Msiexec (command-line options)

 Installing a file of msi type through command prompt


msiexec /i A:\Example.msi

To install or configure a product

Syntax

msiexec /i {Package | ProductCode}

Parameters

/i

Installs or configures a product.

Package

Specifies the name of the Windows Installer package file.

ProductCode

Specifies the globally unique identifier (GUID) of the Windows Installer package.

Remarks

• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

Examples

To install a product from A:\Example.msi, type:
msiexec /i A:\Example.msi

To use the administrative installation option

Syntax

msiexec /a Package

Parameters

/a

Applies the administrative installation option.

Package

The name of the Windows Installer package file.

Remarks

• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

To repair a product

Syntax

msiexec /f [p][o][e][d][c][a][u][m][s][v]{Package | ProductCode}

Parameters

/f

Enables one or more of the command-line options listed in the following table.

 

Command	Description
p	Reinstalls only if file is missing.
o	Reinstalls if file is missing or if an older version is installed.
e	Reinstalls if file is missing or an equal or older version is installed.
d	Reinstalls if file is missing or a different version is installed.
c	Reinstalls if file is missing or the stored checksum does not match the calculated value.
a	Forces all files to be reinstalled.
u	Rewrite all required user-specific registry entries.
m	Rewrites all required computer-specific registry entries.
s	Overwrites all existing shortcuts.
v	Runs from source and re-caches the local package.

Package

Name of the Windows Installer package file.

ProductCode

Globally unique identifier (GUID) of the Windows Installer package.

Remarks

• This option ignores any property values that you type at the command line.
• The default parameter for this command-line option is /fpecms.
• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

Examples

To repair the installation package, type:
msiexec /fpecms Example.msi

To uninstall a product

Syntax

msiexec /x {Package | ProductCode}

Parameters

/x

uninstalls a product.

Package

Name of the Windows Installer package file.

ProductCode

Globally unique identifier (GUID) of the Windows Installer package.

Remarks

• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

Examples

To remove or uninstall a package, type:
msiexec /x Example.msi

To advertise a product

Syntax

msiexec /j [{u | m}] Package
msiexec {u | m} Package /t TransformList
msiexec {u | m} Package /g LanguageID

Parameters

/j

Advertises a product.

u

Advertises to the current user.

m

Advertises to all users of the computer.

Package

Specifies the Windows Installer package file.

/g LanguageID

Identifies the language.

/t TransformList

Applies transform to advertised package.

Remarks

• This option ignores any property values that you type at the command line.
• If you want to install the application with elevated privileges, use /jm.
• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

Examples

To advertise a package to all users of this computer, type:
msiexec /jm Example.msi

To set logging level

Syntax

msiexec /L [i][w][e][a][r][u][c][m][p][v][+][!]LogFile.txt

Parameters

/L

Specifies the path to the log file.

i

Logs status messages.

w

Logs nonfatal warnings.

e

Logs all error messages.

a

Logs startup of actions.

r

Logs action-specific records.

u

Logs user requests.

c

Logs initial user interface parameters.

m

Logs out-of-memory.

p

Logs terminal properties.

v

Logs verbose output. To use v, specify /L*v.

+

Appends to existing file.

!

Flushes each line to the log.

*

Logs all information except for the v option. This is a wildcard.

LogFile .txt

Name and path of the text log file.

Remarks

• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• To include the v option in a log file using the wildcard flag, type /L*v at the command prompt.
• The Windows Installer log file options can also be used with the uninstall and repair processes.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

Examples

To install a package and create a log file that contains the information related to the status, out-of-memory, and error messages, type:
msiexec /i Example.msi /Lime logfile.txt

To apply an update

Syntax

msiexec /p UpdatePackage

Parameters

/p

Applies an update.

UpdatePackage

Specific update.

Remarks

• To apply an update to an administrative installation package, use the following syntax:
  
  msiexec/pUpdatePackage/aExample.msi
• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

To install a transform using the command line

Syntax

msiexec /i Package TRANSFORMS=TransformList

Parameters

/i

Installs or configures a product.

Package

Specifies the Windows Installer package file.

TRANSFORMS=

Property that is used to specify what transform (.mst) files should be applied to the package.

TransformList

List of paths separated by semicolons.

Remarks

• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

To install and advertise a product using a transform with the command line

Syntax

msiexec /i Package /j[u][m] /tTransformList

Parameters

/i

Installs or configures a product.

Package

Name of the Windows Installer package file.

/j

Advertises a product. This option ignores any property values entered on the command line.

u

Advertises to the current user.

m

Advertises to all users of this computer.

/t

Applies transform to advertised package.

TransformList

List of paths separated by semicolons.

Remarks

• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

To set the user interface level

Syntax

msiexec /q{n | b | r | f | n+ | b+ | b-}

Parameters

/qn

Displays no user interface.

/qb

Displays a basic user interface.

/qr

Displays a reduced user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end of the installation.

/qf

Displays the full user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end.

/qn+

Displays no user interface, except for a modal dialog box displayed at the end.

/qb+

Displays a basic user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end.

/qb-

Displays a basic user interface with no modal dialog boxes.

Remarks

• /qb+- is not a supported user interface level. The modal box is not displayed if the user cancels the installation.
• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

Examples

To display the basic user interface options during the package installation of Example.msi, type:
msiexec /qb Example.msi

To display copyright information for the Windows Installer

Syntax

msiexec {/? | /h}

Parameters

{ /?| /h}

Displays the Windows Installer version and copyright information.

Remarks

• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

To call the system API DllRegisterServer to self-register modules passed on the command line

Syntax

msiexec /y Module

Parameters

/y

Calls the system API DllRegisterServer to self-register modules passed on the command line.

Module

Specifies the file name of module.

Caution

• Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on the computer.

Remarks

• This option is used only for registry information that cannot be added using the registry tables of the .msi file.
• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

Examples

The following example shows how you can use the msiexec /y command:
msiexec /y my_file.dll

To call the system API DllUnRegisterServer to unregister modules passed on the command line

Syntax

msiexec /z Module

Parameters

/z

Calls the system API DllUnRegisterServer to unregister modules passed on the command line.

Module

File name of module.

Remarks

• This option is used only for registry information that cannot be added using the registry tables of the .msi file.
• Windows Installer command-line options are not case-sensitive.
• For more information about the Windows Installer command-line options, see Related Topics.

Examples

The following example shows how you can use the msiexec /z command:
msiexec /z my_file.dll