msiexec /a not working

Question

I am trying to create a batch file to run an unattended installation of Adobe Reader 9 (it is a MSI file)

My problem is with the UAC. If I make a command like this:

msiexec.exe /i "AcroRead.msi" EULA_ACCEPT=1 ALLUSERS=1 /passive

The installation runs fine, except that I have to accept the UAC before it does anything. If I replace the /i with /a, it skips the UAC, and it seems to be installing, but when it finishes, it didn't install the program at all! No error message or nothing, it does not show up on add/remove programs.

Might it be that it installs to the wrong profile if I use the /a switch?

I am very new to scripting, so most of the info I have is what I can scavenge from google.

I know there are ways to disable the UAC from the batch, but if possible I would like to avoid that.

I am doing this on a virtual Win7 x64 sp1 machine.

Answer 1

Any software installation should prompt for admin credentials regardless of whether you launch the installer via the batch script or double-clicking the AcroRead.msi file in Windows Explorer. This is how permission on Windows works, and to be honest, I wouldn't want a system that could be bypassed via a terminal WITHOUT prompting for credentials. I don't believe there's any way around this.

Try removing /passive, since maybe that is suppressing an error message. Also insert a pause statement at the end of your batch script so you can read the error message before the command prompt is closed.

Edit: Run the batch script as an administrator. This is different than running msiexec with the /a command. This will open the UAC prompt at the beginning of the script, and if authenticated, the rest of the batch file will be run with admin privileges.

Answer 2

/a is not used for a normal installation. It will generate an administrative installation. A "network" installation to allow other users to install from a common repository.