Silent Installation


This section 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. In the various command line examples below a space appears between the /v and the quote ("); i.e., /v ". The space is required for 1.4.2_01 and higher releases that are installed by the "Windows Installation" method (aka "install from the web"). For "Windows Offline Installation" no space should appear. See Install Formats for more information about installation types.

Introduction

JavaTM 2 Platform Runtime Environment (JRE) installations are built using InstallShield Developer 7, which is based on Microsoft Window Installer. 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.

Running InstallShield in Silent Mode: Installation

Here is the command line for installing in silent mode:

<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] [WEBSTARTICON=0]"

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 Plug-in Control Panel will not appear); and WEBSTARTICON=0, if used, tells the installer to not create the Java Web Start icon on the desktop.

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\j2re1.4.2 (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_4_2-bin-b18-windows-i586-05_mar_2003.exe; you want to install the JRE core and additional Fonts, Colors and Soundbank; and you want to register the Plug-in with Netscape 7 and Mozilla 1.3. Then the command would be:

j2re-1_4_2-bin-b18-windows-i586-05_mar_2003.exe /s /v "/qn 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; and you want the installation on the D drive at java\jre. Then the command line could be simply:

j2re-1_4_2-bin-b18-windows-i586-05_mar_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. For example:

start /w j2re-1_4_2-bin-b18-windows-i586-05_mar_2003.exe /s /v "/qn ADDLOCAL=ALL IEXPLORER=1 INSTALLDIR=D:\java\jre"

Running InstallShield in Silent Mode: Uninstalling

This is the command line for uninstalling in silent mode:

<jre>.exe /s /v "/qn [REBOOT=Suppress]" /x

where <jre>.exe is the single executable installer for the JRE and REBOOT=Suppress, if used, indicates that if locked files are encountered the computer should not be rebooted.

Example

j2re-1_4_2-bin-b18-windows-i586-05_mar_2003.exe /s /v "/qn REBOOT=Suppress" /x

Creating a Log File

If you want to create a log file describing the installation, add /L C:\<path>setup.log to the command. Note that this comes within the quote marks (""). For example:

j2re-1_4_2-bin-b18-windows-i586-05_mar_2003.exe /s /v "/qn ADDLOCAL=ALL /L C:\<path>setup.log"

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

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