Silent Installation

Silent Installation includes the following topics:

 

Notes

  1. This chapter applies to 32-bit Windows and silent installation of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
  2. It is intended for:
    • system administrators who want to deploy Java Plug-in and the JRE on multiple PCs in the Intranet environment without user interaction;
    • companies with products that require the JRE, which they can silently install with their product.
  3. For the "Windows Installation" method (aka "install from the web"), only the /s option is required. For "Windows Offline Installation," you must include /s /v"/qn. See Install Formats for more information about installation types.
  4. There is no WEBSTARTICON=0 command-line option below, as there is for version 1.4.2. That is because version 1.5.0 (also known as 5.0) does not create a Java Web Start icon.

Introduction

JavaTM 2 Platform Runtime Environment (JRE) installations are built using InstallShield Developer 8.02, which is based on Microsoft Window Installer 2.0. This product contains built-in support for silent or unattended installations. This document tells how to silently install the JRE. Refer to  http://support.installshield.com/ for complete information about silent installations.

Installation in Silent Mode

Here is the command line for installing in silent mode:

Window Installation:

<jre>.exe [/L<language ID>] /s [ADDLOCAL=jrecore[,extra][,other_US] | ALL] [IEXPLORER=1] [NETSCAPE6=1] [MOZILLA=1] [INSTALLDIR=<drive>:\<install_path>] [REBOOT=Suppress] [JAVAUPDATE=0] [CUSTOM=1]

Windows Offline Installation:

<jre>.exe [/L<language ID>] /s /v"/qn [ADDLOCAL=jrecore[,extra][,other_US] | ALL] [IEXPLORER=1] [NETSCAPE6=1] [MOZILLA=1] [INSTALLDIR=<drive>:\<install_path>] [REBOOT=Suppress] [JAVAUPDATE=0] [CUSTOM=1]"

where

<jre>.exe is the single executable installer for the Java Runtime Environment (JRE); /L<language ID>, if used, sets the localized language for the installer (see language IDs); ADDLOCAL, if used, is either jrecore[,extra][,other_US] or ALL; IEXPLORER=1, if used, indicates that the Plug-in should be registered with the Internet Explorer browser; NETSCAPE6=1, if used, indicates that the Plug-in should be registered with Netscape 6 or later browsers; MOZILLA=1 indicates that the Plug-in should be registered with Mozilla 1.1 and later browsers; INSTALLDIR, if used, specifies the drive and path of the installation; REBOOT=Suppress, if used, indicates that if locked files are encountered the computer should not be rebooted; JAVAUPDATE=0, if used, indicates that the Java Update feature should be disabled (the Update tab in the Java Control Panel will not appear); and if CUSTOM=1 is used, the user will only see the license agreement, which must be accepted, and the progress bar.

If ADDLOCAL=jrecore[,extra][,other_US] is used,

jrecore indicates the core of the JRE will be installed;

extra (optional) indicates additional Fonts, Colors, and Soundbank will be installed;

other (optional) indicates locale-specific .jar files will be installed.

If ADDLOCAL=ALL is used, then all the features will be installed.

If ADDLOCAL is not used, then only the recommended features will be installed: jrecore will be installed; extra will not be installed; other will be installed only if l10n support, other than English, is installed.

If INSTALLDIR is not specified, the installation will go into C:\Program Files\java\j2re1.5.0 (default location).

Note

The command is case sensitive and there must be no spaces in the features listed with ADDLOCAL.

Examples

Suppose the JRE installer is j2re-1_5_0-bin-b99-windows-i586-12_aug_2003.exe; you want to install the JRE core and additional Fonts, Colors and Soundbank; you want to register the Plug-in with Netscape 7 and Mozilla 1.3; and you want to do a Windows Installation. Then the command would be:

j2re-1_5_0-bin-b99-windows-i586-12_aug_2003.exe /s ADDLOCAL=jrecore,extra NETSCAPE=1 MOZILLA=1

Or suppose you want all features to be installed; you only want to register the Plug-in with Internet Explorer; you want the installation on the D drive at java\jre; and you want to do a Windows Offline Installation. Then the command line would be:

j2re-1_5_0-bin-b99-windows-i586-12_aug_2003.exe /s /v"/qn ADDLOCAL=ALL IEXPLORER=1 INSTALLDIR=D:\java\jre"

You may find it convenient to use the "start /w" command, as that will cause MS-DOS to wait until the install is complete. The first example would then be:

start /w j2re-1_5_0-bin-b99-windows-i586-12_aug_2003.exe /s ADDLOCAL=jrecore,extra NETSCAPE=1 MOZILLA=1

Uninstallation in Silent Mode

This is the command line for uninstalling in silent mode for Implementation-Version n1.n2.n3_n4n5:

MsiExec.exe /qn /x {3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0n1n2n3n4n50}

Notes

  1. This command can be run from anywhere.
  2. The REBOOT=Suppress option, mentioned above under installation, may also be used with the uninstall command.
  3. For more information on version formats, see Appendix 2: Sun-Supported Specification-Version and Implemenation-Version Formats.

Example for version 1.5.0

MsiExec.exe /qn /x {3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0150000}

Example for version 1.5.1_02

MsiExec.exe /qn /x {3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0151020}

Creating a Log File

If you want to create a log file describing the installation/uninstallation, append /L C:\<path>setup.log to the install/uninstall command. The following is an example for installation:

Installation Example

j2re-1_5_0-bin-b99-windows-i586-12_aug_2003.exe /s /L C:\<path>setup.log

This will cause the log to be written to the setup.log file.

The following is an example for uninstalling:

Uninstalling Example

MsiExec.exe /qn /x {3248F0A8-6813-11D6-A77B-00B0D0150000} /L C:\<path>setup.log

To verify if a silent installation/uninstallation succeeded, scroll to the end of the log file.