Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Windows Installer Packages and Repackaging Software for the Windows Installer

I found this on a Dutch forum and I wanted to share it with you. You can recreate .msi installers to quietly install applications.

[edit]sorry for the link... [/edit]

your link is broken Y3PP3R

you have copied your activation link
re-copy and paste this seems interesting

@SiMoNsAyS

what do you mean by you have copied your activation link
re-copy and paste this seems interesting? because i can't get to the link it is broken

Link fixed....

Sometimes I forget little things... like copying the link

@kurt476 he copied a wrong link that's all. now he fixed it.
the link is this and works.

wow mega thanx to SiMoNsAyS and mega thanx to Y3PP3R the link now works

Shall I create a paypal donate button?

Is it usefull for anyone? I'd love to hear from you all....

i don't know yet i'm just a begainer at this stuff

While on the topic of creating .msi files, I thought I'd ask a question to see what sort of response there would be. I've made literally dozens of repacked .msi files for a wide range of applications using InstallShield AdminStudio. I realize that this tool may not have a huge audience here since it is a rather expensive suite.

Would there be any interest here if I were to create a guide to making msi files with this tool? It would be a bit of work and I'd hate to do it if there wasn't anyone who would benefit from it.

Yeah! I would love a (newbie)guide

didn't mazin post a step by step guide awhile back with examples of individual programs using WinInstall LE?

As for AdminStudio, i think it's the simplist. You start the repackager, tell it the app setup program, install the program, and it records the changes into the MSI.

In my experience, it's rarely that simple. There are an aweful lot of gotchas involved at least 80% of the time. Also on the topic, I have done quite a bit of direct msi editing when making an mst just doesn't do it (Daemon Tools for example).

while we are on topic of installers too i thought i would ask for this ? some of them i downloaded like analogX cache booster i would like to to know how to repackage that and extract the cach booster files from the installer too in that is possible dose anybudy know this?

I tried creating an msi for firefox but I always fail. I'm using InstallShield X Express. I will read the guide and try building it again with WinInstall LE.

Firefox isn't one of those easy to repack simple apps. It's a lot easier to just make it install silently. SiMoNsAyS has made a guide. (it doesn't *need* be thing complex/in depth mind you... It's rather quick/easy really)

@Kurt476 - Buddy, you made 136 posts in 5 days of being suscribed!! Lots of your posts are getting closed (I don't think moderators are being happy about that either), and most could be avoided by either searching, or doing some reading (or "learning" a bit). There's plenty of guides on how to do this, the repackaging apps come with manuals, guides and what not. I'm sure you'd find more by searching on the foums and the net too.

Realize that as much as you want to get this done and over with right now, it's just not gonna happen. You gotta search, find things on your own, learn how to deal with certain things... You can't just ask about everything over and over again, hoping someone will answer it all for you, premake all your scripts or such. This will be a long journey, it will take time (most of us have been working on this for weeks or months), a few things won't be easy. You'll have to learn a lot, try a lot of things, do mistakes and learn from them. It DOES require some dedication, efforts and trying hard to get there. We can't hand you all the command lines, all the settings and explain everything. Sometimes, you just have find out for yourself.

And like Alanoll's signature says:

English isn't that hard of a language (It's not my primary language either). If anyone was to go over your posts, they'd wouldn't need a dictionnary or anything to find out lots of pretty obvious syntax/grammar problems.

No, I'm not a moderator but let's use some common sense. I think most people agree with this... And again, don't take this personally, it's not meant to be a personnal attack or anything like that...

@Y3PP3R

The page you linked is useful for reading! Explanations put there fall short of practical creation of MSIs, which is sometimes very complicated.

For Winamp, as an example, it may take you several minutes to create your own package.
But it may take you several nights/days if your purpose is to share your package.
In either situation, the work you do is completely different!! Also, it requires different levels of knowledge. Different approaches are also used in either situation.

Also, be aware that WinINSTALL LE lacks two important features:
- It doesn't create a GUI for attended installation.
- You can not touch the properties of your package, as it doesn't display the Properties Table of your MSI.

However, going with the free apps, you can use two additional free apps to fill the missing features of WinINSTALL LE.

Anyway, it's good you opened the hell!

@RogueSpear

I used your package of Winamp that's shipped with DFX. It's really a nice one.

@Alanoll

My guide focused on MSI editing in the first place. Many times I wanted to post guides there for packaging, but it's always time (the rare commodity).
I feel sorry for that.

I think it's a good opportunity that Y3PP3R created a new topic for this.

@everybody

If you don't have Win2000 Server CD, this is a direct download link for WinINSTALL LE.

Yup. I used his/their guide a couple of months ago. I just wanna try something new for me. I want to learn, that's why I'm trying different things.



Hahaha.. I strongly agree with this. Honestly, learning is VERY painful for me. It's a struggle. But I'm trying my best to search for answers to my questions, and to learn.


OFF TOPIC: By the way, I successfully built a basic firefox msi. I'm just having problems with the extensions. But other than that, it is almost perfect.