Need a free, easy to use Installer Program

TechLarry

TechLarry

RIP [H] Brother - June 1, 2022
Joined
Aug 9, 2005
Messages
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I need a free, easy to use installer program.

It will be used for techs to update their corporate image USB keys when they are updated.

The changes usually include:

1. The Sources directory (the boot.wim file always changes).
2. Changes to or addition of new machine specific driver folders.
3. Changes to text files I use to track versioning.


it would be perfect if I could simply:

1. Tell it what folders need to be replaced, and give it the new source folder to replace it with.
2. Tell it what files I need to replace, and provide that new file.
3. Wrap it all up into a single EXE I can distribute via OneDrive.


The tech would simply download it, insert their USB key, run the updater, and select the drive of their Imaging Key.

Done :)

I need something simple and quick, but safe and foolproof. I don't have a lot of time for building custom solutions :)
 
Are the files going to be local to the site that is running the update of the USB stick?

If so, why not just have a script that checks a version file.
If the version on the USB stick doesn't match the server version have it wipe the files and then copy down the new files.

Once you get the script working how you want it, if you want it to be an exe, then just use a simple script to exe converter.
 
cyclone3d said:
Are the files going to be local to the site that is running the update of the USB stick?

If so, why not just have a script that checks a version file.
If the version on the USB stick doesn't match the server version have it wipe the files and then copy down the new files.

Once you get the script working how you want it, if you want it to be an exe, then just use a simple script to exe converter.
Click to expand...


Yes.

I will have a selection of updates. Usually this will be:

1. Sources folder, which contains the boot.wim file. This always changes with an image update.
2. Individual driver folders for any new machines added to the image.
3. Replacement driver folders for machines that have had driver updates.

I want the compiled installer to:

1. Remove the old folders.
2. Copy the new folders.

I have NO desire to update the contents of individual folders. I want updates to be on a complete folder basis.

It should all be wrapped up in one EXE they can download, insert their key, run the updater, and select the drive.

Right now they have to download the folders individually from my OneDrive and manually put them in place. The reliability results are, um, underwhelming shall we say :)
 
I still think a simple script converted to an exe would do the job.

It would only need a single prompt for the drive letter for the USB stick.

If you want to make it fancy, you could use AutoITscript.. and you can even compile the script to a single exe through the IDE.

Home - AutoIt
https://www.autoitscript.com/site/
If you want to "steal" my available drive letters drop down code, you can get it from my front end for diskpart, here:
DiskPartitioner (Microsoft Diskpart GUI).


Going with a whole installer setup is kind of over complicating it.
 
A powershell script could be used to control the logic for adding/updating directories and contents, as well as interact with OneDrive. All the script would need to know is the USB drive letter. So if you had a GUI tool that gave a drive selection screen, the user could select the drive, click a button, and the drive letter could be passed as a param to the powershell script for processing. (Ideally the PS script would be embedded in the EXE to eliminate an external dependency concern.)
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys!

Sorry for the long response time. I had to go into the shop for a while.
 
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