Microsoft Windows Installer (Windows 7/2008).
Syntax MSIEXEC /Option RequiredParameter [OptionalParameter] Install Options Install or configure a product: MSIEXEC /package Product.msi MSIEXEC /i Product.msi Administrative install, Install a product on the network: MSIEXEC /a Product.msi Advertise a product to all users: MSIEXEC /j m Product.msi [/t TransformList] [/g LanguageID] Advertise a product to current user: MSIEXEC /j u Product.msi [/t TransformList] [/g LanguageID] Uninstall the product: MSIEXEC /uninstall Product.msi MSIEXEC /x Product.msi MSIEXEC /uninstall ProductCode MSIEXEC /x ProductCode Display Options Quiet mode, no user interaction /quiet Unattended mode - progress bar only /passive Set user interface level: None /qn Set user interface level: Basic UI /qb Set user interface level: Reduced UI /qr Set user interface level: Full UI (default) /qf Help information /help Restart Options Do not restart after the installation is complete: /norestart Prompt the user for restart if necessary: /promptrestart Always restart the computer after installation: /forcerestart Logging Options /le Logfile Log All error messages /lw Logfile Log Non-fatal warnings /li Logfile Log Status messages /la Logfile Log Start up of actions /lr Logfile Log Action-specific records /lu Logfile Log User requests /lc Logfile Log Initial (UI) parameters /lm Logfile Log Out-of-memory or fatal exit information /lo Logfile Log Out-of-disk-space messages /lp Logfile Log Terminal properties /lv Logfile Log Verbose output /lx Logfile Log Extra debugging information /l* Logfile Log all information, except for v and x options /log Logfile Equivalent of /l*/l+ Logfile Append to an existing log file. /l! Logfile Flush each line to the log. Update Options Apply update(s) /update [;Update2.msp] Remove update(s) for a product: /uninstall [;Update2.msp] /package Repair Options - Repair a previously installed product /fp Repair/fix - replace missing files /fo Repair/fix - replace Older files(default) /fe Repair/fix - replace older or Equal date files /fd Repair/fix - replace Different version files /fc Repair/fix - replace files based on Checksum differences /fa Repair/fix - replace All files /fu Repair/fix - rewrite HKCU registry(default) /fm Repair/fix - rewrite HKLM registry(default) /fs Repair/fix - recreate shortcuts(default) /fv Repair/fix - rewrite local cache from source Set Public Properties [PROPERTY=PropertyValue]
Windows installer (and msiexec) have been updated with each major release of Windows (from 2000 to XP to 2008 R2) Windows Installer redistributables are available at the Microsoft Download Center.
Registry Keys:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
Product codes - the ProductCode for each application is a GUID that can be retrieved with a WMI query in VBScript or PowerShell, Get-WmiObject Win32_Product will return the IdentifyingNumber which is the Product code:
PS C:\> gwmi Win32_Product -Filter "Name LIKE 'Paint.net v3%'"
(n.b. Win32_Product should be used sparingly as it will reconfigure installed programmes, see Q974524)
Do not use the domain controller SYSVOL folder as a Windows Installer installation point, doing so can result in the following error when you attempt to run the Windows Installer (.msi) package:
This installation package could not be opened. Verify that the package exists and that you can access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer package.
This is because the SYSVOL folder is created with the SHI1005_FLAGS_RESTRICT_EXCLUSIVE_OPENS attribute, which prevents it from being exclusively locked by Windows Installer. Having locked files on a SYSVOL will create Active Directory directory service synchronization problems.
Examples:
Install:
msiexec /i "C:\Install\ss64app.msi"
UnInstall:
msiexec /uninstall "{5AFF6499-63BA-4A36-83B2-8D256404AC3D}" /log "C:\install\ss64app.txt"
or remotely with psexec
psexec \\$workstation -s msiexec /uninstall "{5AFF6499-63BA-4A36-83B2-8D256404AC3D}" /log "C:\install\ss64app.txt"
Extracting files from an MSI
msiexec /a MSIFile /qb TARGETDIR=DestinationDirectory
Extract the files from adminpak.msi:
msiexec /a adminpak.msi /qb TARGETDIR=C:\reskit\adminpak
“People don’t resist change. They resist being changed!” - Peter Senge.
Related:
CHANGE - Terminal Server session install mode.
REGSVR32 - Register or unregister a DLL.
RunDll32 - Uninstall DLL's e.g. MS Java.
docs.microsoft.com - Released Versions of Windows Installer.
Q310747 - System File Checker (Sfc.exe)
Equivalent bash command (Linux): RPM - Rpm Package Manager.