Making Switchless Installers

[orkim]

WPI Community,

I've been looking for a way of making a custom Windows XP CD for myself. I've been able to use nLite and make a CD which contains the hotfixes and removed components I will never need/use. So far so good.

Now, the fun part. I've been lurking on the MSFN forums for nearly a week, and have yet to see how to create my own 'switchless installers' of applications which I would like to automatically install.

Maybe I have the wrong idea as to what these actually are, so please correct me. I see this as a way to add software (driver installers, utilities like WinRAR, and other useful applications), which is the very first thing I do anyways, after a fresh install of Windows. The problem is that these applications usually require user interaction to complete (or at least to accept the default options).

If this idea is totally going down the wrong path you can stop here; possibly just read the last paragraph and correct me please. If I have the above picture correct, then...

How do I take a program and package it so I'm able to put it on the Windows XP CD I create? What tools do I need? How do I select the options I wish to use (directory, full/partial install, etc.)? I'm assuming I just can not download say 20 applications and plop them on the Windows CD and be done.

I've read all over on this forum and several others in search of how to create these installers. I am either terrible at searching or posts don't exist to show exactly how to do this sort of operation. I understand that nLite can force install applications (using switchless installers) and I've concluded that the difference is that WPI will prompt with the menu where I can decide if I want each application on this fresh install.

Finally, I'll sum up what I want and hopefully I can get some meaningful advice on how to approach the task. I want a Windows XP CD upated with the latest hotfixes. I want the ability during install or after first boot to be able to install a set (or subset of that set) of applications which I use regularly. I want the ability/knowledge of being able to package my own applicaitons so I do not have to rely on a third party to update when I decide to make a new Windows XP CD. That would make my day.

Thanks!

orkim

P.S. - I would like to thank you in advance for your responses to any or all of my questions. I applogize for the length of the post. Hopefully I will be able to give back to the project in some fashion. Writing, perhaps?

Edited September 7, 2006 by orkim

[sadicq]

Well I stopped at the part with the user interraction.

It is right that all the programs need user input.

However those who made the installers thought about silent switches.

So, instead of launching the program like setup.exe, you call it setup.exe /S or its specific switch.

Remember that this is true only for some programs and there are many switches out there.

To help you understand better, you should read here about the different types of installers. The guide covers the most common types and gives you the switches.

Btw, in the tools archive you can find on the wpi site, there's a utility called USSF (Universal Silent Switch Finder). Check that out too.

Then, for the programs that don't support switches, the users of MSFN have written AutoIt scripts that simulate keystrokes. There's a special thread for that too. Check it in Application Install forum.

[zorphnog]

Yes. The Application Install forum is your friend. All the tools and advice you need are there.