
Finally read also the Microsoft documentations about the Windows kernel library function CreateProcess and the structure STARTUPINFO used by cmd.exe on every execution of an executable without or with usage of its internal command start. The options of start become more clear on having full knowledge about the kernel function and the structure used on Windows to run a program.

The system cannot find the file specified- Task Scheduler

I have batch script file, which should encrypt a file with pgp. I have defined a task in task scheduler to do this, but I am keep receiving the error"The system cannot find the file specified".
Interestingly, when I run the same line of script in my powershell , the encrypted file is successfully generated.
I was wondering if anyone knows what can possibly be wrong here?
I tried to give the full path in my batch script , and also added the pass in start in part, when defining the action.
the batch scrip code is here::
rem #echo off
#set path=c:\test;%path%
#set d=%date:~-4,4%%date:~4,2%%date:~-7,2%
#set d=%d: =_%
#set t=%time:~0,2%%time:~3,2%%time:~6,2% #set t=%t: =0%
Rem Generate PGP encrypted file
#echo Starting PGP... >> c:\apps\ftpLogs\test.log
gpg2 --batch --yes -r testkey --output c:\test\foo\test_20150505.pgp --encrypt c:\test\foo\test_20150505.txt >> c:\apps\ftpLogs\test.log
and the script that I ran in my powershell, which works fine, is this line:
gpg2 --batch --yes -r testkey --output c:\test\foo\test_20150505.pgp --encrypt c:\test\foo\test_20150505.txt >> c:\apps\ftpLogs\test.log
Finally I was able to resolve the issue. The problem was with the user authority. The batch script was suppose to encrypt a file and then ftp the encrypted file to the vendor's ftp server.
Apparently in Windows Server 2012 , the ADMINISTRATORS have the permission to create a file (here the encrypted file) while this user does not have the permission to send it. and SYSTEM user has the permission to send but not to create. (Both of them had this authority back in Win Server 2012).
So what did I do at the end, was to make two different batch script tasks and schedule them with 10 mins time distance. The first one was running the above code with ADMINISTRATOR privileges and the second one was sending it out with SYSTEMS.
If your batch file doesn't work, but the PowerShell script does, just run the PowerShell script from your scheduled task instead.
From the Scheduled Task, instead of entering the path to your batch file specify PowerShell.exe (or more likely C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Powershell.exe). Then in the Arguments box specify your parameters. You probably want to hide the window, so we'll include that in the arguments, and for this you can probably skip loading a profile, so we'll add that too. Then just use the -Command parameter to specify your code that you have in the question.
So your Program to run box should show:
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Powershell.exe
Then the box that says "Add Arguments (optional)" should have:
-NoProfile -WindowStyle Hidden -command "gpg2 --batch --yes -r testkey --output c:\test\foo\test_$((get-date).ToString(yyyyMMdd)).pgp --encrypt c:\test\foo\test_$((get-date).ToString(yyyyMMdd)).txt >> c:\apps\ftpLogs\test.log"
On a side note, should that be gpg2 or pgp2? I just copied your command, but it seemed odd to me that they would name it like that.

Windows Scheduled task succeeds but returns result 0x1

I have a scheduled task on a Windows 2008 R2 server. The task includes a Start In directory entry. The task runs, and the batch file it runs does what it is supposed to do. When I run the batch file from a command prompt, I see no errors. The problem is that the "Last run result" is 0x1 (incorrect function call).
I did get this at one time with an incorrect DOS statement IF EXISTS file.txt DO (Copy file.txt file1.txt) that was corrected by dropping the DO statement. The current batch file does not show me any errors or warnings.
Why am I getting a 0x1 result?
Batch file that is run:
PUSHD \\JUKEBOX4\Archives\CallRecording
REM only move csv and wma together. wma should be created last.
IF NOT EXIST C:\CallRecording (MKDIR C:\CallRecording)
FOR /f %%f IN ('DIR /b *.wma') DO (
IF EXIST %%~nf.csv (MOVE /Y %%~nf.* C:\CallRecording\)
)
POPD
CD /D "C:\Program Files (x86)\Olim, LLC\Collybus DR Upload"
CollybusUpload.exe
POPD
Info on scheduled task setup:
Program to run: C:\Program Files (x86)\Olim, LLC\Collybus DR Upload\CallRecordingUploadFromH.cmd
Start in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Olim, LLC\Collybus DR Upload
Run whether user is logged on or not, highest privileges.
History screen, task completed entry
"Task Scheduler successfully completed task "\Call recording upload to portal from NH" , instance "{1449ad42-2210-427a-bd69-2c15e35340e6}" , action "C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\cmd.exe" with return code 1."
First screen of Task Scheduler shows "Run Result" of "Success"
It seems many users are having issues with this. Here are some fixes:
Right click on your task > "Properties" > "Actions" > "Edit" |
Put ONLY the file name under 'Program/Script', no quotes and ONLY the directory under 'Start in' as described, again no quotes.
Right click on your task > "Properties" > "General"
| Test with any/all of the following:
"Run with highest privileges" (test both options)
"Run wheter user is logged on or not" (test both options)
Check that "Configure for" is set to your machine's OS version
Make sure the user account running the program has the right permissions
I found that I have ticked "Run whether user is logged on or not" and it returns a silent failure.
When I changed tick "Run only when user is logged on" instead it works for me.
I've had the same problem. It is just a batch-file, working when manually started, but not working as a scheduled task.
there were drive-letters in the batch-file like this:
put z:\folder\file.ext
seems like you should not use drive-letters, they are bound to the user, who created them - for me this little change made it work again:
put \\server\folder\file.ext
For Powershell scripts
I have seen this problem multiple times while scheduling Powershell scripts with parameters on multiple Windows servers.
The solution has always been to use the -File parameter:
Under "Actions" --> "Program / Script" Type: "Powershell"
Under "Add arguments", instead of just typeing "C:/script/test.ps1" use -File "C:/script/test.ps1"
Happy scheduling!
Windows Task scheduler (Windows server 2008r2)
Same error for me (last run result: 0x1)
Tabs
Action: remove quotes/double-quotes in
program/script
and
start in
even if there is spaces in the path name...
General:
Run with highest privileges
and
configure for your OS...
Now it work!
last run result: The operation completed successfully
Probably not the cause of the OP's problem; for me the problem was caused by the fact that my program called a SQL function, and the service account the windows task was set up with did not have the required SQL permissions. That also gives a 0x1
This answer was originally edited into the question by the asker.
The problem was that the batch file WAS throwing a silent error. The final POPD was doing no work and was incorrectly called with no opening PUSHD.
Broken code:
CD /D "C:\Program Files (x86)\Olim, LLC\Collybus DR Upload" CALL CollybusUpload.exe POPD
Correct code:
PUSHD "C:\Program Files (x86)\Olim, LLC\Collybus DR Upload" CALL CollybusUpload.exe POPD
In my case it was an encoding issue. We wanted to start en existing batch file, and it resulted in "return code 1", and the desired action wasn't performed. I've accidentally found that the batch file was shown in Notepad as one with UTF-8 encoding (actually without any reason, as we have no special characters in the text). I saved it as ANSI, and it solved the problem for us. Might be, that it was a kind of encoding corruption in the file that prohibited Task Scheduler and cmd.exe to open the file, although it was displayed correctly in Notepad.
On our servers it was a problem with the system path. After upgrading PHP runtime (using installation directory whose name includes version number) and updating the path in system variable PATH we were getting status 0x1. System restart corrected the issue. Restarting Task Manager service might have done it, too.
I was running a PowerShell script into the task scheduller but i forgot to enable the execution-policy to unrestricted, in an elevated PowerShell console:
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
After that, the error disappeared (0x1).
Just had the same problem here. In my case, the bat files had space " "
After getting rid of spaces from filename and change into underscore, bat file worked
sample before it wont start
"x:\Update & pull.bat"
after rename
"x:\Update_and_pull.bat"
For me the problem was the PowerShell script being ran had #Requires -RunAsAdministrator at the top, meaning it needs to run in an elevated command prompt as an Admin, but the user the Scheduled Task was set to run as wasn't an admin on the local computer. So even though Run with highest privileges was checked in the scheduled task, I still had to make the user an Administrator on the computer. Once I did that, the script ran as expected.
Since there is always more than one reason this could happen I thought I'd share some troubleshooting tips that helped me diagnose my issue.
Always adding a "start in" parameter first since thats an easy fix, even just adding the drive letter can help, e.g. C:\
If you're running "whether user is logged on or not" and it is failing it might be an issue with your user and/or user environment.
Switch the task to run only when user is logged in temporarily for
troubleshooting purposes.
Make sure you're actually logged in AS the user you're telling the task
to run as. (PATH and other environment variables are different by user
and if you see the task running on one user successfully that doesn't
necessarily mean it will run successfully for another user even if they're in the same security group.)
Add pauses or some other type of debugging to your script to give you
time to see any errors that may pop up.
Perform a manual run from the task scheduler window.
Fix any errors you see from your debugging statements. Rinse and repeat.
If it runs successfully switch back to run "whether user is logged on
or not" and try another manual run. If it works now you're all set.
If nothing has helped so far you might need to dig in deeper to your user and file privileges. My troubleshooting tips assume that you have been able to get a past task running using a specific user login already. They don't cover building a scheduled task from a fresh install necessarily. Luckily I haven't had to do that.
What solved it for me was that I was using a local administrator account instead of the domain account so I changed the "Run as" to the domain account.
It turns out that a FTP download call using winscp as last thing to do in the batch caused the problem. After inserting the echo command it works fine. Guess the problems source could be the winscp.exe which do not correctly report the end of the current task to the OS.
del "C:\_ftpcrawler\Account Export.csv" /S /Q
"C:\Program Files (x86)\WinSCP\WinSCP.exe" /console /script="C:\_isource\scripte\data.txt"
echo Download ausgeführt am %date%%time% >> C:\_isource\scripte\data.log

Restarting PC's and writing to the event log with a custom message

I have written a script in PowerShell that will remotely restart a list of PC's using the 'Restart-Computer' command.
Is there a way of adding a custom message to the systems event log, to explain that the computer has been restart by my script.
Here is the PowerShell code that I used to solve this problem as suggested by the user C.B. above.
Shutdown /r /f /m ComputerName /d P:0:1 /c "Your comment"
This code will force (/f) a shut down and reboot (/r) of a given PC and write to the event log with a custom comment (/c). Note that to write a custom comment a reason code will need to be supplied using the (/d) parameter. Also note that the order of parameters matters.
For a list of reason codes and syntax follow the links below.
http://ss64.com/nt/shutdown.html
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732503(v=ws.10).aspx

launch cmd run command isn't working

I am working on a script or batch file (or combo of the two) which imports an outlook prf file, then launches a new cmd.exe window runs a application specific program which when passed a server cluster name pulls in an outlook data file in the previously created outlook profile. So i have the vbs script that checks for the outlook profile if it doesn't exist it imports the prf. That's working fine, now the program i need to is called addiman.exe the server cluster name is gsiapp...the manual method is i launch a cmd windows and type "addiman gsiapp" i wish to automates this by calling it in a routine called :Filesite the below command has been unsuccessful, it launches a new cmd.exe window but doesn't run the command.
:ImportPRf
call cscript \\gsf1\Apps\Scripts\public\deployprf.vbs
GOTO :FileSite
:FileSite
start cmd.exe /c "c:\program files\interwoven\worksite\addiman.exe" GSIAPP
GOTO :EXIT
:Exit
Exit
start cmd.exe /c "c:\program files\interwoven\worksite\addiman.exe GSIAPP"
try this, because cmd.exe interprets the part between "" as comand and ignores the GSIAPP statement
wild guess. Try adding another call before the "start" - like this
:FileSite
call start cmd.exe /c "c:\program files\interwoven\worksite\addiman.exe" GSIAPP
problem solved, the full path isn't needed. just had to putt "addiman GSIAPP". Thanks everyone who provided suggestions.