Setting up a silent install

On Windows, you can set up a silent installation (also called an unattended install) so that your users do not have to type responses to the prompts of the installation program. You can set up a silent installation for the following components:

You can also set up a silent installation for the documentation; see Setting up a silent install of the documentation.

To perform a silent install, take the following steps:

  1. Record your responses to the installation program prompts. To record your responses, run the following command:
    setup.exe -r

    This will record your responses to the installation prompts into a file called setup.iss, which is stored in c:\WINNT. If you select Reboot at the finish, the reboot will be recorded, and subsequent silent installations will also reboot.

  2. Copy the setup.iss file into a temporary directory on the computer on which you are installing the product.
  3. To play the install back silently on the target machine, run the setup.exe command using the -s parameter (for silent installation) and the -f1 parameter (which indicates the location of the setup.iss file). For example, if you stored the setup.iss file in the C:\TEMP directory, enter the following command:
    setup.exe -s -f1C:\TEMP\setup.iss