LKBEN10807: Msiexec command-line options

Symptom

You need the command line options for an MSI installation

Cause

none

Solution

msiexec/i              Installs or configures a product.
msiexec/a             Applies the administrative installation option.
msiexec/f [p][o][e][d][c][a][u][m][s][v]                         Repairs a product
description of the commandline options:

p             Reinstalls only if file is missing.
o             Reinstalls if file is missing or if an older version is installed.
e              Reinstalls if file is missing or an equal or older version is installed.
d             Reinstalls if file is missing or a different version is installed.
c              Reinstalls if file is missing or the stored checksum does not match the calculated value.
a             Forces all files to be reinstalled.
u             Rewrite all required user-specific registry entries.
m            Rewrites all required computer-specific registry entries.
s              Overwrites all existing shortcuts.
v             Runs from source and re-caches the local package.

msiexec/x                                            uninstall a product
msiexec/j[u][m] /g /t                         Advertises a product.
Description of the commandline options:

u             Advertises to the current user.
m            Advertises to all users of the computer.
/g            Identifies the language.
/t             Applies transform to advertised package.

msiexec/L [i][w][e][a][r][u][c][m][p][v][+][!] LogFile.txt         Set the logging level
description of the commandline options:

/L           Specifies the path to the log file.
i              Logs status messages.
w             Logs nonfatal warnings.
e              Logs all error messages.
a             Logs startup of actions.
r              Logs action-specific records.
u             Logs user requests.
c              Logs initial user interface parameters.
m            Logs out-of-memory.
p             Logs terminal properties.
v             Logs verbose output. To use v, specify /L*v.
+             Appends to existing file.
!              Flushes each line to the log.
*             Logs all information except for the v option. This is a wildcard.

LogFile .txt         Name and path of the text log file.
msiexec/p             Applies an update.
msiexec /I TRANSFORM               Installs a transform.
msiexec/q[n][b][r] [ f][n+][b+][b-]  Sets the user insterface level
description of the commandline options:

/qn          Displays no user interface.
/qb          Displays a basic user interface.
/qr          Displays a reduced user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end of the installation.
/qf          Displays the full user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end.
/qn+       Displays no user interface, except for a modal dialog box displayed at the end.
/qb+       Displays a basic user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end.
/qb-        Displays a basic user interface with no modal dialog boxes.
 

msiexec /[?][h]                    Displays the Windows Installer version and copyright information.

msiexec/y                            Calls the system API DllRegisterServer to self-register modules passed on the command line.

msiexec/z                             Calls the system API DllUnRegisterServer to unregister modules passed on the command line.

Disclaimer:

About the Author

Author: Wim Peeters - Keskon GmbH & Co. KG

Wim Peeters is electronics engineer with an additional master in IT and over 30 years of experience, including time spent in support, development, consulting, training and database administration. Wim has worked with SQL Server since version 6.5. He has developed in C/C++, Java and C# on Windows and Linux. He writes knowledge base articles to solve IT problems and publishes them on the Lubby Knowledge Platform.