1

Hi Spiceheads,

I’m going to leave this in the PowerShell forum, admins feel free to move it.

Im playing around with the idea of creating a script (or something) that would automate our laptop setups, something that will automatically install all our small programs like CutePDF and DWG Trueview. The main idea behind this is to save us some time when it comes to setting up a new laptop for a new user.

I have written up (pen and paper) a rough draft of what I want it to do, but I’m so wet behind the ears when it comes to scripting that I make the Nile look tad dehydrated.

So the question is this: Is it possible to write a script that will pull the installers from a network location and install the programs on a laptop automatically?

Aside: Have you done this? How did you go about writing the script or whatever you used for it?

Thanks in advance…

10 Spice ups
2

Might be easier if you look at PDQ Deploy or Spec ops Deploy.

Possible yes, but how much time would you have to spend developing the in house solution compared to $250.00 USD for a one year license of PDQ Deploy?

5 Spice ups
3

If you can get all the apps to deploy silently via MSI, try a GPO that does it instead. Apply it to a special OU that you can dump the machines in while you set them up. A few reboots and POW! you’ll be good to go.

5 Spice ups
4

Definitely need to look into a deployment product. I can’t recommend the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit enough. There’s definitely a learning curve, but there are plenty of guides out there for basic setups.

Two years ago I moved our organization off of an expensive third party deployment tool to MDT which saved us tons of cost and is a much more flexible solution overall. We went from deploying separate images based on model to a single each image for each processor architecture with applications that can be dynamically deployed at image time.

And it’s free and integrates with Configuration Manager!

If you don’t really need an imaging/deployment solution, there are other options out there like Chocolatey/Boxstarter that could help you with package management. GPOs as suggested by TheHugLife are fine but limited since you can only use MSI installers.

Application installs is something I typically don’t do much with Powershell, but it’s definitely possible. However, there is no single solution since every application is different and usually has it’s own requirements for unattended installations.

6 Spice ups
5

We considered that, but the pricetag was way too high for us. I’m in South Africa, so that 250USD roughly translates to R2922… So developing an in-house solution, while more time consuming, would be much cheaper…

6

+1 for PDQ Deploy. If you’re looking for a quick ‘batch’ method, I’ve found WPI (Windows Post-Installation Wizard) to be extremely useful, which I think stemmed from a need such as yours:

http://www.wpiw.net/index.html

I used it extensively at my last job - it’s free for non-commercial use, but at $100 (at the time), it was a steal considering we could roll it out on a DVD or thumbdrive for application installations. You can create different batch configurations, create application dependencies and grayed conditions (don’t install app if registry key or file/folder exists, etc.).

Very useful and inexpensive.

EDIT: Of course, now that I look closer at the site, the last update was in 2013…looks like the poor guy is having housing issues, so he stopped development (sold his computer…wow).

2 Spice ups
7

To grab any type of file from a network location using powershell, you can use something like this.

$user = [Environment]::UserName
$cred = Get-credntial $user

New-PSDrive -Root '\\server-dc01\program_folder' -name v -PSProvider FileSystem -Credential $cred

Copy-item 'v:\program.msi' 'c:\'

msiexec /i "C:\program.msi" /passive /norestart | wait-process
3 Spice ups
8

I dislike mapping drives, and PowerShell can fully use UNC’s, so I’d suggest just doing that.

6 Spice ups
9

I much prefer using the Powershell provider instead of the .Net method to pull that username variable: use $env:username instead…either way works, I just like using the built-in provider better…

Oh! And there’s a typo…get-credential. You’ve got that spelled ‘Get-Credntial.’ FYI!

4 Spice ups
10

Thanks for all the great replies so far, guys, really appreciate it!

11

Well, what you could do, if you wanted to roll your own, and not have to pay for anything, is to reverse engineer WPI (at least look at how he’s generated his logic).

I would create some XMLs that have all the details like path, command-line switch, dependencies, etc. then have Powershell read those and throw up a GridView (using -passthru) and perform a batch run of everything you’ve selected.

For an example of the Gridview in action like I mentioned, see my remove-msiapps script here:

Batch Remove MSI Applications on local/remote computer

2 Spice ups
12

In this day in age definately go with some deployment software as suggested like PDQ Deploy… It’ll also help keeping things update. However, it is POSSIBLE to do it via scripting… WAAAY back in the day of 2000/XP, I wrote a fully scripted install of windows. After the installation, here’s some of the scripts I used if it helps. However, this was probably one of the first things I wrote in vbscript, so it may not be the best :slight_smile:

Runinst.vbs - Runs all scripts in a folder

' runinst.vbs: run commands in the given folder
'
' USAGE
'
'   runinst.vbs FOLDER
'
'   FOLDER  Path of folder containing installations to run
'
' NOTES
'
'   This script supports files with the extensions EXE,
'   MSI, BAT, CMD, JS, VBS, REG, and INF.
'
'   If the folder doesn't exist, this script displays an error
'   message that times out in 10 seconds, since it's for use during
'   the Windows setup process and the folder doesn't always exist.
'

Option Explicit

Main()

Sub Main()

  ' Check the command-line argument (which must be the path of
  ' a folder that contains installations to run); then, call
  ' LaunchInstallations to silently run each installation contained
  ' in the folder.
  '
  Dim intRC
  Dim objArguments
  Dim objFileSystem
  Dim objShell

  Set objArguments = WScript.Arguments
  Set objFilesystem = CreateObject( "Scripting.FileSystemObject" )
  Set objShell = CreateObject( "WScript.Shell" )

  If objArguments.Count > 0 Then
    If objFileSystem.FolderExists( objArguments(0) ) Then
      LaunchInstallations( objArguments(0) )
    Else

      ' The folder doesn't exist

      intRC = objShell.Popup( "The folder " & objArguments(0) & " doesn't exist.", 10, "Folder Missing", 0 )

    End If

  Else

    ' No folder was given on the command line

    WScript.Echo "Usage: runinst.vbs FOLDER"

  End If

End Sub

Sub LaunchInstallations( strPath )

  ' Execute each installation file contained in strPath silently:
  '
  '   strPath Path of the folder containing installations
  '

  Dim objFileSystem
  Dim objShell

  Set objFilesystem = CreateObject( "Scripting.FileSystemObject" )
  Set objShell = CreateObject( "WScript.Shell" )

  ' Build a list of files in the given subfolder

  Dim intRC
  Dim objFolder
  Dim colFiles
  Dim objFile

  Set objFolder = objFileSystem.GetFolder( strPath )
  Set colFiles = objFolder.Files

  ' Launch each file in the list using the appropriate command

  For Each objFile in colFiles
    Select Case UCase( objFileSystem.GetExtensionName( objFile ))

      Case "EXE"
        intRC = objShell.Run( objFile, 1, True )

      case "MSI"

        Dim objWMIService
        Dim strProcessName

      ' Wait for any current MSI processes to finish

        strProcessName = "msiexec.exe"
        Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\cimv2")

        Do While objWMIService.ExecQuery( "Select Name from Win32_Process where Name='" & strProcessName & "'").Count > 1
          WScript.Sleep 5000
        Loop

        intRC = objShell.Run( "msiexec.exe /qb /i " & objFile & " ALLUSERS=2", 1, True )

      Case "BAT"
        intRC = objShell.Run( "cmd.exe /c " & objFile, 1, True )

      Case "CMD"
        intRC = objShell.Run( "cmd.exe /c " & objFile, 1, True )

      Case "JS"
        intRC = objShell.Run( "wscript.exe //e:jscript " & objFile, 1, True )

      Case "VBS"
        intRC = objShell.Run( "wscript.exe //e:vbscript " & objFile, 1, True )

      Case "REG"
        intRC = objShell.Run( "regedit.exe /s " & objFile, 1, True )

      Case "INF"
        intRC = objShell.Run( "rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 " & objFile, 1, True )

    End Select
  Next

End Sub

00_SmartInsaller.vbs - Brains to control the installer based on a CSV

'==========================================================================
' smartInstaller.vbs
' AUTHOR: Sigkill
' VERSION: 1.0
'Rules:
'Requires the Master Software list to be a CSV file
'Case is Not Sensitive
'Each Location Belongs in the Col 1 Starting in Row 3
'Make Sure There are No BLANK Cells in Col 1
'Make Sure There are No BLANK Cells in Row 1
'Row 1 Contains the Name of the Install Script Beginning in Column 2
'Row 2 Contains the Description of the Installer Script Beginning in Column 2
'Mark Each Location with a "Yes" or "No" under Each Installer Or you can mark a special computer case in a room by
' using * followed by -## for each special computer in that room. (Ex: *-01-03) This only installs on computers 01 and 03
'If an Installer Cannot Be Silently Installed, Start the Installer Name with a "*" (Ex: *01_Installer.bat)
'Any Installer Marked with a "*" Will Never Install, Even If It is Marked as "Yes"
'Installer Names 00-09 are for Security Installers
'Installer Names 10-19 are for Standard Application Installers
'Installer Names 20-49 are for Additional Application Installers
'Installer Names 50-79 are for Custom Application Installers
'Installer Names 80-89 are for Custom Machine Installers, (Ex: CD Burning Software , or a wirless utility)
'Installer Names 90-100 are for Cleanup of All Previous Installers and System Modifications
'All Installer Files Contain All Specialized Directions in Comments, Including Ones that Need Manually Installed or Repackaged

'==========================================================================
' Force Explicit Variable Declaration
Option Explicit

' Call Main Execution Loop, and Quit with an Errorlevel of 0 When Done
Main(): WScript.Quit(0)

' **************************************************************************
' Sub Main 
' **************************************************************************
Public Sub Main()

	On Error Resume Next  ' Start Main Error Handling

	' Create objects
	Dim objFSO: Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
	Dim objShell: Set objShell = CreateObject( "WScript.Shell" )
	Dim objNetwork: Set objNetwork = CreateObject("WScript.Network")

	' Set Computer Name and Parse The Building Name using RSD Naming Convention
	Dim strComp: strComp = UCase(objNetwork.ComputerName)
	Dim strBuilding: strBuilding = Mid(strComp,1,3)

	' Set Path to Master Software List, Path to Scripts, and Local Install Directory
	Dim strFile, strScripts, strLocalDir
	If WScript.Arguments.Count = 3 Then
		strFile = WScript.Arguments(0)
		strScripts = WScript.Arguments(1)
		strLocalDir = WScript.Arguments(2)
	Else
		strFile = "\\SERVER\install\MasterSoftwareList.csv"
		strScripts = "\\SERVER\install\Apps\Scripts\"
		strLocalDir = objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%SystemRoot%") & "\APPS\RUNONCE\"
	End If
	
	' Ensure Path to Scripts Ends with "\"
	If Right(strScripts, 1) <> "\" Then
		strScripts = strScripts & "\"
	End If

	' Ensure Local Install Directory Ends with "\"
	If Right(strLocalDir, 1) <> "\" Then
		strLocalDir = strLocalDir & "\"
	End If	
	
	' Ensure Master Software List and Path to Scripts Exist
	If Not objFSO.FileExists(strFile) Then Wscript.Quit
	If Not objFSO.FolderExists(strScripts) Then Wscript.Quit
	
	' Ensure Local Install Directory Exists or Create It
	Dim arrLocalDir
	arrLocalDir = Split(strLocalDir, "\")
	Dim strTempPath: strTempPath = ""
	Dim Folder, NewFolder
	For each Folder in arrLocalDir
		If Folder <> "" Then
			strTempPath = strTempPath & Folder & "\"
			If Not objFSO.FolderExists(strTempPath) Then 
				Set NewFolder = objFSO.CreateFolder(strTempPath)
			End If
		End If
	Next
	
	' Process Computer
	Call ProcessComputer(strComp, strFile, strScripts, strLocalDir)

	' Kill Objects
	Set objFSO = nothing
	Set objShell = nothing
	Set objNetwork = nothing
		
	' Kill Script
	Call ScriptSuicide()
	
	On Error GoTo 0  ' End Main Error Handling

End Sub

' **************************************************************************
' Sub ProcessComputer - Copies Installers to Local Machine according to Master Software List
'	strComp = Computer Name
'	strFile = Master Software List (CSV Delimited)
'	strScripts = Network Path to Installer Scripts
'	strLocalDir = Local Directory to Launch Scripts From
' **************************************************************************
Private Sub ProcessComputer(strComp, strFile, strScripts, strLocalDir)

	' Ignore All Errors
	On Error Resume Next

	' Create Objects
	Dim objFSO: Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
	Dim objShell: Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
	
	' Open Log File For Appending
	Const ForAppending = 8
	Dim logFile: Set logFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log"), ForAppending, True)
	logFile.WriteLine VBCRLF & VBCRLF & "Copying Installers"
	logFile.WriteLine "=========================================================="
	logFile.WriteLine "Master Spreadsheet: " & strFile
	logFile.WriteLine "Network Scripts: " & strScripts
	logFile.WriteLine "Local Scripts: " & strLocalDir
	
	' Define Variables
	Const ForReading = 1
	
	' Get Location (Portion After the Building)
	Dim strLocation: strLocation = Mid(strComp,1,InstrRev(strComp,"-") - 1)

	' Open Master Software List
	Dim objFile: Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(strFile, ForReading)

	' Declare Variables for Parsing Count and Matches
	Dim i, strMatch
	
	' Search For Row to Parse, then Parse Install Options into arrInstall Array
	Dim strLine, arrInstall
	i = 0
	Do Until objFile.AtEndOfStream
		strLine = objFile.ReadLine
		If strLocation = Left(strLine, InStr(strLine, ",") - 1) Then
			arrInstall = Split(strLine, ",")
			strMatch = 1
			Exit Do
		End If
	Loop
	
	' Close File
	objFile.Close

	' Check For Invalid Location Matches
	If strMatch = 0 Then 
		Exit Sub
	End If

	' Open Master Software List
	Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(strFile, ForReading)
	
	' Parse Installer Files into arrInstallers Array
	Dim arrInstallers
	For i = 1 to 1
		strLine = objFile.ReadLine
		arrInstallers = Split(strLine, ",")
	Next
	
	' Close File
	objFile.Close

	' Find the Lowest Upper Bound of arrInstallers and arrInstall
	Dim low
	If UBound(arrInstallers) > UBound(arrInstall) Then
		low = UBound(arrInstall)
	Elseif UBound(arrInstallers) < UBound(arrInstall) Then
		low = UBound(arrInstallers)
	Else
		low = UBound(arrInstallers)
	End If
	' Trap Error If Either Array is Blank Because Col1 or Row 1 Are Blank In Excel File
	If Err.Number <> 0 Then
		'Wscript.Echo Err.Number & vbCrLf & Err.Source & vbCrLf & Err.Description
		Err.Clear
		' Exit Sub
		Exit Sub
	End If	
	
	' Copy Specified Installers to Local Machine
	Dim arrSpecial
	Dim j
	For i = 0 to low
		If UCase(arrInstall(i)) = "YES" Then
			If objFSO.FileExists(strScripts & arrInstallers(i)) Then
				logFile.WriteLine "Copying: " & arrInstallers(i)
				objFSO.CopyFile strScripts & arrInstallers(i), strLocalDir, True
			End If
		Elseif Left(arrInstall(i)) = "*" Then
			arrSpecial = Split(arrInstall(i), "-")
			For j = 1 to UBound(arrSpecial)
				If strComp = strLocation & "-" & arrSpecial(j) Then
					If objFSO.FileExists(strScripts & arrInstallers(i)) Then
						logFile.WriteLine "Copying: " & arrInstallers(i)
						objFSO.CopyFile strScripts & arrInstallers(i), strLocalDir, True
					End If
				End If
			Next
			Erase arrSpecial
		End If
	Next
	
	' Check If This is An Initial Installation
	Const HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = &H80000002
	Dim objRegistry: Set objRegistry = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComp & "\root\default:StdRegProv")
	Dim strKeyPath: strKeyPath = "SOFTWARE\SCRIPTEDInstall"
	Dim strValueName: strValueName = "InitialInstall"
	Dim strValue
	objRegistry.GetStringValue HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE,strKeyPath,strValueName,strValue
	If IsNull(strValue) Then
		strValue = "1"
		logFile.WriteLine "Initial Install Detected"
		logFile.WriteLine "Creating Registry Key: HKL\" & strKeyPath & "\" & strValueName & "=" & strValue
		objRegistry.CreateKey HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE,strKeyPath
		objRegistry.SetStringValue HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKeyPath, strValueName, strValue
	Else
		logFile.WriteLine "NON-Initial Install Detected"
		If objFSO.FileExists(strLocalDir & "02_SecurityHotfix.vbs") Then
			logFile.WriteLine "Detected and Deleting: " & strLocalDir & "02_SecurityHotfix.vbs"
			objFSO.DeleteFile strLocalDir & "02_SecurityHotfix.vbs", True
		End If
		If objFSO.FileExists(strLocalDir & "92_SecurityHotfix.vbs") Then
			logFile.WriteLine "Detected and Deleting: " & strLocalDir & "92_SecurityHotfix.vbs"
			objFSO.DeleteFile strLocalDir & "92_SecurityHotfix.vbs", True
		End If
	End If

	' Check If Installer Script Exists, Else Copy It
	If Not objFSO.FileExists(objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%SystemRoot%") & "\APPS\runinst.vbs") Then
		logFile.WriteLine objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%SystemRoot%") & "\APPS\runinst.vbs Not Found"
		' Ensure Installer Script Exists in Network Scripts
		If objFSO.FileExists(strScripts & "runinst.vbs") Then
			logFile.WriteLine "Found and Copying runinst.vbs from Network Scripts"
			objFSO.CopyFile strScripts & "runinst.vbs", objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%SystemRoot%") & "\APPS\", True
		Else
			logFileWriteLine "Error - Couldn't find runinst.vbs in " & strScripts
		End If
	End If
	
	' Kill All Running Scripts Except This One to Ensure We Get A Clean Launch
	Dim objWMIService: Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\cimv2")
	Dim colProcesses: Set colProcesses = objWMIService.ExecQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE Name = " & "'Wscript.exe' OR Name = 'Cscript.exe' OR Name = 'cmd.exe'")
	Dim objProcess
	If colProcesses.Count = 0 Then
		LogFile.WriteLine "No scripts are running..."
	Else
		For Each objProcess in colProcesses
			If InStr(objProcess.CommandLine, Wscript.ScriptName) Then
				' Current Script, Don't Do Anything
			Else
				LogFile.WriteLine "Terminating Script " & objProcess.CommandLine				
				objProcess.Terminate()
				Wscript.Sleep(5000)
			End If
		Next
	End If
	Wscript.Sleep(5000)
	
	' Launch Installer Script
	logFile.WriteLine "Launching runinst.vbs Installer Script"
	objShell.Run "wscript.exe //e:vbscript " & objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%SystemRoot%") & "\APPS\runinst.vbs " & strLocalDir, 1, False
		
	' Close Log File
	logFile.WriteLine "Close and Kill " & Wscript.ScriptName
	logFile.Close
	
	' Kill Objects
	Set objFSO = nothing
	Set objShell = nothing
	
	On Error GoTo 0	 ' End ProcessComputer Error Handling

End Sub

' ***************************************************************************************************
' Sub ScriptSuicide - Self Deletes Script
' ***************************************************************************************************
Private Sub ScriptSuicide()

	' Ignore All Errors
	On Error Resume Next
	
	Dim objFSO: Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
	objFSO.DeleteFile WScript.ScriptFullName
	
	' Kill Objects
	Set objFSO = nothing
	
	' End Error Handling
	On Error GoTo 0
	
End Sub

01_AutoUpdate.vbs - Set’s WIndows updates:

'=========================================================================
' AutoUpdate.vbs
' AUTHOR: Sigkill
' VERSION: 1.0
' PURPOSE: Sets the Auto Update Options
'
'
' COMMENTS: 
'=========================================================================
' Force Explicit Variable Declaration
Option Explicit

' Call Main Execution Loop, and Quit with an Errorlevel of 0 When Done
Main(): WScript.Quit(0)

' ***************************************************************************************************
' Sub Main
' ***************************************************************************************************
Sub Main()

	' Ignore All Errors
	On Error Resume Next
	
	' Create Objects
	Dim objFSO: Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
	Dim objShell: Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
	
	' Open Log File For Appending
	Const ForAppending = 8
	Dim logFile: Set logFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log"), ForAppending, True)
	logFile.WriteLine VBCRLF & VBCRLF & "=========================================================="
	logFile.WriteLine Wscript.ScriptName
	logFile.WriteLine "=========================================================="
	
	' Connect to Registry
	Dim strComputer: strComputer = "."
	Dim objRegistry: Set objRegistry = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\default:StdRegProv")
	Dim strKeyPath: strKeyPath = "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update"
	logFile.WriteLine strKeyPath
	
	' Declare Registry Variables
	Const HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = &H80000002
	Dim strValueName, strValue, dwValue

	' Update Install Option (4= Automatic Download and Install)
	strValueName = "AUOptions"
	dwValue = 00000004
	objRegistry.SetDWORDValue HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKeyPath, strValueName, dwValue
	LogFile.WriteLine strValueName & "=" & dwValue
	
	' Configure Version
	strValueName = "ConfigVer"
	dwValue = 00000001
	objRegistry.SetDWORDValue HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKeyPath, strValueName, dwValue
	LogFile.WriteLine strValueName & "=" & dwValue

	' Next Update Detection Time (Current Time + 5 Minutes)
	strValueName = "NextDetectionTime"
	strValue = Year(Date) & "-" & Month(Date) & "-" & Day(Date) & " " & FormatDateTime(DateAdd("N", 5, Time), 4) & ":00"
	objRegistry.SetStringValue HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKeyPath, strValueName, strValue
	LogFile.WriteLine strValueName & "=" & strValue

	' Scheduled Update Install Date (Current Time + 1 Hour)
	strValueName = "ScheduledInstallDate"
	strValue = Year(Date) & "-" & Month(Date) & "-" & Day(Date) & " " & FormatDateTime(DateAdd("H", 1, Time), 4) & ":00"
	objRegistry.SetStringValue HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKeyPath, strValueName, strValue
	LogFile.WriteLine strValueName & "=" & strValue	
	
	' Scheduled Day(s) to Check for Updates (0 = Daily)
	strValueName = "ScheduledInstallDay"
	dwValue = 00000000
	objRegistry.SetDWORDValue HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKeyPath, strValueName, dwValue
	LogFile.WriteLine strValueName & "=" & dwValue
	
	' Scheduled Update Installation Time (3 = 3:00 AM)
	strValueName = "ScheduledInstallTime"
	dwValue = 00000003
	objRegistry.SetDWORDValue HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKeyPath, strValueName, dwValue
	LogFile.WriteLine strValueName & "=" & dwValue
	
	' Close Log File
	logFile.Close
	
	' Kill Objects
	Set objFSO = nothing
	Set objShell = nothing
	Set objRegistry = nothing
	
	' End Error Handling
	On Error GoTo 0
	
End Sub

Then basically, just make a bunch of scripts (vbs, js, reg, etc) in the folder and number by the order you want them to install. For example:
15_Firefox.bat

@echo off
:==========================================================================
: 15_Firefox.bat
: AUTHOR: Sigkill
: VERSION: 1.0
: COMMENTS: Installs Mozilla Firefox
: NOTES:
:==========================================================================
setlocal 
set BATNAME=15_Firefox.bat
set BATDESC=Mozilla Firefox
set PATHTOINSTALL=\\SERVER\install\Apps\firefox

echo. >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo ========================================================== >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo %BATNAME% %1 starting as %username% at %date% %time% >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo ========================================================== >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log

echo **********************************************
echo ********************************************** >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo *                                            
echo *                                              >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo *        %BATNAME% - %BATDESC%           
echo *        %BATNAME% - %BATDESC%                 >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo *                                            
echo *                                              >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo **********************************************
echo ********************************************** >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
Goto app1

:app1
set app1=Firefox 3
echo Checking if %app1% is installed
echo Checking if %app1% is installed >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo.
echo. >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
If Exist "%PROGRAMFILES%\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" Goto skip_app1

:install_app1
echo Now Starting %app1% installation...
echo Now Starting %app1% installation... >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
start "" /wait "%PATHTOINSTALL%\Firefox Setup 3.0.exe" /S
echo Finished Installing %app1%
echo Finished Installing %app1% >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo.
echo. >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
Goto end

:skip_app1
echo %app1% is already installed, skipping install
echo %app1% is already installed, skipping install >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo.
echo. >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
Goto end

:end
echo Completed Installation of %BATNAME%
echo Completed Installation of %BATNAME% >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo ********************************************** 
echo ==========================================================  >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo.
echo. >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
echo.
echo. >>%SystemRoot%\setuplog1.log
1 Spice up
13

Thats fantastic, thanks.

14

I understand if you want to use a script for customization or you simply have more faith in it. But I would keep in mind, sometimes a script is not the best way to approach a problem. This problem, I believe, fits in that category. Using a program like PDQ Deploy, and a GPO/WSUS for Windows Updates would make it much easier for someone else to take over if you were promoted or found a better job somewhere else.

Just food for thought.

+1 PDQ Deploy

2 Spice ups
15

+1 PDQ Deploy