Unattended/Silent Installation of HYDRUS
The HYDRUS installation program allows automated electronic software distribution, also known as a silent (unattended) installation. In the Silent mode, there is no need for a user to monitor the installation and provide input via dialog boxes. The Silent installation runs on its own, without any end-user intervention, which may be very useful when installing HYDRUS on a large number of computers, for example in a computer classroom.
The silent installation consists of two steps:
1/ Recording parameters for the silent install. Run the setup with the -r parameter to select setup options and automatically record the InstallShield Silent Response File (Setup.iss).
2/ Running the silent install (repeatedly). Once the Silent Response File is ready, you can run the setup with the -s parameter, which installs HYDRUS in the silent mode according to parameters stored in the Silent Response File.
Example:
Let's assume that you have downloaded HYDRUS installation program Hydrus3D_2.05.0200.exe and saved it to N:\Tmp_HYDRUS directory on a shared network drive. You can then create two batchfiles for the silent install:
Batchfile N:\Tmp_HYDRUS\Silent_Install_H3D_Record.bat for recording of installation parameters with content:
"N:\Tmp_HYDRUS\Hydrus3D_2.05.0200.exe" /a /r /f1"N:\Tmp_HYDRUS\Setup.iss"
and batchfile N:\Tmp_HYDRUS\Silent_Install_H3D_Play.bat for the silent install with content:
"N:\Tmp_HYDRUS\Hydrus3D_2.05.0200.exe" /a /s /f1"N:\Tmp_HYDRUS\Setup.iss"
Run Silent_Install_H3D_Record.bat from one of your computers and create the InstallShield Response File (Setup.iss) in N:\Tmp_HYDRUS directory. Note that you can also create/edit the response file manually in a text editor (Notepad.exe). After creating the Response file, you can run Silent_Install_H3D_Play.bat on all other computers to install HYDRUS silently.
You can also download the batchfiles here Hydrus_Silent_Install_Batchfiles.zip but remember that you have to modify them according to your real names and paths.
Note that these batchfiles require elevated privileges, i.e. to run the batchfile, click on the file by right mouse button and select "Run as Administrator".
Remarks:
The silent install is fully supported starting with HYDRUS versions: HYDRUS (2D/3D) version 2.02.0460 and Hydrus-1D version 4.15.0100.