Installing VMware Workstation Silently
If you are installing VMware Workstation on a number of Windows host computers in a corporate environment, for example you may want to use the silent installation features of the Microsoft Windows Installer.
Before installing VMware Workstation silently, you must ensure that the host computer has version 2.0 or higher of the MSI runtime engine. This version of the installer is available in versions of Windows beginning with Windows XP and is available separately from Microsoft.
The following steps outline the procedures for a silent install. For additional details on using the Microsoft Windows Installer, see the Microsoft Web site.
1. Silently extract the administrative installation image from the VMware Workstation installer:
setup.exe is the name of the installer on the CD distribution. If you are using a downloaded installer, the filename is similar to VMwareWorkstation-<xxxx>.exe, where <xxxx> is a series of numbers representing the version and build numbers.
<InstallTempPath> is the full path to the folder where you want to store the administrative installation image.
2. Run a silent installation using msiexec and the administrative installation image you extracted in the previous step:
Enter the command on one line. If you want to install VMware Workstation in a location other than the default, change the path that follows INSTALLDIR= to specify the desired location.
You may use the optional REMOVE= property to skip installation of certain features. The REMOVE= property can take one or more of the following values:
Value
Description
Authd
The VMware authorization service
Network
Networking components including the virtual bridge and the host adapters for host only networking and NAT networking; do not remove if you want to use NAT or DHCP
DHCP
The virtual DHCP server
NAT
The virtual NAT device
If you specify more than one value, use a comma to separate the values. For example, REMOVE=Authd,NAT.
Note: If you specify REMOVE=Network, the installer skips installation of certain networking components, including NAT and DHCP. There is no need to specify DHCP or NAT separately.
You may customize the installation further by adding any of the following installation properties to the command using the format PROPERTY="value". A value of 1 means true; a value of 0 means false. If you use the serial number property, enter the serial number, complete with hyphens (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx).
Property
Effect of the Property
Default
DESKTOP_SHORTCUT
Installs a shortcut on the desktop
1
DISABLE_AUTORUN
Disables CD autorun on the host
1
REMOVE_LICENSE
(Uninstall only) Removes all stored licenses at uninstall
0
SERIALNUMBER
Automatically enters the serial number
Installing VMware Workstation Silently
If you are installing VMware Workstation on a number of Windows host computers —in a corporate environment, for example — you may want to use the silent installation features of the Microsoft Windows Installer.
Before installing VMware Workstation silently, you must ensure that the host computer has version 2.0 or higher of the MSI runtime engine. This version of the installer is available in versions of Windows beginning with Windows XP and is available separately from Microsoft.
The following steps outline the procedures for a silent install. For additional details on using the Microsoft Windows Installer, see the Microsoft Web site.
1. Silently extract the administrative installation image from the VMware Workstation installer:
setup.exe is the name of the installer on the CD distribution. If you are using a downloaded installer, the filename is similar to VMwareWorkstation-<xxxx>.exe, where <xxxx> is a series of numbers representing the version and build numbers.
<InstallTempPath> is the full path to the folder where you want to store the administrative installation image.
2. Run a silent installation using msiexec and the administrative installation image you extracted in the previous step:
Enter the command on one line. If you want to install VMware Workstation in a location other than the default, change the path that follows INSTALLDIR= to specify the desired location.
You may use the optional REMOVE= property to skip installation of certain features. The REMOVE= property can take one or more of the following values:
Value
Description
Authd
The VMware authorization service
Network
Networking components including the virtual bridge and the host adapters for host only networking and NAT networking; do not remove if you want to use NAT or DHCP
DHCP
The virtual DHCP server
NAT
The virtual NAT device
If you specify more than one value, use a comma to separate the values. For example, REMOVE=Authd,NAT.
Note: If you specify REMOVE=Network, the installer skips installation of certain networking components, including NAT and DHCP. There is no need to specify DHCP or NAT separately.
You may customize the installation further by adding any of the following installation properties to the command using the format PROPERTY="value". A value of 1 means true; a value of 0 means false. If you use the serial number property, enter the serial number, complete with hyphens (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx).
Property
Effect of the Property
Default
DESKTOP_SHORTCUT
Installs a shortcut on the desktop
1
DISABLE_AUTORUN
Disables CD autorun on the host
1
REMOVE_LICENSE
(Uninstall only) Removes all stored licenses at uninstall
0
SERIALNUMBER
Automatically enters the serial number
Type: Windows Installer (MSI) file wrapped in a setup.exe file.
How to extract contents: At a command prompt, type
"VMware-workstation-5.0.0-13124.exe /a" (without the quotes), and type in a temporary location. This will extract the "VMware Workstation.msi" file and other required files.
To install silently: the same way you install any other MSI file, with any of the msiexec.exe command switches you want. At a command prompt, type
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