Silent installation: what does this mean and how to implement it?

Some programs themselves offer a quiet installation, others are strongly recommended in the description. Anyway, even the average user "has heard something like that." But still, quiet installation - what is it? What are its advantages, and if they are so great, then how to implement it? This is what will be discussed in this article.

Silent installation - what is it?

Soft installation programs have a synonym - automatic installation. But the first thing that the second does not answer the question about what it means is a quiet installation. And it means that active participation of the user in this process is not required. Even, consider, no - to press the button at the beginning and click on the button when finished, when the product is ready to start. That's why the synonym is "automatic", that is, an automatic.

Benefits

Advantages from this method are more than clear: in the most minimal version, which means quiet installation? The fact that you do not have to sit and constantly press "further" agreeing with everything that the installation wizard offers. It will maximally eliminate the need to enter keys, use patches and cracks, the correct configuration of which will be described in ten paragraphs, include the disabling at some stage of the Internet, and other things, other things. That is quiet installation - what is it for the layman? Yes, just salvation!

When can it come in handy?

However, a silent installation saves not only the average user. Even for advanced administrators, it is useful in that it saves time when installing several software products on the OS.

Duration of silent installation

Depending on the capacity of the program, a quiet installation can last as a couple of seconds, and a few minutes - in any case it's not so much as half an hour or even the whole hour. This is another advantage - it does not take much time.

How to start

In some programs, a quiet installation is provided in advance, and there is no need to think about how to make a silent installation. All that is required from the user - by double-clicking on the required file, start it and wait for the end.

The required file is an exe file with the name of the corresponding program. In simple products, he even downloads one.

In addition, the assembly of a program with silent installation is usually marked as unattended.

But what if a silent installation was not provided in advance, how to start it?

A bit about the types of installers

Different programs use different installers. Consideration of their species could well become a topic for a completely separate article, but they are also involved in this topic. First of all, due to the fact that depending on which installer you use during installation, the keys for quiet installation are selected.

And of course, since it has already been explained that such a quiet installation of the program, you need to say a few words about what are the keys for it. Essentially, they are text information (one to three characters) written to the command line.

InstallShield

This is the most popular installer. It can be "calculated" by the setup.exe file in the program assembly. It does not cause complications, as does not cause them and silent installation. What is InstallShield? Simply run the program with the s key, and the installation starts in automatic mode.

• Note : in order to start the program with the key, you must enter the path to it with a slash on the command line, and at the end add the required key.

Windows Installer Service

The .msi extension is the main feature of this installer. He also has the keys of a quiet installation in the presence of two pieces.

The first one, "qb", starts the silent installation mode, making the user viewable for its progress. No "Next", but also no "Cancel" button. Although, of course, the process can be completed in a different way - for example, through the "Task Manager".

The second is "QN", if you can say so, an even quieter installation. What does it mean? Installation in the background, that is, the user can not even trace its progress.

• Note : some programs require a reboot after installation. There is a key that can prevent this - REBOOT = ReallySuppress. But it is recommended either not to do this, or restart the PC after installation yourself.

InstallShield * .msi extension

InstallShield 7 version and above can create separately or use the extension file .msi in conjunction with the usual installation file.

It uses the keys of both installers mentioned above: "/ s / v" ... "», where the dots in this case are qb or QN, respectively.

Windows * .msu

This installer is an offline update installer. For him there are several keys for silent installation:

• / Quiet - background mode and no interaction with the user. For example, if the program installation code indicates that there will be a reboot at the end, it will.
• / Norestart - if you really do not want to reboot, this key prevents it.
• / Warnrestart - also used with the first key. Its function is to warn the user before restarting the message with a reboot.
• / Promptrestart - the system will ask if the reboot is necessary after installation.
• / Forcerestart - forced reboot, regardless of whether it was declared during installation.

Inno Setup

This is a simple installer, to which there are two keys - for a quiet and (verbatim) very silent installation. Silent and verysilent respectively.

The key "SP-" is used so that the window does not pop up with the question whether the user wants to continue the installation. This is not a constant, but a frequent problem in this installer. The key is entered after one of the keys specified in this paragraph above.

To find out whether this or any other installer is used for the program that you want to install on your computer, you can start it. The ALT + SPACE key combination "Space" opens a menu in which one of the items is "About".

Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS)

This installer usually has both an installation file and disinstallation, that is, removing the program from the system. The key for silent installation is the same as for InstallShield (S), with one small, but very important refinement: it must be entered in uppercase, that is, written with a capital letter.

With the help of key D, in addition, you can specify the installation directory (the folder where the program is installed).

WISE Installer

A standard key s is suitable for this installer. In general, in principle, if you determine which installer to use for the program is problematic, difficult or impossible, you should first try this key, as it usually works.

Organization of automatic installation

There is such an interface - Windows Post-Installation Wizard, abbreviated - just WPI. Behind these three letters lies the whole software package for quiet installation of applications.

What is silent installation of the program and how it is convenient, understood everything for a long time, that's why there are as many ways as it, this very installation in the automatic mode, to organize.

All of the above installers with their respective keys are in excellent agreement with the WPI. You can enter installation commands manually, or you can use the built-in utility of the utility, for example, the key recognition function.

SFX-archives and command-line files

And still there is such thing as SFK-archives, which with WPI is an ideal combination for the organization of automatic installation of programs.

The archives themselves can be created in the already well-known WinRar software product, and run through the Windows Post-Installation Wizard.

Their advantage is in organizing the order of unpacking, specifying the path for the installation and, if desired, the password.

There is one more option - to create command line files (format cmd) and write down all the codes in them. This is especially suitable for those who are going to install the program again (on another PC, for example).

Finally

What is a silent installation program? This is not a revolution, not an innovation, but a convenient opportunity to save time.

But, as can be seen from the article, in order to set it up, some time is still necessary. That's why there is an option to search on the Internet for the desired program with the already configured silent installation mode. Usually such information is indicated in the description, and maybe even a note in the title is unattended. If such is - safely download, it only benefits!