Silent install fails via SCCM 2007

[scotteb]

I have a large client that uses Microsoft’s SCCM 2007 to deploy one of our apps. Their process is to place the installation command line in a BAT file, and then setting up SCCM to run that BAT file on the target PCs as an administrator when no user is logged in. This has worked for years until I added a dialog for destination. Note that a default value for destination is set. Now, the BAT file works fine when run them manually, but when deployed with SCCM, the BAT file runs, but there is no sign of the software installed when it’s finished.

This is the line inside the BAT file which should do the install: CC+Edit_Install_182.exe /s

I had the client run logging for both the manual BAT file (success) and SSCM-run BAT file (failure). Those are attached.

In the InstallFinalize section (line 1169 of the SSCM file) an error is recorded:
Error 1312. Cannot create the directory 'C:\Windows\TEMP\mia7B9C.tmp\CC+Edit_Install_182.exe'.
A file with this name already exists. Please rename or remove the file and click retry, or click Cancel to exit.
This causes the install to rollback. Not sure why that file would be there, or be a problem. The file is not present before the installation begins.

Attached is the event viewer extract which shows it
starting in C:\Windows\Temp\mia3\,
hitting that error in C:\Windows\TEMP\mia7B9C.tmp\,
and then finishing in C:\Windows\Temp\mia3\ again.

Thanks for any assitance,
Scott

[FrancescoT]

Dear Scott,

just a question, you said "This has worked for years until I added a dialog for destination".

have you tried to remove the dialog? the package works without? which destination dialog have you used? can you post a screenshot?

Regards

[scotteb]

I think this is the Alpha theme. Attached is a screenshot.

Best,
Scott

[FrancescoT]

Dear Scott,

I suppose that the problem is caused by the value of "ALLUSERS" variable.
Very probably you have modified this value with your last changes.

Because you are running the package under system account ... this should be TRUE.

can you please verify it?

Regards

[scotteb]

Thank you. Time to work on the quarterly update!

I don't set the value of ALLUSERS anywhere, and the only instance of it in the MSIcode is boilerplate to set the SHORTCUTFOLDER value.

I did add a new variable $DataDir$, so that the user could override the default. There is a line in the MSICode to set the default to $ALLAPPDATA$\NTIS\CC+Edit\.
I also set $TARGETDIR$ to $PROGRAMFILES$\NTIS\$TITLE$. Both of these are displayed in the destination dialog at run time. Of course, the point here is that the user is running in silent mode without the dialogs.
Install works for me at the command-line (I do not have SCCM) and manually for my client. Only fails when run via SCCM. I was hoping the log files would help...

Best,
Scott

[FrancescoT]

Dear Scott,

can you please verify if the following topics can help you?
http://www.installaware.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6658&hilit=user+account&start=15
(scroll to the last page)

With the above link is available a Test setup project to be executed under system account.
I used the following tool to test it.

PSTools can be found here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553

Regards

[scotteb]

Francesco,

Thank you for the link. I am not clear as to what solved the problem in that thread - the use of psexec or that he abanonded toe MSI engine and used the IA native installer. Do you know?

Meanwhile, I have sent the test install and notes about psexec to my clinet - perhaps that will be the end of the issue for me as well. I have reservations though, since he had been using SSMS for a while without issue (see first post).

Best,
Scott

[FrancescoT]

Dear Scott,

. I am not clear as to what solved the problem in that thread - the use of psexec or that he abanonded toe MSI engine and used the IA native installer. Do you know?

The problem was simply caused by the user project settings and personally I don't think that switching to Native Engine was the only solution.

For what I found, Very often the problem is caused by how the ALLUSER is handled during the setup execution.
If the setup is executed under system account and the ALLUSER variable is erroneously initialized as FALSE, this can cause failure execution.
Of course, due NATIVE ENGINE properties any eventual problem that can be caused by MSI rules, cabe be skipped using InstallAware native engine.

The PSTools is only a tool as many other available and beacuse of its easy to use command line, it can be very useful to quicly test a package.
With the same topic is available a ready to use package (SysTest (exe only).zip ) that I realised to test system account installation.

Hope this helps you.

Regards