Software Deployment

I just repackage Blackberry Desktop 3.6 about a month ago and it can be a pain if you do not have the article for installing the software. The article name is "Deploying BlackBerry Desktop and Handheld Software". You can find the article in the knowledge-base. Anyway, here is how you repackage it.
1. You might need to unzip the files to get the the setup.exe
2. Record the installation by running setup.exe /r /f1"C:\BlackBerry_Install\setup.iss"
Note: There is not space between the /f1 and "C:\BlackBerry_Install....... The
setup.iss is like an answer file. It will store your response to the dialogs. Make sure
all the setup files and the setup.iss file is in one folder.
3. Optional - If you need to upgrade the handheld application on the blackberry, if you are like my company, we have different models of blackberry - RIM (Cingular), and Nextel. When you deploy the blackberry desktop and the user has connect his/her blackberry to the desktop then blackberry will automatically dectect the model and ask the user which application he/she want to upgrade on the blackberry. Cool, hum
a)In the folder that you created the blackberry setup.iss and included the setup files,
create a directory call Devices. Add all handheld excutable/sub-installers in this
directory. You may need to unzip files to get to the actual setup file.
4. You can create a batch file to run the setup silently. The command is as follows:
setup.exe /s /f1"C:\BlackBerry_Install\setup.iss"

Johnoel Stafford

I am having a unique problem trying to package the blackberry 3.6 software. I have attempted the installshield method and the install just doen't complete. I am fairly confident that the problem is the fact that I am installing on XP and when you install the software there is a message box stating that the software is not compatible. When you agree to install anyway, the software installs just fine. I don't believe the iss file captures my clicking of this message box. I have been in touch with Blackberry and they believe the problem has to do with unsigned USB drivers. I have attempted the solutions they have proposed and I seem to get the same result. I have attempted to install with an MSI provided by Blackberry and I get an error message that appears to be written in Greek and Blackberry doesn't seem to know what it means. I am hoping this long winded question triggers someone who has experienced the same problems and may have a solution.

Thanks,

Jason K
jkraut@hotmail.com

How are you repackaging Blackberry on Windows XP - which repackaing tool. I had the same problem as you but I used Tivoli to repackage the software by taking a snapshot before and after the install.

To get rid of the prompt that 'file has not been signed', right click on My Computer and go to Properties - Hardware tab. Click on Driver Signing button. Select "Ignore - Install the software anyway and don't ask for my approval". Also check "Make this action the system default". This will have to be done on ALL machines that will get the Blackberry desktop. This is not a Blackberry problem. It is the way the Operating System is configured. I had the same problem. If you use active directory then you can set the setting through active directory. There is no way that I have found that you can change the "driver signing to ignore" through the registry. I have tried.

Hope this helps,
Johnoel

I played with this for a while before realizing that the tip about getting past the need for setup.exe does not work in the case of this particular software package. The problem is that it is the OnCheckSilentInstall custom action (that you would normally remove) that first establishes an object to the ISScriptBridge.dll. This is referenced several times after the check, which fails if the OnCheckSilentInstall action is removed. This is not normally the case, but it does seem to be a definite problem with this particular MSI.

Therefore, the silent installation method identified by Johnoel above is the only way to go. That is, keeping in mind that you should never repackage an MSI!

You can easily create the answer file by using the -r switch, below is the contents of the answer file I created accepting all defaults:


[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-DlgOrder]
Dlg0={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdWelcome-0
Count=13
Dlg1={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdCountrySelection
Dlg2={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdLicense-0
Dlg3={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdRegisterUser-0
Dlg4={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdSetupTypeSelect
Dlg5={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdAskOptions-0
Dlg6={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdMailServerSelection
Dlg7={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdAskOptions-1
Dlg8={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdRedirectorSelection
Dlg9={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdAskDestPath-0
Dlg10={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdSelectFolder-0
Dlg11={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdShortcutSelection
Dlg12={DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdFinish-0
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdWelcome-0]
Result=1
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdCountrySelection]
Country=USA (English)
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdLicense-0]
Result=1
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdRegisterUser-0]
szName=Bob Kelly
szCompany=AppDeploy.com
Result=1
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdSetupTypeSelect]
Result=Enterprise
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdAskOptions-0]
Component-type=string
Component-count=1
Component-0=Microsoft Exchange (typically used with Microsoft Outlook client)
Result=1
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdMailServerSelection]
Result=Exchange
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdAskOptions-1]
Component-type=string
Component-count=1
Component-0=Redirect email using the BlackBerry Enterprise Server
Result=1
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdRedirectorSelection]
Result=NoDesktopRedirector
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdAskDestPath-0]
szDir=C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry\
Result=1
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdSelectFolder-0]
szFolder=BlackBerry
Result=1
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdShortcutSelection]
Result=AllUsers
StartupShortcut=TRUE
DesktopShortcut=TRUE
[{DA291DAE-F8CB-4D44-BD92-5BC46F8A2F81}-SdFinish-0]
Result=1
bOpt1=0
bOpt2=0


For more on making use of InstallShield's answer files see this tip for more about InstallShield switches.

As for doing this on XP. I'll take a stab at it, but need to set up first. I'll be back!

Okay, I tried this out on an XP box and sure enough, there was a warning that an unsigned driver was about to be installed. This is not captured in the ISS answer file because it is not being displayed by the setup itself- rather this is Windows XP stopping the unsigned driver installation per its default setting "warn, but allow installation".

You will need to change this stem policy on your network to shut it up. On XP, type "secpol.msc" in Run or at the command prompt to launch the security policy snap-in. Under "Local Policies", "Security Options" you will see the setting entitled "Devices: Unsigned driver installation behavior". Change this to "Silently succeed" in order to suppress the prompt. It will require a reboot to take affect. On each machine this would be a problem, but these settings are designed for manipulation throughout the network- for a group, OU or domain. Unless of course, security won't let you make the policy change. In that case you could use KiXtart or ScriptIt to look for the dialog and answer it when it pops up- but that is really not any different than changing the policy- and much less elegant.

Good luck!

Thanks for the input. I am of course in an NT 4 domain still and cannot roll out a policy for XP. I will play around with scripting the policy change.

OK Bob, you are right, the Silent Install definitely worked as advertised. Great stuff, but my problem is twofold - first, must run installation silently and second - it must be called from an MSI package (part of our setup is that it must be deployed as an MSI even if all it does is call another program). What I did was copy the source files to the local hard drive and create a custom action which runs "setup.exe /s" from installed files. The custom setup.iss is in the same directory. I'm using Wise for Windows Installer to compile BTW

When I do that, it errors out, i.e. setup never completes. Tried moving custom action several places in the package but it never took. setup /s runs fine on its own but as part of the MSI it fails. If you have any experience with that pls advise. There maybe some certain sequence it has to run in. Thanks!

OG

Ah! Yes, I had a client with the same requirement (GPO only) and the problem is that the custom action is trying to execute an MSI, while the MSI itself is still running. Windows only allows one instance of the Windows Installer to process a setup at a time. I got around this by running the custom action "asynchronous, no wait" in the "execute deferred" installation sequence. I used KiXtart, but instead of calling the silent install directly you must call a script smart enough to wait until the Windows Installer is available again. You could simply make it sleep for a while, but that isn’t always going to be reliable (there could be other MSI packages following this one). I had the script watch for the msiexec process to complete. I wrote a paper on creating KiXtart custom actions, but it was for non-MSI custom action installs. Your problem has just prompted me to add a second paper to my list for those needing to call a MSI scripted install from within an MSI. I was not sure of the appeal, but I had to do it a couple of times, and I'm sure you and I are not the only ones that are hitting this wall!

To elaborate a bit more (I can't promise how fast I'll be able to produce another paper) I used the KiXscripts Editor so that I could place the script in an EXE package (as you know custom actions want an EXE for an extension) and to watch for msiexec to be available I used the following KiXtart sample script:
http://www.kixscripts.com/scriptlibrary/view.asp?script=145

Hope this helps!
Good Luck

Great suggestions, Bob - running the process in the Deferred Execution section (user context) resolved this issue - at least on Win98. XP may not have the same issues being more multi-process friendly.

Still some weird s* happening on removal -probably because I'm installing using an MSI and Installshield does its own stuff with the original MSI. But at least I'm getting a clean install now.

I want to remove using msiexec /qb /x {GUID} but using the original GUID gets an error. I think I have to play around with this and see what works. My own MSI is just a wrapper that runs setup.exe /s after copying the installation files to the hard drive. Thus you end up with two entries in the control panel, which is kind of weird. I have to look into how those types of installations handle removals.....

Thanks again! OG

That is the problem with MSI wrapping. You really do not want the user to use the InstallShield uninstall becuase the MSI that put it there would remain. You can hide the ARP entires with the properties covered here. But you are really better of killing the InstallShield listing and have the MSI handle calling the InstallShield uninstall during uninstall. The article I mentioned before covers handling the uninstall action. In this article the DisplayName value is blanked out by the script so that the uninstall information may remain, but at the same time it is hidden from ARP (because it has no name).

I know this is an old thread, but my company just asked me to deploy blackberry 3.6. I had no problems getting the silent install together and bypassing that windows digital signing dialog with a little WinBatch script. But my problems is finding a way to automatically install the drivers. When you plug the device into the machine, XP detects it and installs drivers. That is what I want to automate… Is there a way or am I just dreaming?

Jkraut, not sure if you're still working on this but it looks like the compatibility issue was resolved with Service Pack 1 which you can download from Blackberry.com

It's really a complete installation with everything in it - doesn't require to install over original 3.6. I saw the same message (looks like the original 3.6 wasn't XP logo certified).