Scenario #1. you work for a company that is purchasing lots of new computers and it is your responsibility to set them all up with fairly similar configurations.
Scenario #2. Alternatively, you could have a need to recycle old machines with a fresh installation of windows and all the standard applications.
Anyone who has been in either of the aforementioned situations knows how tedious manual installations can be. It seems preferable to have the computer perform those tedious tasks without requiring an administrator’s attention.
The following is a quick overview of a setup that has worked well.
Overview
- Download and install the software
- Create a deployment share
- Load your Operating systems into the deployment share
- Download the latest versions of your common applications
notes:
In some cases it is best to do some investigating to find alternative installation methods for example: frontmotion.com provides an .msi installer for firefox, which can be better for certain silent installation options
AppDeploy.com has a vast knowledge base of command line installation options for various applications
Transform (*.MST) files are used to customize setups created using Microsoft Installer (MSI) technology. An .MST file can be used to install certain applications with pre-determined parameters (without a GUI or user interaction). The .MST file customizes the properties of the MSI package; this includes the installation location, license manager, and features to install. more info
For special applications that are not so common to be in the appdeploy knowledge base, you may want to play around with the command line to find the silent install option ( adding “\?” or “\S” after the executable might do the trick
