Deploying applications that aren't an MSI in a GPO?
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Hey guys,
Do you have any tips on deploying applications that aren't MSIs via gpo?
I see a lot of apps have command line switches like 'accept eula' 'quiet' etc. that look handy for silently installing apps without intervention.
But I get stuck at scripting it. Where do I put the script, startup scripts? how do I make it not run every time. I guess i do it on the computer side of a gpo so it runs as system.
What scripts do you guys use and where do you put them?
Thanks! -
Group Policy Software Installation (GPSI) only supports deploying applications using the MSI format. This is one of the limitations of using GPSI.
Some applications wrap the MSI inside an EXE. In this case, you can use something like 7-Zip to extract the files from the EXE and obtain the MSI. Another method would be to run the EXE, then find the files that were extracted. Common locations to check are:
C:\ProgramData
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local
C:\Users\username\AppData\LocallowIf the EXE doesn't contain an MSI, there are third party tools that will convert an EXE to an MSI.
Once you have an MSI for the application, you can use something like ORCA (part of the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 8.1) to either modify the original MSI file with the required switches, or create a Transform file (MST) that contains the required switches (recommended method).
Creating an MST leaves the MSI unmodified for re-usability, and you can create several different MSTs to accommodate different scenarios. For example, you might create multiple GPOs that use the same MSI, but use different MSTs, to install the application using different language settings in a multi-national office.