where can i get .msi packages?

[Mike]

....for commonly installed stuff - mainly Microsoft related.

eg. Can I get an .msi package variation of:

XP SP1 (and soon, SP2)
IE 6 patches/updates
Windows Updates

and other third party stuff - eg. adobe acrobat, winzip
etc. Can I make these, or do they have to come pretty
much set up and created by the vendor?

And the ones I have (for example, the Citrix ICA
client .MSI) - do I have to have an MSI editor to make it
unattended and set options?

I want to push this stuff down via AD with little to no
end user interaction - just a reboot.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Enkidu]

...for commonly installed stuff - mainly Microsoft related.

eg. Can I get an .msi package variation of:

XP SP1 (and soon, SP2)
IE 6 patches/updates
Windows Updates

and other third party stuff - eg. adobe acrobat, winzip
etc. Can I make these, or do they have to come pretty
much set up and created by the vendor?

And the ones I have (for example, the Citrix ICA
client .MSI) - do I have to have an MSI editor to make it
unattended and set options?

I want to push this stuff down via AD with little to no
end user interaction - just a reboot.

There are third party packages that will create msi files. However
they cost. Microsoft has released a toolset, so I guess you could
build your own....<grin>

http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3336291

Cheers,

Cliff

 

[Tim Hines [MSFT]]

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Windows Installer Packages and Repackaging Software for the Windows Installer Using VERITAS WinINSTALL LE
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/planning/management/veritas..asp


--
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Tim Hines, MCSE, MCSA
Windows 2000 Directory Services

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[Mike]

OK, thanks. Well, I got to the part in that article
about "it leaves much to be desired" and decided I
probably wouldn't have the time to go down that road.

So - what's one of the most common, or (I know this is
subjective) - best - tools out there to do this? Easiest
to use, bang-for-buck, etc.

Seems like it wouldn't be a big deal - a setup.exe package
should have all the info within the package itself, so
isn't converting to an .msi just taking all those
answers/parameters/options & executables and reformating
it into whatever it takes to be an .msi? Maybe I'm over
simplifying here, but a lot of downloads I see now
are .msi - so I assume any .msi I get from a vendor can be
deployed via AD.

Just surprising to me that there's this incredible
tool/power in AD and I have a lot of these setup.exe's
laynig around (includnig major MS patches!) and I can't
use the two together.

What am I missing? Thanks for your answers!

Mike