Posted by Shawn Anderson on Wed, Jun 27, 2012
Installing Micrsoft Silverlight silently to all computers is simple. It installs in less than a minute (usually) and has only one parameter to make it install silently (/q). Oh, and Silverlight uninstalls as easily as it installs (/qu).
So there is really no reason to leave it up to your users to accept the install when they attempt to visit a Silverlight enabled page. You can take control now and ensure that all your systems have it installed.
Using the new Installer Library In PDQ Deploy 2.0.1 you can download and deploy a ready-to-run Installer for Silverlight.
After you initate the deployment you can verify the status from the main console window.
For more information on deploying Silverlight, reference the Silverlight Deployment Guide (.doc).
Download your free copy of PDQ Deploy.
Need to see if Silverlight is already installed? Get your free copy of PDQ Inventory.
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Posted by Shane Corellian on Mon, Jun 18, 2012
My favorite feature of PDQ Deploy 2.0 is the Installer Library.
Installer Library
The Installer Library will soon (Summer 2012) move to a cost subscription model. Right now it's no-cost (while we iron out the wrinkles).
The Installer Library provides "Pre-sliced, rust-proof, easy-to-handle, low-calorie..." Installers for common applications and it is available within PDQ Deploy. You do need to have a connection to the internet to view and download available Installers.
You will notice that the Installers that you download will be placed in your Installers folder. But where are the actual Installation Files stored? The Setup.exe? The MSI files? They are copied to the Repository, which is another new feature with PDQ Deploy.
The Repository
The Repository is, by default, placed in the All Users Documents folder. Go to your Preferences and you select the Repository panel and you will see what I mean.
Let's open up one of the Installers that we downloaded from the Library.
Now, you're ready to deploy Microsoft .NET 4 to your target computers.
See this video to see an example of deploying Adobe Flash Plugin, which was downloaded from the Installer Library.
Initially we are going to have a few popular Installers ready to go. While we always intend on having a few common Installers available the majority of the Installers will ultimately be available with a subscription. We are still working the subscription thing out.
A few words about the Repository. You do not HAVE to store your install files here. You must have, however, a valid directory (preferably a network share) that you define for your Repository. Any installer that is downloaded from the Library will be placed in this directory. Obviously to change the location of your repository go to File > Preferences. Select Repository. Change the path to a valid location. Please note that the credentials used by PDQ Deploy (PDQDeploy service (AKA Backgound Service) and your Deployment user(s)) must have the necessary rights to read and copy files from the Repository.
If you can't access the Installer Library you may need to provide your Proxy credentials. You can do that via the Preferences window. Just select Proxy Server panel and enter your credentials in the two fields.
Let us know what you think. From your Help menu select Submit Feedback. Please include your email address if you want us to write back with follow up questions or answers.
Refer to this post about the Installer Library and the $(Repository)
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Posted by Shane Corellian on Tue, Jun 12, 2012
One of the coolest features in PDQ Inventory 1.1.3 is the ability to uninstall software on your managed computers. This feature is available when running PDQ Inventory in Pro mode.
Under the Covers
When PDQ Inventory scans for installed software it will also look in the registry to see if the software vendor included an Uninstall command. This is the command that is executed when you go into Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features (or Add/Remove Software in XP) and you select the application you want to remove. The problem, however is that the vast majority of the time this included command does not run the uninstallation silently. Just like with deploying software we have to find the quiet (or silent) method for uninstalling the software.
Most of the time the uninstall command will simply be calling MsiExec.exe. If we see the uninstall is called via MsiExec.exe we will automatically place the commands needed to run silently. For example, the Uninstall command included with Adobe Reader X (EN-US) is:
MsiExec.exe /I{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-AA1000000001}
Since this command will not quietly remove Adobe Reader we simply replace the /I with /qn /X
MsiExec.exe /qn /X{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-AA1000000001}
See the example below where I go to the computer, Archer, and in the Applications pane I right-click on Adobe Reader X and select Uninstall.
When I select Uninstall the Uninstall string is sent to a Remote Command window.
OK, but what about those Uninstall commands that don't include msiexec? Well, this is where you need to do some research.
It's All About Homework
Let's look at an example. The computer, Archer, has an old version of Foxit Reader installed. The Uninstall string stored in the registry is:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\unins000.exe"
Once again, chances are very good that this command needs to be modifyed to run silently. A simple google search for
silent uninstall foxit 5 unins000.exe
and I was able to quickly determine that I needed to pass the command line parameter: /silent
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\unins000.exe" /silent
After I ran a new inventory scan on Archer I verified that both Adobe Reader X and Foxit Reader 5 were no longer installed.
A Few Additional Points
If the Uninstall string contains a path with spaces but is not enclosed in quotes, you will receive an error. In the next release we will add quotes to paths that we detect contain spaces but for now, beware. Also, when you add quotes make certain that only the path is enclosed. Do not enclose any parameters in quotes. See the example above where /silent is outside of the end quotes.
Some applications (such as Microsoft Office) may contain Uninstall strings that have MsiExec however there is additional info needed. To remove Office products you need to include a config.xml file. In these cases we recommend using PDQ Deploy to uninstall. Follow this link for an example of uninstalling Visio 2007.
Posted by Shane Corellian on Mon, Jun 04, 2012
Take a moment to see how PDQ Deploy installs software. This will help you troubleshoot deployment issues that may arise.
Under The Hood: How PDQ Deploy Installs Software To Remote Computers
A couple of points to add to the above document:
PDQ Deploy installs software using a Windows Service. This means a few things including:
- Deployments intended to run under specific user accounts may not yield desired results. If you deploy software that adds a shortcut to the "currently logged on user's desktop" then the shortcut will be created on the desktop of the Deployment user.
- With very few exceptions, deployments do not display windows on the target computers. An exception to this is when you call the msg.exe utility.
- Deployments run FROM the target computer. This is important you attempt to include Command Actions (Pro Mode) in your Installer. For example, if you have command action that attempts the following command
copy C:\Users\Shane\Desktop\myShortcut.lnk %AllUsersProfile%\Desktop
you will probably be disappointed. Since the copy command is executed FROM the target the first path is expected to exist locally on the target. If you wanted to copy a shortcut file from your computer to the targets then you would need to provide a UNC path to the shortcut. Of course any UNC path must be accessible by the Deployment credentials. You would be better served to copy your shortcut file onto a network share and try something like
copy "\\Server\Share\Shortcuts\myShortcut.lnk" "%AllUsersProfile%\Desktop" /Y
Just a note: The term "Action" is being replaced with "Step" in PDQ Deploy 2.0. We think that Step is more intuitive in your multi-step deployments. Multi Step installers are only available in PDQ Deploy Pro mode.
