Using Windows Installer in Windows 8
Windows 8 includes version 5.0 of Windows Installer,
the installation and configuration utility that enables corporate IT
administrators to control how software is installed, uninstalled, and
managed within a Windows environment. In addition to ensuring uniform
installation of applications on computers, Windows Installer can ensure
that applications are installed in a specific manner.
Windows Installer is used in many environments that run Active
Directory directory service with Group Policy, which enables
administrators to position user and computer objects within Active
Directory to apply certain settings at computer startup or when a user
signs in. Among these settings, application management is included
through Windows Installer.
Windows Installer 5 brings a few enhancements to previous versions of the product, including:
-
The ability to configure services on a computer.
-
The MSIFastInstall
property, which you can use to modify the options available during
installation to reduce the amount of time needed to complete the
process. The available options are listed in Table 1.
-
The MSIInstallPerUser property, which you can use to install
applications for the current user or for all users on a computer during
installation, either within the graphical user interface or with the
command line.
Table 1. MSIFastInstall options
|
Value |
Definition |
|---|
|
0 |
Default value |
|
1 |
No restore point saved for the installation |
|
2 |
Perform File Costing only, skip checking other costs of installation |
|
4 |
Reduce progress message frequency during installation |
Running Windows Installer packages and MSIExec
Many software vendors today include a Windows Installer package for
their applications to make installation easier or at least more
manageable for Windows administrators. There are multiple ways to
install applications by using Windows Installer, including:
-
Running an application’s Setup.exe file many times. The Setup.exe
file is a wrapper for a Windows Installer package that is extracted and
run when the file is executed.
-
Creating batch files to run Windows Installer packages. By running
Msiexec.exe from a batch script, you can make the execution silent or
scheduled.
-
Double-tapping or double-clicking the Windows Installer package
file. When an MSI package is double-clicked, it executes and behaves
much like any other executable setup file.
-
Using Group Policy to execute a published Windows
Installer package. Use this method to publish or assign applications to
user accounts at sign-in or to machines at startup. The installation
process is generally visible to the individual signing in, but it is
not interactive.
Often, Windows administrators want applications to run silently or
be minimally visible while the installation completes. Using MSIExec at
the command line can help accomplish these tasks. The options available
for MSIExec include:
Note
MORE INFO MSIEXEC
Further information
about Msiexec.exe can be found by executing MSIExec with no options
specified from the Start screen or at a command line.
