Posted by Shawn Anderson on Mon, Jul 11, 2011
I like using the IEAK for customizing deployments of Internet Explorer. After creating a customized deployment for IE9 I was somewhat flummoxed at why my installations were hanging.
Internet Explorer Needs An Update Before Installing
Only when I turned off silent installation and manually (i.e. double-click) installed IE9 using my IEAK build did I see the error:
It's frustrating that Windows doesn't throw an error to catch this missed pre-req. In one example of deploying my test install came back as successful after only 30 seconds. IE9 is pretty stream-lined (only 17MB) but it's not that fast of an installation. Of course I discovered it hadn't actually installed.
Other attempts simply saw the deployment hang. It does this because we set the depoloyments to be silent (don't want to disturb our users, afterall) but the dialog box still appears (but it's invisible) and it expects some user interaction before proceeding.
This patch is particularly picky about its reboot. You can suppress the reboot, but you will not be able to install IE9 until the workstation has been rebooted.
So, in your deployment plan for IE9, be certain to give yourself enough time to deploy KB2454826 to all your systems before pushing our IE9. This will give you plenty of time to reboot those systems without effecting users.
If you don't already use WSUS or another method for managing your Windows patches, you can deploy this patch using our free tool PDQ Deploy. (When it comes to Windows security patches, we recommend WSUS).
After installing PDQ Deploy, simply locate your downloaded patch (KB2454826) and right click on it. Select "Deploy with PDQ".
PDQ Deploy will auto-populate the installer window. Simply give it a name and save it. (By default we set this to not auto-reboot).
At this point you hit OK to save your installer. You can then deploy the installer to any number of Win7 systems that you manage. Ensure that your newly created installer is selected in the left pane and click the "Deploy Now" button. Add your target systems (manual entry, Active Directory, Import text file, AA console, etc.) and select Deploy Now. (Assuming you are logged in with the same administrative account. If not, you can specify an admin account and password in PDQ Deploy).
That's it. Your deployment should only take a moment. Remember that this patch won't take effect until the systems have been rebooted. You can use this same method with PDQ Deploy to install IE9. It's a free tool, so please give it a shot.
Check out our post on using the IEAK to customize your companies IE9 deployment.
Posted by Shawn Anderson on Fri, Jul 08, 2011
The New IEAK for IE9
Microsoft has changed the IEAK (Internet Explorer Administration Kit) a bit for Internet Explorer 9. Here is a walk through of customizing IE9 installation for your company.
- Get the IEAK for IE9
- Install the IE9 on a test system (manual installation)
- Install IEAK on the same system.
- Run the IEAK and make the desired changes.
- Deploy IE9
Steps 2 and 3 are very closely tied together. You need to already have IE9 installed on the computer running IEAK. In fact, if your organization requires proxy servers and other intranet options, get these configured first on your computer. You can then automatically use them in your custom build.
If yo
u attempt to run the IEAK without IE9 being installed you'll get this little love-note.
After installing IE9, start the IEAK and you'll get a series of questions.
Choose a method on how you plan on deploying IE9. You will probably need to select the third option, "Internal Distribution via a Corporate Intranet".
You'll notice the change here from earlier versions of the IEAK where you selected the areas you wanted to change. The first portion is to walk through the wizard. If you wanted to see all of your available categories in the left pane, you'll need to complete the wizard and then open the IEAK Profile Manager (installs with the IEAK).
For right now let's just focus on the wizard. It will make things easier for most of the IEAK customers.
You'll be asked to select which sections you wish to have the wizard walk you through. Remember, you can change these sections manually using the IEAK Profile Manager at a later time.
This next step simply verifies that your installed IE9 version is up to date. If it's not, you'll need to syncronize.
After you syncronize you'll be able to proceed.
The next step is an important one for many users, namely the ability to prevent the IE9 installation from automatically downloading IE9 patches during the installation. If you use WSUS or other applications for patching, you'll want to uncheck this option.
User Experience
Select how you wish to deploy IE9. Most of the time you will choose a "Completely Silent Installation" and "No restart" to suppress the required reboot after installation.
One of the more common customizations made in IEAK is the ability to brand your company or department name. Another common option is to add the help desk phone number to this section.
Browser User Interface
Other options include choosing a home page. You'll notice that Microsoft has a default entry. I usually (and by usually I mean always) whack that entry. If you have a corporate intranet site you can list it here. If your company is experiencing tough economic times, you can always put dice.com or monster.com as the default home page.
Important URL's
Search Providers
If your users prefer a search engine (or if you prefer one for them) then you can select which will be the default in this section. Click "import".
If you don't see Google (and you want to add it) then select "Add" and enter the following info:
There have been some reports in other IE groups that the search providers section is a little spotty, so be sure to check that your preferred selection made it through. Usually the issues are revolving around the favicon for Google (the little icon that identifies or defines a webbrowser in the search field.)
Avoid Clutter
I like to whack any default "favorite" links provided by Microsoft. I think it helps declutter. If you wanted to do the same, it's under the "Browsing Options" section.
Additional Settings
You can make any other changes in the Additional Settings section. Remember, you can always start up the IEAK Profile Manager to modify these settings after you have created your profile.
When the wizard completes go ahead and finish it up. You'll have two directories created; FLAT and INS. If you wish to modify your settings you'll need to open the IEAK Profile Manager and point it to the .ins file in the INS directory.
For deployments you can just use the stand alone installations in FLAT (you have a choice of .msi or .exe).
If you have tips on IEAK customizations that work for your organization please let us know.
NOTE: Remember that there are prerequisites to pushing IE9 to your Win7 and Vista systems. Here is our blog post about the IE9 requirement. This pre-req is particuarly frustrating because if you attempt to push IE9 to a system that doesn't meet the requirements it will either return successful after about 30 seconds, or it will hang indefinately.
