.exe deploy issues

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Chris Jackson

I am trying to use PDQ deploy to manage our workstations and render farm.

I am having good results with MSP installers but I am having major issues with an EXE installer.

I am trying to deploy VRay and I have been given the silent install instructions from the developer for the installer and I can see the installer process running on the target machines but then they just sit there and do nothing and they deploy either times out or I have to abort it.

I have attached a screen grab of my installer setup.

Any help would be appreciated!




Capture.PNG
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Comments

20 comments

Date Votes
  • Adam Ruth

    Have you tried running the installer directly with the silent options to make sure it's really silent?  Silent options can change over time and they may not be valid for that particular version.

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  • Chris Jackson

    I have just tried running the installer directly and everything works smoothly with the silent option.

    This time i had the installer and XML file on the C:/ of the machine

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  • Adam Ruth

    I just noticed it doesn't look like you're including the xml config file so it's not being copied to the target computer and the installer is probably prompting for it.  You can either use Include Entire Directory (as long as the xml file is in the same directory as the exe) or add the file as an Additional File.

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  • Chris Jackson

    Yeah I noticed that as well.

    I am trying this now.

    It has been installing for 5mins now and when I ran it locally it had finished in 2mins so something is still not right

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  • Adam Ruth

    Some installers aren't very well behaved when running in the background, and this may be one.  Is there an option to get some logging?  

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  • Chris Jackson

    I have asked the developer (ChaosGroup) if there is a log file for the installer but I haven't heard back yet.

    Is there a way to show the command line when deploying?

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  • Adam Ruth

    You mean the output?  Yes, you can redirect it all to a file.  Just add this to the end of the parameters:

    > c:\out.txt 2>&1

    Use whatever output file name you want instead of c:\out.txt.  This is functionality we're going to be adding natively in the future, but for now this will work.

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  • Adam Ruth

    One more thing you can try is to run the deployment as Local System.  There are some installers that have issues when running in the background when run as a user but work fine when run as Local System.

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  • Chris Jackson

    Adam,

    I have just noticed that even when I deploy the install without any parameters (to try and get the installer to appear on screen) nothing actually appears on screen but I can see it in the task manager.

    I have tried running it as a local user but no luck

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  • Adam Ruth

    Nothing will show on screen even if it is putting up windows because it's running in a hidden background desktop.  If it's put up a window waiting for input you won't be able to tell.  

    We're going to be adding an option to have the installer display to the logged on user, but there are some potential security issues with this so it won't be the default.

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  • Adam Ruth

    Also to clarify, when I said Local System I was referring to the "Run as Local System" option in the deployment window.  This is different than running as a local user.

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  • Chris Jackson

    Thanks Adam.

    So far nothing is working and I am not sure what to do next

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  • Adam Ruth

    Is there a chance we could get this installer to try out in our lab?

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  • Chris Jackson

    Sure. can I send you a link via email?

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  • Adam Ruth

    Sure, just send it to support@adminarsenal.com.

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  • Shane Corellian

    Hi Chris,

    I just noticed something. Why are you adding the name of the exe file to the beginning of the parameters field? Unless the developers specifically wanted the install filename to be passed as a parameter, the parameter field should probably look like this:

    -gui=0 -configFile="xml_file.xml" -quiet=1

    See the image below. You will see the command line already adds the Installer File and then appends the Parameters data to the command line.

    ChaosGroup.png

    As Adam mentioned, where is the xml_file.xml? You need to make sure that is the same directory as the Installer File (vray_adv_23001_max2012_x64.exe). 

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  • Chris Jackson

    Ok I have found the problem.

    It seems that the machines I have been trying to deploy VRay to didn't have sharing enabled.

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  • Richard Blank

    I'm trying to do this and PDQ says that the installer is successful but when I check the computers vray is not installed?

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  • Shane Corellian

    Hi Richard,

    PDQ Deploy determines whether a deployment is successful based off of the return code of the installer. The default return codes that will cause the deployment to succeed are 0, 1641 and 3010. Unless the Success Codes were changed in the PDQ Package the vray exe returned one of these codes.

    It's actually not that uncommon for an installer to make no changes and return a code 0 (which universally means success). Click the Steps link for a deployment. This should show you the exit codes. Was it 0? If it was 3010 this means that the target computer needs to be restarted before the changes take affect.

     

    -Shane

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  • Richard Blank
    It's solved. My bad. I forgot to attach the xml in Additional files. Once I did that it worked perfectly.
    Awesome software by the way!
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