Silent installation of the program - what does it mean? MInstAll utility - creating an assembly of programs for silent installation

Many users are interested on the Internet - what is RePack, Portable, Silent installation. I decided to explain in detail.

What's happened Silent Installation- this is when the program is installed automatically. That is, you do not need to enter keys and use other methods of registering the program (patches, cracks, etc.). When installing Unattended, you don’t have to constantly click “next”; the program itself will do everything for you. After installation, it is completely ready for use.
Imagine a situation, for example: You are an administrator and you need to install the Windows operating system on many computers (naturally this will be an unattended Windows build) and install the same set of programs. If you use unattended soft, you can save a lot of time.
The duration of installation depends on the capacity of each program individually and lasts from 1-2 seconds to several minutes. The installation of such programs is started by double-clicking on the file to be launched. (Such files are prepared mainly for automatic installation of programs and applications immediately after installing the operating system (for example, Windows XP), i.e. practically together). In general, everything is very simple: double-click on the file and wait for the installation to complete.
Silent installation is mainly used for post-installation programs, for example Windows Post-Installer, BS POST-INSTALLER. Also, silent installation programs are excellent for installing on a “live” system, here are some instructions:
When installing Unattended, you don’t have to constantly press “next”; the program itself will do everything for you. After installation, it is completely ready for use.

The software will also be useful for those people who do not like to delve into the details of installing the program, or do not want to bother themselves. And it will especially impress those people who encounter difficulties in installing the application. For example: Newbies, Oldies. The UnaTTended assembly (Silent installation) will do everything itself and will not require your intervention. Just run it and upon completion of installation the program is ready for use with all built-in applications and add-ons.

What's happened Repack and what is it for:
You've probably seen the word "Repack" in the names of games or programs more than once, but what does it mean?
Repack is a repackaged licensed program or game. What is it for? Most often, Repack is done to reduce the size of the installer and/or so that, for example, tablets (aka crack) and translation are already present in the newly installed program.
(RePack) is a lightweight version of the game-program itself from which unnecessary files are cut out, such as foreign languages, third-party software and various demos; RePacks often compress video clips, sometimes with loss of quality. The resulting stripped-down version of the game is usually collected in 1-2 .iso, .mdf... and other discs. As a result, RePack weighs less and is downloaded faster from the Internet in less than an hour. RePack adds all sorts of cracks, keygens, no-dvds, etc. etc. As a rule, on trackers the license appears first, then a bunch of repacks for it, 1/4-1/3 smaller in size. But RePack takes a long time to install on a computer. Up to 1-2 hours... (until all this compressed stuff is installed) Often repackers themselves translate the English license, even spontaneously, and also invest in RePack.

So what is it portable-Portable application? - When we come to visit or work, we essentially use other people’s computers. And often we need programs in the form in which they are configured in our home. If everything is usually simple with documentation - we copy it to a flash drive and play it on someone else’s computer, then what about program settings? Or the required program may not exist at all... For all this, there are portable programs (in other words, Portable versions), that is, programs that do not require anything other than themselves to work. Such programs store all settings not in the registry, but in their own files.
Portable programs. General information
Portable programs can work while located in any folder. If a program does not have its own installer, this does not mean that it is portable. In addition to all this, it should not access the registry or other places on the hard drive. Portable versions of programs are usually distributed in archives. For the program to work, it is enough to extract the files from the archive into some folder.
Portable programs are created by enthusiasts. They make sure that the program does not access the boundaries of its folder. For example, a regular program uses the registry - specialists make sure that the program writes its settings not to the registry, but to a file. But if, let’s say, the registry is absolutely necessary, then a special code at startup writes the settings into the registry, and after closing it uploads it back to the file.

Types of Portable Soft:
In general, Portable soft (PS) should include those programs that are “installed” by simply unpacking the archive, or can be transferred from machine to machine by simple copying, without requiring installers to make the necessary entries in the registry. This is where the differences appear.
Portable app?
ru- the applications contain Russian language
portable- portable - move with ease, just copy the application files.
apps- English abbreviation for the word application, which means application - a computer program, such as a web browser or word processor.
A portable application is a computer program that you can carry with you on a portable device, such as a USB, and use on any Windows computer. When your USB flash drive, portable hard drive, or other portable device is connected, you have access to your programs and personal data as if you were at your computer. And when you turn off the device, none of your personal data will remain on someone else's machine.
No special equipment required - Use any USB Flash drive, portable hard drive, iPod/MP3 player, etc.
No additional software - Simply download, install and run portable applications.
This is not a joke - It's that simple!
To make it clear how this works, I will describe an approximate algorithm in the launcher (the simplest):
1. A backup copy of registry branches (or configuration files) and files located outside the installed folder is created, on which the operation of the application depends. (This is done in case the system has the same or a different version of this application installed).
2. Importing the data necessary for the application into the registry, as well as copying those files that should be located outside the portable folder (for example, in .../System32).
3. Launch the main program and wait for it to close.
4. (Upon completion) Export settings from the registry (or configuration files) to portable.
5. Clears traces of the program (more precisely, deleting temporary files).
6. Restoring to the system those registry keys and files that were reserved in the 1st step of the algorithm.
A portable program (in English “portable application”) is portable software that does not need to be installed on your computer’s hard drive to run and use. This category includes programs that can be installed without problems on a flash drive, external HDD, CD, DVD, Bly-ray disks in the usual way, as well as those that work without installation at all. This is convenient for many reasons: you don’t need to install the same programs on several PCs, at work you can use your favorite browser, email client, ICQ without complaints from the system administrator and management, all data is stored on removable media and is very easily copied, etc. .d. Another obvious advantage of Portable programs is that they are free, at least for private (non-commercial) use. Although you can find portable versions of paid programs on the Internet, for example Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop.
What is the secret of Portable programs? Everything is very simple. When you install a regular application on your computer, it has the peculiarity of saving its files in different folders on the PC's hard drive. In addition to the familiar Program Files directory, parts of programs can be found in user folders, temporary directories, etc. Therefore, when we try to copy a program by simply transferring its folder from Program Files to another computer, nothing works. The software cannot find the necessary configuration files and completely refuses to function.
With portable applications the situation is different. The program is installed in the folder allocated to it on removable media, without affecting the computer’s hard drive and registry, and will work perfectly regardless of which PC you connect the flash drive to. In order to copy a program, you simply need to transfer its directory to another removable media. Many applications do not require installation and can be copied and launched from anywhere. But keep in mind that Portable programs designed for one operating system will not function on another. In other words, if you are using the portable version of the Firefox browser on Linux, it will not work on a Mac OS or Windows computer.
* Some of the similar PS available on the Internet stores all settings in its own directory and, of course, retains all settings during such a transfer. All this goodness could be called True PS (True Portable Soft).
* Other parts stubbornly continue to store settings in “Documents and Settings” and during the transfer they have to restore all settings manually. Of course, the program is functional right away, but until you get it up to standard... It would be better to call such things Conditional PS - (Relative Portable Soft).
* There are also subtypes designed to be carried on flash drives and run from them, differing in the location where multiple temporary files that arise during operation are recorded. Namely, in order to preserve the functionality of the flash drive, which, generally speaking, has a limit on the number of write cycles on each “sector”, all temporary files are written to a screw, in a temporary folder created while the application is running. Accordingly, the subcategories “True Portable USB Soft” and “Relative Portable USB Soft” appear.
* Of particular interest is a certain, let's call it "single-file" variety of "True Portable USB Soft". In this case, the application is a single packaged executable file, when launched, the settings are transferred to the screw; during operation, only the hard drive is accessed, and When the program is closed, all settings (possibly changed) are again packed into an executable file on the flash drive while the created folder is simultaneously deleted from the screw.

Hello dear readers.
Today, as I promised you, I will tell you about the most popular tools that create program installers.
Many of them are very simple, so they can be used not only by programmers and software producers, but also by those who want to build an installer with their own hands.
However, assembling installation packages is not the topic of this article, the topic of my article is: what basic keys are supported by certain installers, how to use them, and how to determine which installer is used for a particular program.

InstallShield

I'll start with perhaps the most voluminous software, the most beloved by major commercial developers. InstallShield is a powerful professional tool for creating reliable installation packages.

With the help of Project Assistant, the developer goes through all the stages of creating an installer step by step. No training is required; all basic features of InstallShield X Express can be learned in less than one day. Full integration with the Visual Studio .NET development environment, support for .NET, Linux, Web services and applications for mobile devices.

You can find it very often in paid products, for example:

As a rule, such installers do not cause any difficulties; just run them with the “S” key, and the program will be installed in silent mode.
Note: If the “wait” parameter does not work, try using the “SMS” key
Example:

Start /wait setup.exe /s /sms

How to determine that Install Shield was used to package the installer

Open the file properties, on the “Details” tab in the “Description” and “Initial file name” items, as a rule, the value “setup.exe” will be indicated, and in the “Product name”: “InstallShield”.
In addition, when you run such an installer for a normal installation, as a rule, you will encounter the following words:
InstallShield Wizard
Welcome to InstallShield Wizard for xxxxxxx
The InstallShield(R) Wizard will install, etc.

Naturally, all this can be written in English.

Windows Installer Service (*.msi)

Well, what can we say about this... Windows Installer Service (MSI) technology is the de facto standard in the world of system administrators involved in the distribution and support of software for desktop and server versions of Windows. The MSI format is supported by all major configuration management systems (Microsoft SCCM, CA Unicenter and many others), and for some software distribution systems it is even the only supported format.

All installers packaged using Windows Installer have the “*.msi” extension.
Example programs:

This type of installer supports the following keys for silent installation:
"qb" and "QN".
When using the "QB" key, the installation progress will be displayed, but no questions will be asked to the user, and the "Cancel" button will not be displayed.
Example:

Start setup.msi /qb

Next key: “qn”
When using this key, the installation process will be completely hidden. The installation progress will also not be displayed.
Example:

Start setup.msi /qn

It should be noted that some programs require a computer restart after installation. To avoid this, use the properties (REBOOT=ReallySuppress) by enclosing it in quotes along with the key.
Example:

Start setup.msi "/qb REBOOT=ReallySuppress"

Using the InstallShield *.msi extension

Since version 7, InstallShield can create files with the extension "*.msi". they, in turn, can be separate files and in conjunction with setup.exe,
For example as OBI
The latter, in turn, are of two types:
"InstallScript MSI" and "Basic MSI". InstallScript MSI uses traditional InstallShield keys. Basic MSI is a separate interesting story.
To automatically install an application that uses Basic MSI, you need to specify the keys "/s /v"...". The ellipsis must be replaced with keys that must be passed directly to the Windows Installer (msiexec). In other words, if you want to install the application completely quietly and avoid rebooting, then use this command

Start setup.exe /s /v"/qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress"

Standalone Windows Update Installer *.msu

Due to the fact that this information is often required, I edited the article :-), adding also keys for *.msu.
msu are standalone Windows update installers. Once you download the updates, you can install them even without the Internet and you won’t have to download them again.
All of these installers have a *.msu extension and support the following command line switches.

/quiet - silent mode without user interaction. All windows will be hidden. If a reboot is needed after the update, it will be performed.

/norestart - Use this switch with quiet to avoid reboots.

/warnrestart - When used with quiet, will warn that a reboot will occur.

/promptrestart - when used with quiet, a question will appear asking you to restart the computer.

/forcerestart - When used with quiet, a so-called forced restart will be performed, i.e., all applications will be forcibly closed and the computer will reboot.

/log — Sets logging and the path to the log file.

Start c:\updates\kb3456246.msu /quiet /norestart /log:update.log

Inno Setup

An excellent, free tool for creating installers that supports scripts in the PASCAL language, is quite easy to learn and convenient to use.
Inno setup can register libraries and ActiveX components, create encrypted installers, change the registry, and also launch external applications, but this is only a small part of what Inno Setup can do, even too small...
It should be noted that the help system is quite well written and supported by numerous examples.

Inno Setup is not inferior to many systems for creating installers, and leaves some far behind in terms of convenience and capabilities, although it is free. To be honest, I like it more than all those listed in this article, it has helped me out many times.

Inno Setup has recently been increasingly used to create installation packages, not only by developers of free programs, but also by commercial products, for example:

Hmm, what did I sign, I’ll talk about the main thing.

Inno Setup supports two main keys for silent installation, these are “SILENT” and “VERYSILENT”.
Example:

Start setup.exe /verysilent
Start setup.exe /silent

Sometimes a small problem arises: a window pops up asking if you want to continue the installation. To hide this window, use the “SP-“ key.
Example:

Start setup.exe /VERYSILENT /SP-

How can I tell if Inno Setup is being used to package a program?

Run the installer, in the window that opens, open the system menu (ALT + SPACE "Space")
Select “ABOUT Setup” or “About”
A window will open with approximately the following text:
About Setup
Inno Setup version 5.4.0 (a)Copyright (C) 1997-2010 Jordan RussellPortions Copyright (C) 2000-2010 Martijn LaanAll rights reserved.Inno Setup home page:http://www.innosetup.com/RemObjects Pascal Script home page :http://www.remobjects.com/psInno Setup Preprocessor home page:http://ispp.sourceforge.net/
OK

Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS)

Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS) is a program designed to easily and quickly create professional installation packages. The program allows software developers to create a compressed win32 exe file with the ability to check its integrity. There is no limit on the number of files included in the distribution. Uninstall function supported. The built-in native virtual machine turns this product into a full-fledged professional tool.
Examples:

Installers created using the free NSIS run with the “S” key.
Example:

Start setup.exe /S

Be careful, the key must be in uppercase, otherwise it may simply not work.
You can use the “D” key to specify the installation directory.
Example:

Start setup.exe /S /D=c:\myprogram

How to Determine NSIS Use

All installers created using NSIS have a very similar interface; study the Winamp installation process carefully and you can easily determine whether NSIS is used.

WISE Installer

After rummaging around on the Internet, here’s a beautiful description I found for it:
Wise for Windows Installer allows professional developers to quickly create robust MicrosoftI packages using the latest Windows Installer technologies from Microsoft. The unique features of Wise for Windows Installer help both small and large development teams create installation packages for all types of platforms, including workstations and PDAs, application and web servers, as well as mobile devices Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Pocket PC, Microsoft. NET Compact Framework, Palm OS and smartphones.

The Wise Installation Studio program allows you to effortlessly create application installation packages for the Windows Vista operating system, 64-bit versions of Windows and the Windows Mobile 5 mobile platform. This package supports the Windows Installer format (MicrosoftI), and also has its own format - WiseScript (. EXE).

Users will also benefit from the innovative Altiris Software Virtualization Solution technology included in Wise Installation Studio, which allows the creation of virtual application archives (.VSA) and ensures that there are no conflicts between products being installed.

In addition, the new version of Wise Installation Studio integrates with Nalpeiron's PRO-Tector Standard package. This solution allows developers to create test versions of software products and provides reliable protection of intellectual property from illegal use.

It’s just bad luck, it looks like the project is dead...
oh well, let's not talk about sad things...

Installers created with WISE Installer accept the standard “S” key.
Example:

Start setup.exe /S

I don't know what type of installer it is or I can't determine its type

In this case, use the “s” key, as a rule it works.
Example:

Start setup.exe /s

Manufacturers of software and drivers, which are supplied with a unique installer, usually adhere to this standard

Some users have probably come across the concept of “silent installation of a program”. What this term means and how it works, I will discuss in detail in the article.

What is this?

Silent installation is an automatic installation of a program. In other words, with this installation you do not need to enter activation keys, use patches and click “Next” repeatedly. The automated process uses default installation parameters.

This feature is useful for system administrators, as it saves time when installing a large package of utilities on several machines.

But there is a second side to the coin. Since most installation files by default include unpacking of non-essential software (budling), after a silent installation there may be unnecessary software on the computer.

How it works?

Starting a silent installation is carried out using parameters (also called keys). You can start the procedure in several ways:

from the “Run” line;
through a self-extracting archive with a configuration file;
using scripts in a .bat file.

Which key to use will depend on the type of installer. To make it clear, any program consists of files and folders. These files and folders are packaged into one installation file using special packer programs. There are several such programs. Popular ones are:

Each of these packaging systems has its own silent installation activation key. Silent installation keys may be written on the official websites of these programs. Universal Silent Switch Finder will also help you find out which silent installation activation key is suitable for a specific application installer. Just open the installer file for the program you need.

Parameters (keys)

Let's look at an example. The FoxitReader program used the Inno Setup packer (I determined this information using the Universal Silent Switch Finder). For silent installation, this packager uses the following keys:

/SILENT - this switch does not display the background Install window, but displays the installation process;
/VERYSILENT - this key does not even display the installation process.

Additional parameters:

/DIR = “installation path” - comes after /SILENT or /VERYSILENT and indicates which folder to unpack the program files into. Example: FoxitReader_Setup.exe /VERYSILENT /DIR="C:\Program Files\Foxit Reader\"
/LANG=language - specifies the installer language. For example: FoxitReader_Setup.exe /LANG=Russian
/NOICONS - Prevents the creation of a shortcuts folder in the Start menu. Example: FoxitReader_Setup.exe /NOICONS
/SP - Suppresses windows such as “you want to continue installing this program.” Example: FoxitReader_Setup.exe /VERYSILENT /SP-
/TASKS=“select tasks”—assign additional components/shortcuts during installation. Example: FoxitReader_Setup.exe /VERYSILENT /TASKS="desktopicon,quicklaunchicon"
List of TASKS:
- desktopicon - create a shortcut on the desktop;
- quicklaunchicon - create a shortcut on the quick launch panel;
- startmenuicon - Create a group in the Start menu.

Advice! Usually, by default, programs include several TASKS, which, in addition to icons, can: install an extension in the browser, set default start pages, and open the developer page. To avoid this, write a parameter with commands from the list or leave the values in brackets /TASKS="" empty.

Example

To install Foxit Reader using silent installation I use the following keys:

FoxitReader_Setup.exe /SILENT /DIR="C:\Program Files\Foxit Reader\" /TASKS="desktopicon,quicklaunchicon"

Important! The installation file should be located in the root of drive C:

Accordingly, you can set your own parameters during installation. Also, do not forget to disable User Account Control during the silent installation. When using the /SILENS mode, only the “Installation” line is visible.

Important! Other installers will use different keys. For example, installers with the .msi extension (Windows Installer Service) use /qb and /qn, and for InstallShield - /r and /s. Read more in the manuals for packaging programs.

At the beginning of the article, I mentioned the possibility of launching a silent installation using a .bat file. Unfortunately, I’m not good at BASH scripts, but I offer . The article contains a script for a .bat file that allows you to run silent initialization with the necessary parameters.

Using a self-extracting archive (sfx archive), you can: run unpacked files, delete them after installation, etc. For example, an sfx archive can launch a .bat file with pre-written silent program installation commands.

Many users on the Internet ask what RePack, Portable, Silent installation is. Let's try to explain the difference between these programs.

Silent installation

Silent Installation- this is if the program is installed automatically without user intervention. In other words, you do not need to enter serial numbers, keys, or use other methods of program registration: patches, cracks, etc. In addition to this, during installation of the program you will not have to click “next” many times, repack program she will do everything for you. And after installation, soft will be completely ready to work.

Why is this needed? Imagine a situation, for example: You are a system administrator and you have a task for a huge number of computers and . If you apply silent installation programs, then you have the opportunity to save time several times and simplify this procedure.

The duration of installation depends on the size of the program and lasts from 1–2 seconds to an hour. Such programs are installed by double-clicking the right mouse button on the file being launched. These files are usually prepared for automatic installation of programs immediately after installing the Windows operating system, and are often included in some assembly, such as Zver DVD, etc. As a matter of fact, everything is very simple: click on the file twice and wait for the installation to complete.

Typically silent installation is used for post-installation programs, such as Windows Post-Installer, BS POST-INSTALLER. Also silent installation programs install perfectly on a “live” one that has been working for a long time operating system.

Such software, among other things, can be useful for those inhabitants of our planet who do not like to tinker with the little details of installing a program, or do not want to strain themselves. And of course it will produce for those people who are faced with installation problems(installations) of the application. “Silent installation” assembly She will do everything herself and won’t need your intervention at all. Just run it and once the installation is complete, the program is ready for use with all the built-in add-ons and add-ons.

What is Repack and why is it needed?

You have probably seen the word “Repack” in the title of games or programs more than once, but what can be concluded from this?

Repack- this is a repackaged licensed program or game. Why is this necessary? Most often, Repack is done to reduce the size of the installer or so that, for example, tablets (crack) and translation are already in the newly installed program or game.

RePack is a lightweight version of the game-program from which unnecessary files are cut out, including foreign languages, foreign software, various demos; RePacks often compress video clips, sometimes with loss of quality. Purchased stripped-down versions of the game, in most cases, are compiled into 1-2.iso,.mdf... and other disk images. As a result, RePack weighs less and is faster to download from the internet. RePacks add all sorts of cracks, keygens, no-dvds, etc. In most cases, a license is first detected on trackers, and after that there are many repacks for it, 1/4-1/3 less in volume. Although RePacks take a long time to install on a computer. Up to 1-2 hours... (bye-bye, all this compression will be established). Often, repackers themselves translate the license, almost spontaneously, and also invest in RePack.

So what is a Portable program?

When we come to visit or go to work, we use other people's PCs. And often we will need programs in the form in which they are configured at home. With documentation, everything is usually simple - copy it to a flash drive and play it on a third-party computer, then what about program options? Or there may not be a necessary program at all... For all this, there are portable programs (in other words, Portable versions of programs), in other words, programs that do not require anything to work, except for yourself. These programs save all options not in the registry, but in their own files.

Portable programs can work while being in any folder. If a program does not have its own installer, this does not mean that it is actually portable. In addition to all this, it should not access the registry and other places on the hard drive. Portable versions of programs are usually distributed in archives. For the program to work, just extract the files from the archive into one folder or another.

Portable programs are made by enthusiasts. They do this so that the program does not access the boundaries of its own folder. For example, a simple program will use the registry - professionals make sure that the program writes its options not to the registry, but to a file. Although, if, say, the registry is really needed, then a special code at startup writes the settings into the registry, and after closing it uploads it back to the file.

Types of Portable Soft

In general, Portable soft (PS) should include those programs that are “installed” by simply unpacking the archive, or are ready to be transferred from machine to machine by regular copying, without requiring installers to make the required entries in the registry. This is where the differences in Portable applications arise.

ru– the applications contain Russian language

portable- portable – easy to move, just copy the application files.

apps– an English abbreviation for the word application, which means the addition of a computer program, for example a web browser or word processor.

A portable application is a computer program that can be carried with you on a portable device, such as USB, and used on any PC. When your USB flash drive, portable hard drive, or other portable device is connected, you have access to your programs and personal data as if you were at your own computer. And when you turn off the device, none of your individual data remains on someone else's computer.

No special equipment required: just use USB Flash, miniature hard drive, iPod/MP3 player, etc. Virtually no additional software- simply download, install and run portable applications.

To make it clear how this works, I will describe an approximate algorithm:

A backup copy of registry branches (or configuration files) and files located outside the installed folder, on which the operation of the application depends, is created.
Importing the data necessary for the application into the registry; similarly, let’s say copying those files that should be present outside the portable folder (for example, in .../System32).
Starting the main program and waiting for it to close.
Upon completion, export options from the registry (or configuration files) to portable.
Cleaning traces of program operation (more precisely, deleting temporary files).
Restoring into the system those registry keys and files that were reserved in the 1st step of the algorithm.

Portable program(in English “portable application”) is portable software that does not necessarily need to be installed on the PC’s hard drive to run and use. This group includes programs that can be easily installed on a flash drive, external HDD, CDs, DVDs, Bly-ray discs in the usual way, and also those that operate without installation. This is convenient for many reasons: it is not at all necessary to install the same programs on several PCs, at work you can use your favorite browser, email client, ICQ without complaints from the system administrator and management, all data is saved on removable media and copied extremely easily and so on Another undeniable advantage of Portable programs is that they are free, at least for private (non-commercial) use. Although it is possible to find on the Internet portable versions and commercial programs, for example Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop.

What is the secret of Portable programs?

Everything is painfully simple. When you install a simple application on your computer, it has the ability to store its own files in various folders on the PC's hard drive. In addition to the familiar Program Files directory, parts of programs can be found in user folders, temporary directories, etc. Therefore, when we want to copy a program by simply transferring its folder from Program Files to another computer, nothing comes of it. The software does not have the ability to detect the necessary configuration files and is completely unwilling to work.

With portable applications the situation is different. The program is installed in the folder assigned to it on removable media, without affecting the PC’s hard drive and registry, and will work perfectly no matter which PC you connect the flash drive to. In order to copy a program, you just need to transfer its directory to another removable media. Almost all applications do not require installation; they can be copied and launched from anywhere. But keep in mind that Portable programs created for one operating system will not work on another. In other words, if you use a portable version of the Firefox browser for Linux, it will not work on a computer with Mac OS or Windows.

Part of the similar PS available on the Internet stores all the options in its directory and, of course, stores all the options during a similar transfer. All this goodness could be called True PS (True Portable Soft).
The other part stubbornly continues to save the settings in “Documents and Settings” and during the transfer all options have to be restored manually. Of course, the program is functional right away, but in the meantime you will bring it to condition... Such things would be much better called Conditional PS - (Relative Portable Soft).
Among other things, there are subtypes created to be carried on flash drives and launched from them, differing in the location where numerous temporary files are recorded that are created during operation. Specifically, in order to save the working capacity of a flash drive, which, generally speaking, has a limit on the number of write cycles on each “sector”, all temporary files are written to a screw, in a temporary folder created while the application is running. In accordance with this, the subcategories “True Portable USB Soft” and “Relative Portable USB Soft” arise.
Of particular interest is a certain, we call it “single-file” variety of “True Portable USB Soft”. Then the application is 1 packaged executable file, when launched, the settings are transferred to the screw, during operation, access is carried out only to the hard drive, and when the program is closed, all options (probably modified) are again packaged into the executable file on the flash drive with simultaneous deletion from screw made folder.

Silent installation is a process in which you sit quietly and peacefully and look at the screen, where the software installation process occurs without your participation, provided that it is visible at all. At the same time, the installer does not bother you with questions like Do you agree with the license agreement? . The installation parameters are used by default. those. those that the installer offers when installing the software in the usual way.

The disadvantages of a silent installation include all sorts of panels in browsers and shortcuts like E-Bay on the desktop, since most often such bonuses are included in the installation by default. But this is rather an exception, although not rare. Read more about silent installation in this article.

In fact, silent installation is a very convenient procedure that saves time and simplifies the life of the system administrator. For example, I use silent install mode after a clean OS installation.

The silent installation mode is activated using parameters or (as they are also called) keys. If you don’t know what this is, you can fill the knowledge gap with this article:. The procedure can be started in several ways:

From the command line using parameters.
Similarly via a bat file (com file).
Via SFX archive with configuration file.

There are quite a lot of keys. Which key you need to use depends on the installer. Those. any program, in simple terms, is a folder with files, and a special assembler (a system for creating software installers) packs all this stuff into one installation file. And it depends on which collector was used which key will trigger the silent installation mode. The most famous systems for creating installers:

Install Shield
WISE Installer
Inno Setup

You can learn more about SSI and their keys. You can also try to find the required key using special software - Universal Silent Switch Finder or read the documentation on the website of the developers of the program for which you are looking for keys.

While experimenting with silent installation, I came across the following options for starting silent installation mode:

/silent /verysilent /quiet /qb /qn /qr /passive /s /S /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress /s /v" /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress

Keys to cancel reboot:

/norestart /noreboot

Avast antivirus has a silent installation option in the corporate version. According to the developers, the free (Home) version does not have a silent installation. However, if you are familiar with how the InstallShield installer works, you will understand that this statement is not true, since this installer itself supports the /S silent installation switch. This means that all products made on its basis do the same. And Avast Home is no exception.

To start a silent installation of the 7Zip archiver (NSIS assembler), you need to run the installer with the /S key. Place the 7Zip installer (7z.exe) in the root of drive C. Then open the Start menu › Run (or + R) and enter the following command into the form:

C:7 z.exe /S

The archiver will install without dialog boxes or signs of external activity.

However, it happens that the installer is assembled non-standardly and simply does not have the keys to start a silent installation. Such exceptions include Avira Antivir. Quietly, you can only unpack the contents of the installer into a temporary directory (minus one window), and then that’s it. In this case, you have to create special self-extracting archives with instruction files inside. This is where things get a little more complicated.

Silent installation using sfx archives

Above I mentioned cases where the option with keys may not work. The silent installation mode may simply not be provided by the developer. In this case, quite often you can get out of the situation by using sfx archives. Sfx archive is a self-extracting archive.

One of its advantages is that you do not need an archiver to unpack it. In addition, with the help of it you can significantly expand the possibilities of silent installation, and the possibilities of installing software in general.

For example, immediately after unpacking, an sfx archive allows you to run one or more unpacked files, delete files after performing operations, and much more. These operations involve configuration files containing commands (for example, ).

Using commands, you can simulate the silent installation process. Many installers, including the one mentioned in the previous Avira article, can work with instruction files (pick them up), provided that the instructions are located in the same directory as the installer. More information about the instructions (commands specified in the configs) can be found on the program developer’s website or on the relevant forums.

To give a general idea of the configuration file (for those who are not in the know), below is an example of such a file for the Firefox Portable program

FirefoxDirectory =Appfirefox ProfileDirectory =Dataprofile SettingsDirectory =Datasettings PluginsDirectory =Dataplugins FirefoxExecutable =firefox.exe AdditionalParameters = LocalHomepage =index.html DisableSplashScreen =false AllowMultipleInstances =false DisableIntelligentStart =false SkipCompregFix =false RunLocally =false

It is worth noting that the capabilities and operating modes of programs may change over time. Firefox Portable may no longer support ini files, and future versions of the Avira installer may no longer understand and pick up instruction files. Therefore, when experimenting, it is worth familiarizing yourself with current information about the capabilities of the programs that you plan to use.

How an sfx archive can help the silent installation process, I think we have figured it out. Now it's time to move on to the practical part. To create sfx archives, I use the modified 7Zip archiver module. The entire process of creating an sfx archive and using it to launch silent installation mode is described (by the module developer). I will very briefly retell what is written in it, explaining a couple of points.

Let me immediately note that the purpose of the example is to pack the program installer into an sfx archive in such a way that after unpacking it will automatically begin to install quietly. In this article, the 7Zip archiver installer (7z465.exe) will act as a test subject, although you can use any other one, the main thing is to know the silent installation key. For the 7Zip installer, this is the /S switch. So, to fulfill our plan we will need:

Module sfх Oleg Shcherbakov.
Archiver 7Zip. We will use it to package the program installer into a ".7z" format archive. The archiver, of course, needs to be installed on the system.
Program installer (as I noted above, in the example I use 7z465.exe).
Archive.7z, which we will receive by packaging the program installer with the 7Zip archiver.
Configuration file config.txt, which will contain instructions for the “behavior” of the sfx archive when unpacking, i.e. in this example it will contain a command to start a silent installation.
Spell for creating an sfx archive (entered in the console).

For convenience, I put all the ingredients in one archive, which you can download. Also, if you download it here, you can change the archive icon (how to do this).

Please note that the encoding of the configuration file config.txt must be UTF-8.

So, after downloading and unpacking, we get a folder with all this stuff, the following is the list:

Install the 7zip archiver (located in the folder).
We pack the experimental 7z465.exe (located in the folder) into a 7z archive. The output file is 7z465.7z.
Open the console (Start › Run - cmd) and go to the folder with the files: cd C:files (example for the "files" folder on drive "C").
Run the spell in the console:
- COPY /b 7zsd.sfx + config.txt + 7z465.7z 7Zip.exe
- 7zsd.sfx is the name of the sfx module.
- config.txt - configuration file name.
- 7z465.7z is the name of the packaged 7z465.exe installer.
- 7Zip.exe is the name of the output sfx archive.

As a result, we get the sfx archive 7Zip.exe, which is an executable file or a self-extracting archive, which contains the config.txt instruction. The contents of the instructions are as follows:

;!@Install@!UTF-8! RunProgram ="7z465.exe /S" GUIMode ="2" ;!@InstallEnd@!

;!@Install@!UTF-8!
;!@InstallEnd@! - lines of the beginning and end of the instruction file. These are comments and can be deleted. But the other two are definitely needed.
GUIMode="2" - archive unpacking mode without notifications (quietly).
RunProgram="7z465.exe /S" is the instruction line that needs to be modified depending on which installer you are using. The line contains the name of the installer, which is packaged in a 7z archive and which needs to be installed quietly + silent installation key.

That's all. After reading Oleg's articles (links above), you can create different archives that perform completely different tasks. Happy experimenting!