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