Month: November 2013

Microsoft Group Policy Object – Group Policy Preference Client Side Extensions for Windows XP (KB943729)

November 18, 2013
AutomationMicrosoft Active DirectoryMicrosoft Group Policy Object

I am currently in the process of automating the desktop deployment for my current employer. As a solution I am using Microsoft Group Policy Object (GPO) to map the network drives for the users. To date, most of my experience has been testing GPOs with Microsoft Windows 7 but today I was testing a GPO on a Windows XP desktop.

After modifying the GPO and placing the desktop in an Organizational Unit (OU) where the GPO was applied I expected the mapped drives to work, but they didn’t. After running gpresult I was able to verify that the GPO was in fact being applied, etc. I then logged on to a Microsoft Windows 7 desktop, that was in the same OU, and the drives were mapped.

The solution to this was simple. I needed to download and install the Group Policy Preference Client Side Extensions for Windows XP (KB943729) on the Windows XP desktop.

Hopefully you will find this information helpful.

Enjoy!

Automation – Silent Installation of Applications

November 14, 2013
AutomationMicrosoft Deployment Toolkit 2013

Automating application installations is a great way to cut down on the deployment time of workstations for your end users. Having completed a domain/operating system migration in the past I can attest to the benefits of an automated deployment. Below you will find a list of applications and their silent installation parameters:

7-Zip: msiexec.exe /i “7z920-x64.msi” /qn

Adobe Air: “AdobeAIRInstaller.exe” -silent

Adobe Flash Player: msiexec.exe /i “install_flash_player_11_active_x.msi” /qn /norestart

Adobe Reader XI: msiexec.exe /i AcroRead.msi EULA_ACCEPT=YES /qn

Adobe Shockwave Player: msiexec.exe /i “sw_lic_full_installer.msi” /qn /norestart

Apple Application Support: msiexec.exe /i “AppleApplicationSupport.msi” /qn /norestart

Apple Quicktime: msiexec.exe /i “QuickTime.msi” /qn /norestart

Barracuda Malware Removal Tool: setup.exe /verysilent /norestart

Microsoft Silverlight: Silverlight.exe /q

Mozilla Firefox: “Firefox Setup 25.0.exe” -ms

Oracle Java: JavaSetup7u45.exe /s

VLC Media Player: vlc-2.1.1-win32.exe /S

Automation – Adobe Flash Player 11.x Silent Installation

November 13, 2013
AutomationMicrosoft Deployment Toolkit 2013

If you interested in deploying Adobe Flash Player 11 silently you may download the MSI from the Adobe Flash Player Distribution website. Additionally, the command below may be used to install application silently.

msiexec.exe /i “install_flash_player_11_active_x.msi” /qn /norestart

Enjoy!

Adobe Customization Wizard XI – Install Adobe Reader XI

November 13, 2013
AutomationMicrosoft Deployment Toolkit 2013

You may use the following method to install Adobe Reader XI silently and accept the End User License Agreement (EULA):

msiexec.exe /i AcroRead.msi EULA_ACCEPT=YES /qn

Additionally, you may use the Adobe Customization Wizard XI to customize the installation of Adobe Reader XI. Please keep in mind that the Adobe Customization Wizard must match the version of Adobe Reader that you are installing.

Lastly, in order to get the .msi file you must first install the Adobe Reader XI application then navigate to the “C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Setup\{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-AB0000000001}\” directory to retrieve it. This directory also contains the Setup.ini file which is needed in order to save any settings, using the Adobe Customization Wizard XI, to the .msi file.

Enjoy!

Microsoft Office Customization Tool – Suppress Reboot

November 6, 2013
AutomationMicrosoft Deployment Toolkit 2013

I was troubleshooting a Dirty Environment Found error while Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2013 was installing Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010. The error was caused because Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 was rebooting the desktop after its installation and the reboot was disrupting the MDT task sequence.

I was using the Office Customization Tool for the installation of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 but I was unable to find a dialog box that would allow me to suppress the reboot. After some quick research I found the solution. In the  Office Customization Tool navigate to Setup > Modify Setup properties then add a property value with a Name: of SETUP_REBOOT and a Value: of Never.

Enjoy!

Microsoft Office 2010 – Office Customization Tool

November 5, 2013
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2013Scripting

If you ever find yourself performing a large scale deployment of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 you may use the Office Customization Tool to customize the deployment.For instance, you may specify the product key to use as well as perform a silent installation.

I found this Utility Spotlight article very helpful.

Enjoy!