Brian Jackson's IT Blog » MSI Packages

Compiling MSI – 7-Zip 4.65 x32.msi Distribution

Brian Jackson — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:21:49 +0000

This is a MSI package of 7-Zip 4.65 x32. This can easily be installed with quiet switch command or simply by executing the msi file.

DOWNLOAD 7-ZIP 4.65 MSI PACKAGE

COMMAND FOR QUIET INSTALL

msiexec /i 7-Zip-4.65-x32.msi /qn ALLUSERS=1

Legal: GNU General Public License
You can download 7-zip 4.65 x32 (exe) via their website : http://www.7-zip.org/.
To see all of my MSI packages, please visit my MSI Packages page on the right hand side.

7-Zip 4.65 x32.msi

Compiling MSI – Pidgin 2.5.8.msi Distribution

Brian Jackson — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:26:02 +0000

I have decided to start releasing some of my MSI compilations. This is a MSI package of Pidgin 2.5.8. This can easily be installed with quiet switch command or simply by executing the msi file.

DOWNLOAD PIDGIN 2.5.8 MSI PACKAGE

COMMAND FOR QUIET INSTALL

msiexec /i Pidgin2.5.8.msi /qn ALLUSERS=1

Legal: GNU General Public License
You can download Pidgin (exe) via their website : http://www.pidgin.im/download/.
To see all of my MSI packages, please visit my MSI Packages page on the right hand side.

Pidgin 2.5.8 IM Client

AdminStudio 64-bit – No Native Support Yet

Brian Jackson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:36:30 +0000

As far as I can see AdminStudio 9.0, made by Acresso has yet to develop a repackager that works natively on a 64-bit OS. You can repackage MSI’s on a 32-bit host and they will run on a 64-bit OS, but in 32-bit mode. I am hoping in the near future that this will change as I have some 64-bit apps that I would like to repackage for silent installations.

Java 1.6.0.12 .msi package for distribution

Brian Jackson — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:34:19 +0000

Last msi package I tested today was Java. They also offer the msi package on their website. First you need to download their “offline installation” executable here. Then run the executable but don’t go through any additional prompts. Navigate to LocalAppData folder (the user’s Application Data folder). The location of the LocalAppData folder differs for each Windows platform.

* Windows Vista: C:\Users\\AppData\LocalLow\Sun\Java\jre1.6.0_12
* Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Application Data
* Windows 2000 C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data

Copy the contents out of that folder to where you are keeping your msi distribution packages. The folder should look like the picture below without the install.bat which is my batch file.

Java Directory Contents

Here is the command I used for a quiet install for multiple users:

msiexec /i "jre1.6.0_12.msi" SETMULTIUSER=1 /qb"

Works fine for multiple users under windows 2000, XP, and Vista. More MSI package instructions coming tomorrow along with some tutorials on ImageX/Sysprep for Vista.

Java 1.6 Logo

Adobe Reader 9.0 .msi package for distribution

Brian Jackson — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:14:09 +0000

Adobe actually offers their .msi through their website. You have to sign up to be a distributor here and it takes them a few minutes to confirm your verification email. They email you a temporary link which contains a download package. You can read further here about how to extract the .msi package from the Adobe download.

Once you have the .msi and .cab files, etc., in a directory I then used this command. This is the same command as used with the Firefox package.

msiexec /i "AcroRead.msi" SETMULTIUSER=1 /qb"

Adobe Reader 9.0 .msi package

Mozilla Firefox 3.0.6 .msi package for distribution

Brian Jackson — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:02:47 +0000

First app I was trying to repackage was Mozilla Firefox version 3.0.6. After several unsuccessful attempts I discovered that FrontMotion already repackages Mozilla Firefox into msi packages and distributes them on their site.

I have been having a hard time with the repackager on AdminStudio when it comes to multiple users. With ALLUSERS=1 this is suppose to do a Per-Machine install which means that it points to the install location. But the MSI’s have been trying to repair themselves from the first install location when new users launch them for the first time. I want to be able to remove the MSI’s from the machine after install.

This is the command I am using to do a quiet install for multiple users and it works successfully. I tested under multiple accounts on XP VM and Vista workstation.

msiexec /i "Firefox-3.0.6-en-US.msi" SETMULTIUSER=1 /qb"

I am the student manager for the IT department at Walla Walla University and so we do a lot of re-imaging, formatting student’s computers, faculty, staff, etc. It is very nice once you have a few .msi packages you can write a simple batch script that once executed will do a silent install of all the apps and once finished launch Windows Updates. This can literally save you hours per machine.

Firefox 3 Logo