Script to get versions
Hello all - new guy here - I off and on do some scripting and have ended up looking here at times.
I work for a library system and we have quite a few systems spread out. We generally have our techs lay hands on the computers once a quarter or so, so I haven't done tons of deployment, but would like to do more on a few items. In particular, I've been working on remotely updating Java Runtime, Acrobat Reader, Shockwave, and Flash. I THINK I have all these working ok, just with using beyondexec/psexec. One thing I would like to do though is have a script that checks versions on these programs before and after, to verify updates. I've been able to find version listings for Java and Acrobat, but shockwave and flash have given me problems. Could anyone suggest a unified way that I could get a current version on all these items via a script?
I work for a library system and we have quite a few systems spread out. We generally have our techs lay hands on the computers once a quarter or so, so I haven't done tons of deployment, but would like to do more on a few items. In particular, I've been working on remotely updating Java Runtime, Acrobat Reader, Shockwave, and Flash. I THINK I have all these working ok, just with using beyondexec/psexec. One thing I would like to do though is have a script that checks versions on these programs before and after, to verify updates. I've been able to find version listings for Java and Acrobat, but shockwave and flash have given me problems. Could anyone suggest a unified way that I could get a current version on all these items via a script?
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Posted by:
aogilmor
15 years ago
download scriptomatic from microsoft and have a look at win32_product collection which has all kinds of data about installed products including version.
Posted by:
hipsterdoofus
15 years ago
ORIGINAL: aogilmor
download scriptomatic from microsoft and have a look at win32_product collection which has all kinds of data about installed products including version.
I appear to have the same problem - I can get massive lists, but neither lists shockwave or flash.
Posted by:
aogilmor
15 years ago
ORIGINAL: hipsterdoofus
ORIGINAL: aogilmor
download scriptomatic from microsoft and have a look at win32_product collection which has all kinds of data about installed products including version.
I appear to have the same problem - I can get massive lists, but neither lists shockwave or flash.
Is there an entry in add/remove programs for flash or shockwave? If not and if you're sure they're installed (verify by playing a shockwave/flash animation) then you must have a non-Windows Installer based installation in which case those product would not be in the collection -- you'll have to find the main EXE and extract the version from that. (use the GetFileVersion function)
Posted by:
hipsterdoofus
15 years ago
ORIGINAL: aogilmor
ORIGINAL: hipsterdoofus
ORIGINAL: aogilmor
download scriptomatic from microsoft and have a look at win32_product collection which has all kinds of data about installed products including version.
I appear to have the same problem - I can get massive lists, but neither lists shockwave or flash.
Is there an entry in add/remove programs for flash or shockwave? If not and if you're sure they're installed (verify by playing a shockwave/flash animation) then you must have a non-Windows Installer based installation in which case those product would not be in the collection -- you'll have to find the main EXE and extract the version from that. (use the GetFileVersion function)
There are entries for both shockwave and flash in add/remove programs, but I've tried various means to pull that list through a script and they don't show up on the outcome. Java and Acrobat Reader both show up fine.
Posted by:
aogilmor
15 years ago
ORIGINAL: hipsterdoofus
ORIGINAL: aogilmor
ORIGINAL: hipsterdoofus
ORIGINAL: aogilmor
download scriptomatic from microsoft and have a look at win32_product collection which has all kinds of data about installed products including version.
I appear to have the same problem - I can get massive lists, but neither lists shockwave or flash.
Is there an entry in add/remove programs for flash or shockwave? If not and if you're sure they're installed (verify by playing a shockwave/flash animation) then you must have a non-Windows Installer based installation in which case those product would not be in the collection -- you'll have to find the main EXE and extract the version from that. (use the GetFileVersion function)
There are entries for both shockwave and flash in add/remove programs, but I've tried various means to pull that list through a script and they don't show up on the outcome. Java and Acrobat Reader both show up fine.
You could try reading the version from the ARP entry. should be somewhere under hklm\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall, if not -- well then, it looks like you're stuck with extracting the version from the app exe
the new versions of both these apps are windows installer so you'll be able to use win32_product collection to inventory the app on a machine after you upgrade.
Good luck!
Posted by:
anonymous_9363
15 years ago
I've tried various means to pull that list through a scriptGet hold of the registry class from JSWare. IIRC it's part of the class pack available there. It has some enumeration functions which you can use to walk the 'Uninstall' branch, picking up the GUIDs and then using another enum function to get all the values and data from that key. Not straightforward by any means but not too hard, either. I use it all the time for registry querying, as the stuff in the Shell object is pitiful for that kind of work.
Posted by:
hipsterdoofus
15 years ago
Thanks guys - I found a script that I believe does basically what you are saying - basically just looks in the registry under uninstall. It works fine and gives me everything. After that, I did a findstr command to weed out the information I needed.
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