What is Silent Install?
In the software area you keep reading about so-called "silent installs". This practical tip shows you what that is and how you can use it yourself.
Silent Install - Unattended installations on Windows and Linux
The term "silent install" comes from the English and describes an unattended installation. There are differences whether this is carried out under Linux or Windows:
- In the Unix area, Silent Install often stands for the installation of the operating system itself. Here, a new Linux is installed on your computer without you having to do anything yourself or make any settings.
- After that, Linux mostly uses unattended setups. For example, if you install programs using the console, you usually do not have to click through any setup windows. You only get the message that the tool has been installed.
- On Windows, however, the unattended installation of individual programs is rather the exception: when you run a setup, you usually have to manually set the installation path or accept the provider's terms and conditions. With a silent install, these steps are omitted and the program is completely installed on your PC after a few seconds. However, only a few manufacturers provide such a setup file.
- With special installation files it is also possible to install the complete Windows operating system in this way.
Set up programs via silent install - how it works
With appropriate commands you can turn almost any setup into a silent install. We will show you how this works using the example of an MSI setup from Microsoft:
- Open the command prompt with the key combination [Windows] + [R] and the command "cmd".
- Here you can install any MSI setup with the following command: "msiexec /ic:\path\to\package.msi / quiet / qn / norestart / log c: \ install.log PROPERTY1 = value1 PROPERTY2 = value2" (without quotation marks ).
- Replace the section "c: \ path \ to \ package.msi" with the location of the setup. "/ quiet / qn" ensures the unattended installation.
- The "/ norestart" option prevents a system restart, which some installations require. You can find out exactly how the setup went after the process in a log file. The command section "/ log c: \ install.log" takes care of this.
- Finally, control the settings of the setup with the commands "PROPERTY1" and "PROPERTY2". Here you can, for example, specify the storage location or prevent the installation of adware. A list of the corresponding commands can be found on the Microsoft website. Depending on the scope of the installation guide, you will need several of these commands. Simply number them further until you have specified a command for each setup step.
- As soon as you have created your individual command, execute it with the Enter key. Alternatively, you can save the code in a batch file and create your own "silent setup".