Use command line parameters with Msiexec

 

We can use the Msiexec command with command line parameters to invoke installation or uninstallation. The Msiexec command uses parameters to give MSI some or all of the information that would normally be specified as part of an interactive installation using the WebSphere MQ Installation Launchpad. To do this, enter the following command at a command line, followed by the parameters you require:

Msiexec [parameters]

The Msiexec command can accept two types of parameters on the command line, these are:

• Standard command line parameters, preceded by a / character.

  For an unattended (silent) installation, include the /q or /qn parameter in the command line, and set the AGREETOLICENSE parameter to "yes". For information on what an unattended installation is, see Unattended (silent) installation.

  For a table of the Msiexec command line parameters, see Table 1.

• Property=value pair parameters on the command line. All the parameters available for use in a response file can be used on the command line, for a list of these see Table 1. In addition there are some extra property=value pair parameters that are only for use on the command line, for details of these see Table 2.

  When using the property=value pair parameters note that:

  • Property strings must be in upper case.

  • Value strings are not case-sensitive, except for feature names. We can enclose value strings in double quotation marks. If a value string includes a blank, enclose the blank value string in double quotation marks.

  • For a property that can take more than one value, use the format:

    ADDLOCAL="Server,Client"

When using property=value pair and command line parameters with the Msiexec command, enter command line parameters first.

If a parameter is specified both on the command line and in a response file, the setting on the command line takes precedence.

A typical example of an Msiexec command is:

Msiexec /i "path\MSI\IBM WebSphere MQ.msi" /l*v c:\install.log /m mif_file
  TRANSFORMS="1033.mst" AGREETOLICENSE="yes" ADDLOCAL="Server" 

where:

/i "path\MSI\IBM WebSphere MQ.msi"

Install the product using the .msi specified.

/l*v c:\install.log

Produce a log file called install.log, containing all information in verbose format.

/m mif_file

Generate a Microsoft System Management Server (SMS) status .mif file called mif_file.

TRANSFORMS="1033.mst"

Specifies that the installation is in U.S. English. For further information about installing in different national languages, see Using transforms with Msiexec.

AGREETOLICENSE="yes"

Accept the terms of the license.

ADDLOCAL="Server"

Install the server feature locally.

 

Parameters

The Msiexec command can take further parameters that are not supported or listed here. If you need details of these, refer to the help file for the Windows Installer that is supplied with the MSI software development kit. See the Microsoft Web site at:

http://www.microsoft.com

Msiexec command line parameters

Parameter	Options	Description
/a	Package	Installs a product on the network using administrative installation, that is, installs a source image of the application onto the network that is similar to a source image on a CD.
/i	Package|ProductCode	Installs or configures a product using the specified .msi file. The WebSphere MQ Windows Installer package is IBM WebSphere MQ.msi.
/j	[u|m]Package| [u|m]Package /t TransformList| [u|m]Package /g LanguageID	Advertises the product. This option ignores any property values entered on the command line. u Advertise to the current user m Advertise to all users of this machine g Language ID t Applies transform to advertised package
/l	[i|w|e|a|r|u|c|m|o|p |v|+|!]Logfile	Specifies path to log file, with flags to set which information to log. i Status messages w Recoverable warnings e All error messages a Startup of actions r Action-specific records u User requests c Initial user interface parameters m Out-of-memory or unrecoverable exit information o Out-of-disk-space messages p Terminal properties v Verbose output + Append to existing file ! Flush each line to the log * Log all information except for the v option. To log all information including the v option, specify "/l*v" microwaveup"<path><Logfile.log>" Create a verbose log file in the directory specifeid by path with the name specified by Logfile.log
/m	filename	Generates a Microsoft System Management Server (SMS) status .mif file. Must be used with either the install (/i), remove (/x), administrative installation (/a), or reinstall (/f) options. The ISMIF32.DLL is installed as part of SMS and must be on the path. The fields of the status .mif file are filled with the following information: Manufacturer - Author Product - Revision Number V- Subject Locale - Template Serial Number - not set Installation - set by ISMIF32.DLL to DateTime InstallStatus - Success or Failed Description - Error messages in the following order: Error messages generated by installer. Resource from msi.dll if install could not commence or user exit. System error message file. Formatted message: Installer error %i, where %i is the error returned from msi.dll.
/q	n|b|r|f	Sets the level of user interface displayed during the install. q, qn No user interface. A silent installation that displays no user interface. qb Basic user interface. Displays the built-in dialog boxes that show progress messages qr Reduced user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end of the installation. qf Full user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end. qn+ No user interface except for a modal dialog box displayed at the end of installation. qb+ Basic user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end. The modal box is not displayed if the user cancels the installation. qb- Basic user interface with no modal dialog boxes. Note that /qb+- is not a supported UI level.
/x	Package|ProductCode	Uninstalls the product.
Do not use the options /i, /x, /j[u|m], and /a together. Use the options /t and /g only with /j. Use the options /l and /q with /i, /x, /j[u|m], and /a.

Table 1 and Table 2 show the parameters that you can enter as property=value pairs on the Msiexec command line (defaults are shown in bold). Only use the parameters given in Table 2 can be used on the command line, and not in a response file.

Msiexec property= value parameters

Property	Values	Meaning
USEINI	path\file_name	Use the specified response file. See Using a response file with Msiexec.
SAVEINI	path\file_name	Generate a response file during installation. The file contains those parameters selected for this installation that a user might make during an interactive installation.
ONLYINI	1|yes|""	1, yes or any value other than null. End the installation before updating the target system, but after generating a response file, if this is specified. "". Continue the installation and update the target machine (the default).

 

Parent topic:

Unattended (silent) installation