UltraVNC MSI _WITH_ video driver installed problem.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » 2005-01-28 19:00

I am making an MSI file for UltraVNC for network deployment.

I have every part working exactly as I would like, EXCEPT for the video driver. When I take my before snapshot of a clean os everything works fine. I am using WinInstall 2003 by OnDemand.

I configure everything exactly as I want it. Including the installation of the video driver.

I then take the after shot. According to the MSI file, it is capturing all of the files that I have added or changed, BUT when I put a clean os back on and install the msi file, all of my settings are there and configured, EXCEPT the video driver. I have to reinstall it.

Does anyone know what it is that I am doing wrong? Or know how to fix this?

I have been working on this particular problem for 2 days (today is number 3) and I am running out of time. I don't want to just release the MSI file without the video card driver and do an update later, but this is beginning to be what I am facing.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Thank you in advance.

Post by **Rudi De Vos** » 2005-01-28 19:14

Started playing with ondemand yesterday.

Registry part for video drivers is standard excluded.
You can try to monitor all the reg values and clean it manual in the msi.

But i'm affraid it will only work on the same system again.
If you have a lot of time, you can play with it, msi is me to time consuming

Rob · Post by **Rob** » 2005-01-28 20:10

WAY too time consuming.

I created a MSI to remove our RealVNC installations in a day. I thought that took me a while. But it works exactly as I need it to.

But the installer for UltraVNC is quite a bit more complicated... I've been constantly working on this for three days now. Bleh.. ;p

Rob · Post by **Rob** » 2005-01-28 20:18

Do you know which keys they are that are used to exclude the video drivers?

Otherwise, I will be removing a few keys at a time till I get it...

I have to have this right...

Post by **Rudi De Vos** » 2005-01-28 20:22

Why automate the driver install...

Vnc works without and when needed you always can install it using vnc.
On XP, i didn't have to reboot.
Install vnc, connect, install driver, tell vnc to use driver,
tell vnc to use hookdll, uninstall driver (for uninstall to complete
a reboot is needed)

Your msi contain also the downloaded files, so the driver and plugins are already in the msi install.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » 2005-01-28 21:18

Because I want the installer to do it all in one. I have to push this out to 600 computers, and want them all uniform.

The MSI does contain all neaded files...

I'm going through the exclusion keys slowly trying...

Rob · Post by **Rob** » 2005-01-28 23:26

I finally got smart and decided to do a registry comparison...

I got it!!!

So, here's the magik key...

Remove all of the entries from the Registry Exception list that contain the information for:

"HKLM"

Every single one of them.

That fixed it!!!

Post by **Rudi De Vos** » 2005-01-28 23:46

Test it on different video cards....
There have to be a reason why thoose keys are excluded.

Wait at least a few weeks, RC19 is still being modified for latest bugs.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » 2005-01-29 19:12

In our organization we have a set computer model. So I don't really have any other cards to test it on there... I do have possibly two other variations, but all of our machines are the same.

The reason that they keys are excluded are because of the WinInstall program...

What it does, is when you are creating the BEFORE snapshot of your installer during setup it asks you for files to exclude from the snapshot and registry keys to exclude from the snapshot.

I have allowed the entries that are changed when you install the drivers to be ignored during the snapshot.

After I decided to compare the registries, I found the keys that are updated when you install the drivers. I compared the changed keys with the excluded keys during the snapshot creation.

The excluded keys and the changed keys were the same.

So I removed the HKLM keys from the exclusion box so when taking snapshots it included all of the HKLM changes and that took care of it.

Now when I capture if the HKLM keys are included in the snapshot it gets the changes that were missed previously and now it works just fine.

TechFan · Post by **TechFan** » 2005-03-03 12:39

Is this package ready for some other users? I have been looking for a MSI package I can publish to all the machines in our domain. I would like to try it out. . .

mfo2 · Post by **mfo2** » 2005-03-03 13:09

I was always told that snapshoting drivers installations was a really bad thing to do ...
However, having the exact same hardware on all your computers could help this MSI installation to succeed.
Can you report on your success rate ?

I also built an UltraVNC MSI from scratch that install the service and driver but chose to call the setupdrv.exe from a VBS for the installation.
The MSI was built with the great MAKEMSI from Dennis Bareis, take a look at it you'll love it !!!
http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~dbareis/makemsi.htm

marc

TechFan · Post by **TechFan** » 2005-03-03 23:47

I already have WinInstall LE installed. . .so not sure I am needing a new tool unless I need it to work with a package someone has already designed with makemsi.

UltraVNC

UltraVNC MSI _WITH_ video driver installed problem.

UltraVNC MSI _WITH_ video driver installed problem.

I concur.

I figured it out...