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Windows Vista
Overview
I.Unattended Install
II.Custom Vista Image
III.Deploying with
BDD Workbench
Creating Unattended
Application Installations
On this page:
VM Ware
MS Office 2007
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Preparing Applications for unattended instalation

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Without considering the behavior of individual applications during the installation process, the unattended chaining of tasks can be terminated prematurely. Applications that require a user response need to be identified and alternative setup parameters applied. The same problems apply to applications that require license keys or a reboot of the computer.

Here are a few example applications and how each has overcome these issues.


Adding VM Ware tools as an application

  1. Mount the windows.iso file.
  2. Expand the source files to a temporary directory:
    3. Setup /a and follow the prompts
    Note: it is possible that not all the files needed are extracted to the necessary directories. There should be (along with the MSI file) two sub-directories; Program Files and System32. Copy these directories from the original installation CD (Windows.iso), and over write the directories extracted by the setup program.
  3. Within Deployment Workbench add an application and select the option to copy the source files.
  4. Use the installation command line:
    5. msiexec.exe /i "vmware tools.msi" /qn ADDLOCAL=ALL REBOOT="ReallySuppress" /log %tmp%vmtools.log
  5. Finally, either within any other applications listed in Deployment Workbench, create a dependency on the completed installation of the tools application, or assign the installations as synchronous or consecutive tasks.


Customizing Microsoft Office 2007 for an unattended installation.

  1. Open a command prompt and navigate to the Office source files.
  2. Run Setup /admin to start the customization tool.
  3. Select Create a new Setup customization for the following product: and highlight Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007.
  4. Scroll down to Licensing and user interface and enter the volume license key. (Currently, an evaluation version of Office 2007 can be downloaded from Microsoft for a 60 day trial).
  5. Check the I accept the terms in the License Agreement check box.
  6. Even if it is anticipated the customization will only be used for fully unattended installations, it is still worth leaving the Display level at Full. The duration of the installation is quite long and so displaying the installation splash screen will prevent the appearance of a “hung” process. However, to avoid disruption to the installation, check the No cancel check box.
  7. The selectable options under Features are very granular. It is worth spending time configuring these settings, for the environment and user community, to reduce installation time.
  8. Click File and Save As. Save the file with the Office source files, and name it appropriately, e.g. “MyOffice07.msp”.
  9. To run the customized installation use the syntax:
setup.exe /adminfile MyOffice07.msp
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Don't just give out root. Use Sudo to define and control admin access to all resources - and you are the admin, do the same thing for yourself. You will be much less likely to step on yourself.
Scrolling system messages.
To view Linux system log messages in real-time, open a terminal window, su to root, and type tail –f /var/log/messages. You will see the system messages scroll up the screen as they occur.
Who is using your computer?
Don't leave your computer whilst you are logged on. It only takes a moment for someone to send an email with your account. Always shut down at night and set a password for your screen saver so your PC will remember even if you don't.
Size does matter - passwords.
Make it longer, using upper and lower case, with numbers and special characters. Don't forget spaces and punctuation points can frequently be used to make more memorable, but still secure, pass phrases.
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