Question

MSI Install to all users

Asked by: TimMcGrath

Hey there all,

I am trying to deploy a software package (msi file created with WinInstall) to about 400 desktops. So far with our test, I can get the package to install and everything works fine for the user who logs in. Is there a way to install the package for all users who log on to the machine

I tiried installing to all users programs msiexec /i [path] INSTALLDIR=[path]  but that didn't work.
We are using a program called Patchlink to deploy the installs. Patchlink pushes out a .bat file that runs the msiexec command
Our users are not admins of the machine and cannot install software on their own......any help would be appreicated
Tim

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2007-09-27 at 17:03:31ID22858380
Tags

msi

,

all

,

install

,

users

Topics

Installation

,

Windows XP Operating System

,

Windows Installer

Participating Experts
1
Points
125
Comments
5

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. MSI Installer
    Hello, does anyone knows how to re-install the msi installer cause I've seen corruptions with MSI apps and It keep asking to re-install the application usually when you re-install windows over windows the msi installer gets crazy.. any solutions for the issue? thx jdff
  2. .msi
    is is possilbe to create a .msi package to install bit deffender on a lot of pcs. can you create a .msi for any install???
  3. Deploying msi through GPO
    I have repackged .exe file to .msi file using advancedinstaller utility. I deployed the msi through gpo and made it as assigned, but it seems like it doesn't get deployed. I wonder ifI shoudl run the msiexec command to extract the msi and redploy the extracted msi. any idea?...
  4. Deploying MSI packages silently
    Hi Experts, I have tod deploy a solution to client PC's. My solution consists of some pre-requisites like the .Net framework (EXE), Office Primary Interop Assemblies (MSI) etc etc. Then my solution consists also of my own MSI packages. We can already deploy these files to ...
  5. install msi package
    I am recently trying to install an msi package (vgausb.msi) that contains drivers for a vga to usb adapter. The issue that i am having is the msi package is installed but the setup.exe within the msi package is not installed so the package is on the target computer but it do...
  6. using msiexec to install a vb.net msi
    I have a Class Library with a COM Class in it. It needs to be deployed on many desktops. I have created a msi and would like to install the msi on a small number of pc's (so I would do it manually). I need the msi to perform as it will if I just double click on it but I ne...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: BeldoranPosted on 2007-09-27 at 17:25:19ID: 19975744

The command line switches for msiexec can be found here
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Aa367988.aspx

In addition you must add the ALLUSERS=1 parameter to the command line.
msiexec /i [path] INSTALLDIR=[path]  ALLUSERS=1

You may also want to use the silent switches

The issue you may be seeing is when the package is installed and who it is installed as (when the batch file runs). Eg If the package is being installed by a user without admin rights then it cannot do a full install.

We use group policy to install these packages at machine startup time and it works fine.

You could (and I do not reccomend this) use the runas command to change the user that the package is installed with, but this means embedding passwords that may be seen by people who should not.

If you use active directory there are a number of other options you can do, such as setting elevated privileges on the installer. (Again, some security risk here)

 

by: TimMcGrathPosted on 2007-09-27 at 17:48:58ID: 19975816

Thanks for the quick response
We do have AD. I usually use gp to install things. The Patchlink is a new deployment software we are using for patches and installations. It Lets us do installs during off hours when no on is on the network or schedules them in advance for off hours. Machines are left on, and if not it boots the machines.
Maybe I miss read....will the AllUSERS=1 does it install for all users or does that check for admin priveleges and fail if they are not admins?
We have tested it with the silent intalls and that works too. I will give the ALLUSERS=1 a shot tomorrow when I get in.
I'm with you, don't like the runas or elevated privileges options.

Thanks....I'll give it a shot and give an update on the status
T

 

by: BeldoranPosted on 2007-09-27 at 19:06:49ID: 19976046

ALLUSERS=1 tells msiexec to install for all users. It is up to the system (gp or patchlink) to ensure that is is run as admin. If it is not run as admin (or system) then it may fail, but it will almost certainly not install for all users.

If Patchlink is running the install and the user does not need to be logged in then you need to check the Patchlink config to see which user it is using. You may have configured a specific 'service' user for this and if so this service user needs admin rights on the local systems.

 

by: BeldoranPosted on 2007-09-27 at 19:09:02ID: 19976051

PS: I have found that I do not normally need to specify ALLUSERS. So it may be that the package you are pushing (or Patchlink) is not behaving properly (try a few different packages and compare the results)

 

by: TimMcGrathPosted on 2007-10-03 at 14:31:12ID: 20010234

Beldoran,

Thanks for all the tips, got the install to run and it installs for all users. Thanks for the help.

We use WinInstall to create packages. Changed a setting in the package to "install per machine" and in the properties of the package set AllUSERS=1

Thanks!

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...