Best way to make unattended app. install

[Nologic]

sleepydvdr -

There have been a few attempts to do such things. Most dealt with batch script creation...but would more or less walk you through what needed to be done.

Those projects tho where under staffed because ether the developer wanted full control...or lack of support by forum users. Generally the real reason is that some one would come up with some new wiz bang new way of doing things that looked cooler or added a lot more features.

This can be seen by nLite replacing GreenMachine's batch scripts, and some one else's component removal scripts. Since it was some thing newer and flasher...and over time did get to where it finally did more than what came before it.

Every one used batch scripts at one point...then later used RunOnce invoked batch scripts, then multiple RunOnce, then xplode, then WPI, then....

Things keep changing...and it is indeed hard if not impossible to sit down and create some thing that will do every thing for every one.

Any ways right now there is a way for people to add app's easy...tho the app list is limited. This is done ether with nLite or RVM's Intergrator. Fine people like Kelsenellenelvian, Xable, RougeSpear, and Siginet plus a horde of others have put forth the effort to make doing an unattended CD\DVD id*** proof, simply download thier cab files and point ether nLite or the Intergrator at them and in no time they are now part of your disk. Its about as simple as it can get.

I make use of some of them my self, namely for stuff like shell extensions...don't really use them for applications since the current batch makes a bit of a mess with directorys and menu items all over the place...and well I'm a bit of a control freak in that area...so till the app's start making use of some sort of standardized grouping's...I'll continue to use AutoIt for my app's.

How ever I have been putting some thought into doing up a CD's worth of freeware app's using AutoIt automation, and then torrenting the disk image for others to ether use as is...or by adding them to ones unattended disk.

oldbones -

hmmm first off any help you or any one else gets personally is a gift...its not some thing owed, or required...realize that first and foremost.

One third of my post count is for my shared works..ie AutoIt scripts I have shared, a quarter for short tutorials, the rest is made up of helpful pointers and points of view.

So for you to assume that I or any one else that "maybe" thought of as a vet, is not helping out those new to this is flate wrong. RogueSpear I believe has done more to help the new guys out than I have...matter fact I'm fairly certain of it.

So you or some one else not being lucky to receive our efforts is simply bad luck. Maybe in a day or so we will have time or interest in pitching in...maybe not.

Also I've never heard of any general post removal from this site, other than that put forth by the author of the post. So if some thing is not coming up in your search...try different phrases...its likely posted here..or has a link some where from here to the needed information.

I'd like you to also keep in mind that a lot of the vets as you so use the term, specialize in certain area's and have loose information in other area's. If you where to ask me about WPI, I'd be useless even tho I most certainly am able to get it to work. How ever you ask me about AutoIt, and I'll likely blow your doors off, with the amount of information and tips I can provide. How ever should you want a tutorial...you would be SOL for the time being, as I haven't the time currently to write up one.

If you get help be thankful, if you don't ether the person that could help you isnt currently around or is tied up with other things....but strongly keep in mind that in all likely hood...what your needing to know is covered some where with in these forums.

Also knocking the vets is in all likely hood just pushing them more into not wanting to help. A good example would be gosh...haven't seen him in a long time and he made huge contributions to this forum...not liked by all...but a true asset no matter how you viewed him.

Well best of luck...this is getting way to long winded as is.

[No6]

Too many comments to reply to individually, I will try to address them indirectly.

I have been a member of this community for a year now, and I have made about 60 posts. 40 of them in the last month. Until now, I was busy learning some of the things that other people volunteer. I hadn't even been ready to ask meaningful questions. Yet, there were time that I wanted to, but refrained from doing so wondering whether the answer might be hidden somewhere and someone took an issue with my failure of finding it. This isn't just me. I have seen this over and over in these forums.

I want to make this clear. I appreciate the fact that other people donate their time and knowledge in any technical forum and they aren't obligated to help anyone. However, when just starting out and are bombarded by different concepts, one needs direction more than answers, preferably from members of the same community. You advanced users think that techniques learned over the years can be learned overnight. When you have a good grasp of many technical issues, you can make connections and come up with your own answers. Someone new to all this can't, and when they dare ask the question, they are all lazy.

Then, there are those who post answers to amaze others with their knowledge. The fact that the answers may be beyond someone's understanding is of no importance. Then, when the person needing help asks for clarification, again they are accused of lazyness. It's a catch-22 situation. **** if you do and damned if you don't. I guess it boils down to the reason why people post. It is to help others, or to flaunt their knowledge? An answer that doesn't help the person asking the question is useless, no matter how "smart" it is or what is the poster's motive behind it. Yes, you can suggest alternatives to a poster's question, but what good is AutoIT or WPI when the person has no grasp of RunOnceEx? What good is RunOnceEx when the person doesn't know command line syntax? I am not suggesting that you should take someone by the hand and mentor him, but you can at least tell them that to get to C, one must go through B first and what they must learn to accomplish it.

Yes, there are those who ARE habitually lazy and want their hands held. I've seen them too. But it's a peculiar thing. When someone does ask a redundant question, I see a bunch of replies putting them down and at he same time posting links to the articles themselves. They hand them the question anyway but want exact their toll on them. It's like, "Here's the answer, but I resent giving it to you so I'll take a strip of your hide in exchange." In essence, you, yourselves condition them to act they way they do instead of ignoring them completely to discourage their behaviour. A habitually lazy person doesn't think twice about posting, knowing that the answer will come up anyway, and they'll just ignore the flak that comes with it.

Alright, this is turning into a rant and I'll stop. I just want to say that not everyone asking a question is lazy, even if it's a redundant question. After all, isn't this a community? Hey, I am not trying to change the world, in fact I don't expect any of this to be taken seriously. No one likes to be on the defensive. Just like the newcomers get defensive and clamp up when they are called lazy, so do the advanced users act accordingly when someone critisizes their own behaviour.

[thuun derboy]

@RogueSpear,

-you're funny, and so nice to go into that much detail on such a load of...

The SAV question is quite funny.

I've been doing unattended deployment for a relatively short time and I was able to do the SAV10 in about 5 or 10 minutes, w/that days updates from their ftp site. I wanted to use it 'cause it covers a Network vs. one workstation. When it began to delete my, well I won't go into that, but let's just say they have more than viral signatures in their database!!

thx for a laugh.

btw

I'm not trying to say I'm some kind a brain, point is, some seem horrified to read more than 3 words in a row.

Edited January 13, 2006 by thuun derboy

[Nologic]

No6 -

Okay first off it sounds like you're making the world to be out against you and every one else new to this.

Personally I have no interest in humoring you. You feel that I'm talking over peoples heads and getting them all turned around.

Well frankly your wrong. It is FAR shorter and FASTER to learn what you NEED to know when you know what direction you wish to head.

I mean really why learn about RunOnce at all if it has not a **** thing to do with what your looking to end up with.

I see it better for people to have an idea of what they want to do...then they can find out how to do it.

Teaching people 5 dozen things when all they need to do is learn six seems a** backwards to me.

Learning commandline is worthless if they wish to do custom installers, or AutoIt automation.

Any ways I don't know about you...but I tend to get annoyed with I have to repeat the same s*** 30 or more times a month. I also get p***y, along with many others when, what some one is asking shows up with in the first few pages of a search.

Also its such useless posts by these people that won't search all that long and hard...that make future search's all that more difficult since there will NOW be more false positives....but thats okay right because us vets are suppose to keep repeating the same s*** every time some one asks....hmmm.

The fact that some one does post a link is to turn a false positive into a positive...but its an extra layer of trash to have to go through to get to the real meat. So really a toll should be extracted since those that will and do search now have to put up with more crap and may end up losing hope...and ether dropping the ball all together or end up adding to the trash pile.

I'm sorry new guys feel like the vets are being elitest...but really they are not..they simply want as few false positives as possible...so that frankly the new guys can find what they are looking for faster and easier.

If you can't understand the logic and reasoning behind it...well to bad. Maybe you'll get it the next time you search and pull up 500-600 pages of crap, while knowing full good and well that some where in the forum...the topic is covered.

[RogueSpear]

I second that. And I'm done with this particular thread.

[Fr33m4n]

@nologic: I agree with you. I'm a noob here and when I try to search there are so many false positives. I feel there should be a sticky that covered a few very general terms (names of possible methods, no guides). That way we noobs would have a better idea of what to search for. And maybe a few links to some of the good explenations already given. In fact your first post in this thread has helped me out a lot and you could amlost sticky that. But if it is not too much to ask I was hoping that you might clerify a few things. 1) what is the easiest method of unattended installation and integration onto a win xp install cd if your primary concern is updating the applications install files on the disc hen new versions come out. That is replace the files on the disc with a newer version of the app. and 2) do I have to learn AutoIt or does there exist switches for nearly all apps. Right now I'm learning "RunOnceEx cmd maker" and "universal silent switch finder" and I'm just wondering if I'm wasting my time because I won't be able to get all the apps I want.

If you only care about how the installation looks, and want easy to update software versions...then the following is suggested.

xplode with stock installers, using silent switchs with in xplod. (full unattended)

Perhaps that answers my first question but I have not seen any good guides to xplode though I know that RunOnceEx.cmd maker can output to its' file format. Perhaps it won't be that hard to find out how to import and integrate it however I'm concerned that xplode might expire before I fully learn how to use it. I don't really see why it has to be timebomb shareware when private persons are inspired to use it.

Edited January 15, 2006 by Fr33m4n

[Nologic]

1) Batch or AutoIt performing commandline switch's , from cmdlines.txt, or [GuiRunOnce] section in winnt.sif

2) AutoIt automation is not normally needed 97% of the time, but is suggested to learn over Batch.

Doing installations via commandline is not a waste of time for most people...and one could write a Batch or AutoIt script to clean up the start menu if it becomes unbearable.

I'm not fully up to speed on xplode...so you would have to ask some one else about its time constraints.

Any ways good to hear my post was of some use, and best of luck with your creation.

Oh you may want to have a look at CMenu by MHz, its a handy toolset for making unattended disks.

Edited January 15, 2006 by Nologic

[tjhart85]

I mean really why learn about RunOnce at all if it has not a **** thing to do with what your looking to end up with.

.......

Teaching people 5 dozen things when all they need to do is learn six seems a** backwards to me.

I'll agree with this. Why bother teaching what people don't need, its pointless, and it takes up valuable space in my head.

And as for finding things using search, its next to impossible now because people post so many **** questions on how to do it. If you just searched in the first place it'd be simple!

I've been here nearly a year, most my posts have been helping people. Why did I not ask a whole bunch of questions, why because theres a search button! Thats what its there for. Its not there to look pretty, its there to answer your questions. I see so many people asking how to install nero or firefox, or whatnot, its insane!

--Edit:

Wow, I was here a year as of September, my how time fly's

Edited January 17, 2006 by tjhart85