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How to make a 7-Zip Switchless Installer

keytotime

By keytotime
in Application Installs

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  • 3 weeks later...

pmshah

pmshah

Posted
Posted
this might sound stupid but where can i find 7sf.sfx file or how do i create it will someone please explain

From 7.zip site I presume.

If you open the help file under 7zip it is very clearly explained how to create auto installation sfx files. Also provides links for downloads.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
tech_boy

tech_boy

Posted
Posted

ok... newbie question coming up... :thumbup

Righty, so my installer has been made (happy days), it all works fine, BUT, where in the folder hierachy for my unattended CD does it go?

Appologies for the horrendous question, but its wednesday and i'm tired!

Jonny :unsure:

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Martin H

Martin H

Posted
Posted (edited)

I simply follow the great MSFN unattended guide's RunOnceEx section :

http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/view/web/31/

So inside your 'XPCD\$OEM$' folder, then make a new folder named '$1' and everything you place in there will be copied to '%systemdrive%' during installation. Then make a new folder in 'XPCD\$OEM$\$1' called e.g. 'install'(you can also make another one called e.g. drivers) and then place all your apps in there + a 'cleanup.cmd' file which amongst other command also includes 'rd /s /q %systemdrive%\install' at the end, so that the '%systemdrive%\install' directory is deleted. Also follow the above linked guide to make yourself a 'RunOnceEx.cmd' file and place it in the 'XPCD\$OEM$' folder and add "RunOnceEx.cmd' to your 'cmdlines.txt' file right under [COMMANDS].

Alternatively, you can make the switchless installers into nLite addons instead and add them as hotfixes, but personally i preffer the above solution...

CU, Martin.

Edit: Corrected 'Additionally' to 'alternatively'.

Edited by Martin H
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tech_boy

tech_boy

Posted
Posted (edited)

thanks for your fast and knowledgeable reply martin!

Few questions,

After following the 7Zip installer method, im left with a file called dotnetfx.exe (for example) is that the app that has to be run through RunOnceEx?

Also, is RunOnceEx the only way to install switchless installers, or is there another way?

Cheers again

Jonny

Sorry, is there no way to call it from cmdlines.txt directly and not have to use runonceex?. appologies for being a berk!

Edited by tech_boy
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Martin H

Martin H

Posted
Posted (edited)

You can instead use the GuiRunOnce method for installing apps and which is a little easier than the RunOnceEx method(but a little less professional looking during install). You then remove the 'RunOnceEx.cmd' from your 'cmdlines.txt' and instead add the following to your 'winnt.sif' file :

[GuiRunOnce]

%systemdrive%\install\start.cmd

Then place all your apps/switchless installers into a folder you create called: 'XPCD\$OEM$\$1\install\'. Then you create a batch file which installs all the apps and name the batch file 'start.cmd' and also place it in the 'XPCD\$OEM$\$1\install\' folder.

Please read MSFN's 'Unattended Windows' guide, so that you will understand the basics a litttle better :

http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/sitemap

CU, Martin.

Edit: Sorry, i apologise for being off-topic...

Edited by Martin H
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Martin H

Martin H

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just in case someone didn't knew it, then Oleg_Sch has made a modified version of the 7-Zip SFX installer module, which e.g. gives the possibility of hidding the extraction dialog completely, so that the installation will become totally silent. This is done by adding 'GUIMode="2"' to 'config.txt'.

It's from the same guy which also gave us the two other great tools 'hidcon.exe' and 'msistub.exe'.

http://7zsfx.solta.ru/en/

CU, Martin.

Edited by Martin H
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Martin H

Martin H

Posted
Posted

I have just read up on the docs for the modified 7-Zip SFX installer module and i'm just blown away of how cool it's been made now :)

There are a bunch of commands that can be used in 'config.txt', but most notably, then '.msi' files can be run from 'RunProgram=', so 'msistub.exe' isn't needed anymore.

The console window can be completely hidden if adding the parameter 'hidcon:' to 'RunProgram=', like this : RunProgram="hidcon:setup.cmd", so 'hidcon.exe', 'hidec.exe' and 'cmdow.exe' and the likes isn't needed anymore either.

Finally, then "waiting" is enabled by default for 'RunProgram=', unless 'nowait:' parameter is used, so 'startX.exe' is also not needed anymore.

These examples are all from the latest beta linked to in my previous post.

CU, Martin.

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leadboots5

leadboots5

Posted
Posted

ok, im completely noob i guess. im pretty good at computers, but im completely new to this. . heres how i interpret this. any help is appreciated. i have read all 11 pages of this.

making winrar 3.7:

1. make the archive - i used universal extractor to extract the .exe and then archived them

made file: winrar.7z

2. from reading i gathered i could use the newest .sfw thinger

downloaded file: 7zSD.sfx

3. make notepad file save in UTF8

file has:

;!@Install@!UTF-8!

RunProgram="winrar.exe /s" (i have no idea what executable it wants. so i assume the final one you make from the 3 files)

GUIMode="2"

;!@InstallEnd@!

4. folder has 3 files now

5. open command prompt CD to folder

type/run : copy /b 7zsd.sfx + config.txt + winrar.7z winrar.exe

then i go and to Run As. im an administrator. and i get "could not open archive file (target file here) access is denied"

so i uncheck the protect my computer box on the run as and do it again. it opens up WinRAR. which is installed already and an old version.

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Martin H

Martin H

Posted
Posted (edited)

Sorry, i don't know what the problem is and i also don't know why you need to make extra "run as" changes if your user account has admin rights to begin with, but atleast i can answer this question of yours :

RunProgram="winrar.exe /s" (i have no idea what executable it wants. so i assume the final one you make from the 3 files)

It's the '.exe' or '.cmd' file which you want to have loaded after the '.7z' archive has been extracted, so if you have a folder with: '7ZSD.sfx', 'config.txt' and 'archive.7z', then it's the installation program, or batch file which is packed inside the 7z archive. Basically, what happens is that the '7ZSD.sfx' module will unpack the 7z archive into your Windows Temp folder and then it will look in the 'config.txt' file to see which file you want to have loaded from the newly unpacked 7z archive, which in your case is the 'winrar.exe' installer executable and with the extra '/s' switch to make the installation silent/unattended.

Sorry that i couldn't be of more help, though - but i just thought that i would explain what exactly happens, so that you would understand the answer to your question.

CU, Martin.

Edit: Ahh, i thought that i did remember that the WinRAR installer executable was called 'wrar.exe' or something and not 'winrar.exe' and so i have just downloaded the latest version(WinRAR v3.7b8) to check the name of it(i personally have converted to 7-Zip for all packing/unpacking jobs) and sure enough, it was called 'wrar37b8.exe', so unless you have renamed the installer executable, then this should be the reason why you're having problems :)

Edited by Martin H
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