Need to rollout the newest Lenovo ThinkVantage System Update (v5.06.0034) via SCCM 2012. I want this update to supersede all lower versions and for that I need to uninstall those previous version silently.
Usually, one could do that by using TVSU's UninstallString with the /quiet or /qn parameter:
MsiExec.exe /X{25C64847-B900-48AD-A164-1B4F9B774650} /qn
Technically, that works. However, the Lenovo installer asks the user if they want to delete the program folder after uninstallation, which requires user input (yes or no). Therefore, when uninstallation is started silently, the installer will hang indefinitely since there's no way for the user to interact with the installer.
Is there any way to provide an unattend.xml for this installer or does anyone know about a specific command switch I could use with Lenovo's System Update installer .exe ?
EDIT
As @kce suggested (thank you!), I turned up msiexec's logging level during uninstallation. Whereas I couldn't find any properties that might be passed manually through msiexec, here's the part where the installer creates the "Delete Folder?"-dialog along with the function that is called if the user presses yes. Maybe it helps anyone:
MSI (s) (80!84) [10:52:44:046]: Creating MSIHANDLE (77) of type 790531 for thread 3716
InstallShield 10:52:44: Registering Msi Server...
MSI (s) (80!84) [10:52:44:046]: Closing MSIHANDLE (77) of type 790531 for thread 3716
MSI (s) (80!84) [11:03:27:239]: Creating MSIHANDLE (78) of type 790531 for thread 3716
InstallShield 10:52:44: Invoking script function DeleteInstallDir
I didn't persue the problem any further since I saw that the installer v5.06.0034 (newest release) does indeed check wheather older versions are installed and properly uninstalls older versions (folder structure and registry values are cleaned up).
Best Answer
Ah. The joys of automated software installation in a Windows environment. SCCM can only do so much with terrible vendor provided installers as you have discovered.
My first stop when trying to build a Application-Program or a Package-Program is to take a look at ITNinja which used to be called App Deploy before Dell decided to buy and rebrand it. Unfortunately there's not much there for Lenovo ThinkVantage System Update.
If you are on your own there is a few general steps you can try:
/lvx uninstallation.log
switch so you have debug and verbose logging information. Work through the installer and monitor the log with CM32Trace as you do so. When you get to the step where the dialog is asking for the Yes or No button, press the desired button and see if you can find a PROPERTY in the logfile that can be passed back into msiexec.exe when you run the uninstaller via SCCM. If you pair this SysInternal's ProcMon you can learn a great deal about how and what the installer does and sometimes this information is enough to figure out what the sticking point is./verysilent
which the .exe-based installer will accept; however the results people are getting seem inconsistent. Maybe it will work for the uninstallation too? Additionally my help desk staff tell me that /r/sccm is surprisingly helpful.