Windows installer: msiexec
Msiexec is Microsoft's windows installer program which is used to install new programs that use windows installer package files (msi).
It appears when invoked by double-clicking on a .msi file (or having one run automatically as part of an installation process).
This program is important for the stable and secure running of your computer and should not be terminated.
Command line msiexec:
msiexec.exe: provides the means to install, modify, and perform operations on windows installer (msi) from the command line.
Type 'msiexec' in command line to get help on this utility.
Eg: to perform an administrative install of an msi program (admin install), open cmd window and enter.
msiexec /a OpenXMLSDKv2.msi
Syntax:
msiexec /Option
<Required Parameter>
[Optional Parameter]
Install options:
</package | /i> <Product.msi> Installs or configures a product
/a <Product.msi> Administrative install - Installs a product on the network
/j<u|m> <Product.msi> [/t <Transform List>] [/g <Language ID>] Advertises a product - m to all users, u to current user
</uninstall | /x> <Product.msi | ProductCode> Uninstalls the product
Display options:
/quiet Quiet mode, no user interaction
/passive Unattended mode - progress bar only
/q[n|b|r|f]
Sets user interface level
n - No UI
b - Basic UI
r - Reduced UI
f - Full UI (default)
/help
Help information
Restart options:
/norestart Do not restart after the installation is complete
/promptrestart Prompts the user for restart if necessary
/forcerestart Always restart the computer after installation
Logging options:
/l[i|w|e|a|r|u|c|m|o|p|v|x|+|!|*] <LogFile>
i - Status messages
w - Nonfatal warnings
e - All error messages
a - Start up of actions
r - Action-specific records
u - User requests
c - Initial UI parameters
m - Out-of-memory or fatal exit information
o - Out-of-disk-space messages
p - Terminal properties
v - Verbose output
x - Extra debugging information
+ - Append to existing log file
! - Flush each line to the log
* - Log all information, except for v and x options
/log <LogFile>
Equivalent of /l* <LogFile>
Update options:
/update <Update1.msp>[;Update2.msp] Applies update(s)
/uninstall <PatchCodeGuid>[;Update2.msp] /package <Product.msi | ProductCode> Remove update(s) for a product
Repair options:
/f[p|e|c|m|s|o|d|a|u|v] <Product.msi | ProductCode> Repairs a product
p - only if file is missing
o - if file is missing or an older version is installed (default)
e - if file is missing or an equal or older version is installed
d - if file is missing or a different version is installed
c - if file is missing or checksum does not match the calculated value
a - forces all files to be reinstalled
u - all required user-specific registry entries (default)
m - all required computer-specific registry entries (default)
s - all existing shortcuts (default)
v - runs from source and recaches local package
Setting public properties:
[PROPERTY=PropertyValue]
Windows installer package file format: msi
.msi is an installer package file format used by Windows.
.msi contains installation information for a particular installer (msiexec.exe), such as files to be installed and installation locations
Its name comes from the program's original title, Microsoft Installer, which has since changed to Windows Installer.
.msi files are used for installation, storage, and removal of programs.
