Using GUIRunOnce

Using GUIRunOnce

Consider using [GuiRunOnce] in your Risetup image design when you want to do the following:

Install applications or drivers from any source, including network shares, hard disks, or
CD-ROM drives.

Install applications or drivers, but you cannot use Cmdlines.txt; this is the case if you want to install applications that use the Windows Installer (.msi).

Log on as a user and not automatically replicate application registry settings to future users.

Require a user to be logged on to the computer when th 12212j917m e application or driver installs.

Control the order in which applications or drivers install.

However, before you decide to incorporate [GuiRunOnce] into your Risetup image design, consider the following restrictions:

Enabled log-on function. [GuiRunOnce] requires enabling the log-on function.

This requires you to set up the automatic logon process by adding the AutoLogon=Yes value in the [Unattended] section in your Ristndrd.sif answer file.

Login context. [GuiRunOnce] commands run in the security context of the currently
logged-in user.

If the logged-in user does not have the permissions necessary to run the command completely, then the application fails to install. Because of running in this context rather than as a service, the registry entries that the application creates are for the current user rather than the default user. If you want settings to register only for the currently logged-in user, then [GuiRunOnce] might be appropriate. Otherwise, use Cmdlines.txt to run commands that install applications, because it runs as a system service.

Application restarts. [GuiRunOnce] commands that install applications that force a restart might not complete unless you can suppress the restart.

When a computer restarts, all entries in the [GuiRunOnce] section are lost, meaning that these commands do not execute. If the application does not provide a way to suppress restarts, you might be able to repackage the application into a Windows Installer package (.msi) using Veritas WinInstall.

For further information about the Windows Installer, see the Distributed Services Guide of the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit (or see the Distributed Services Guide on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit).

Shell not loaded. [GuiRunOnce] does not function if an application requires installation of the Windows Explorer shell, because the shell is not loaded at the time GuiRunOnce commands execute.

Use of /Wait switch. [GuiRunOnce] commands often require you to use of the /Wait switch to avoid application setup failures caused by multiple instances of the installation mechanism running.

While Setup is running, initiating a second process and closing an active one might cause the next routine listed in RunOnce registry subkey to start. When this occurs, more than one instance of the installation mechanism is running, which usually causes the second process to fail.

For this part of the image design process, check the "Use GUIRunOnce" check box in job aid "Defining Risetup Images" (ACIRIS_07.doc) on the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit companion CD (or see "Defining Risetup Images" on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit), if you intend to use [GUIRunOnce] to install applications
or drivers.

Creating GUIRunOnce commands

The [GuiRunOnce] section of your answer file contains commands that execute the first time users log on to their computers after Mini-Setup completes. To set up this process, each command under [GuiRunOnce] creates an entry in the registry subkey Runonce when your answer file is parsed during image installation. Runonce is located in:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion.

When the user logs on after Mini-Setup finishes, this registry subkey is checked for any commands that should be executed.

For example, you might start the wizard that installs Active Directory by specifying the following command string in the [GuiRunOnce] section in your Ristndrd.sif answer file:

[GuiRunOnce]

"%windir%\system32\dcpromo.exe" /answer:answer_file

Note that you must specify each command line in quotation marks under [GUIRunOnce]. Also, the dcpromo command requires an answer file, specified on the command line, to provide input to the wizard.

For this part of your Risetup image design process, record the commands you intend to run under the "[GuiRunOnce] Commands" section of job aid "Defining Risetup Images" (ACIRIS_07.doc) on the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit companion CD (or see "Defining Risetup Images" on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit).

For additional information about GUIRunOnce, including controlling application installation, see the Deploy.chm help file in the Support\Tools folder on your Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003 operating system CD.

Operating System Settings

You can configure many operating system settings in your Ristndrd.sif answer file. For example, you can use the following entries in the [Components] section in your answer file to determine whether the components associated with these keys will be installed with the operating system:

Calc

Certsrv

Deskpaper

Fax

MousePoint

MSWordpad

Paint

For this part of your Risetup image design process, record the components or configuration settings you plan to provide using Ristndrd.sif answer files in "Answer File Versions" under "Components/Configuration Settings" in job aid "Defining Risetup Images" (ACIRIS_07.doc) on the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit companion CD (or see "Defining Risetup Images" on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit).

For further information about operating system settings you can configure in Ristndrd.sif answer files, see the Reference/Unattend.txt section of the Deploy.chm help file in the \Support\Tools folder on your Windows XP Professional operating system CD.