Windows XP - Windows Installer Command Line Switches

The Windows Installer executable program that interprets packages and installs products is Msiexec.exe. This article lists the command-line switches for this program. You cannot run the Msiexec.exe program without specifying at least one switch.

Switch  Parameters                       Description
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/i      Package|ProductCode            Installs or configures a product.

/f      [p|o|e|d|c|a|u|m|s|v]Package|ProductCode  Repairs a product.

                                                  p - Reinstalls a
                                                  product only if a
                                                  file is missing.

                                                  o - Reinstalls a
                                                  product if a file
                                                  is missing or if an
                                                  older version of a file
                                                  is installed.

                                                  e - Reinstalls a
                                                  product if a file
                                                  is missing or an equal
                                                  or older version of a
                                                  file is installed.

                                                  d - Reinstalls a
                                                  product if a file
                                                  is missing or a
                                                  different
                                                  version of a file is
                                                  installed.

                                                  c - Reinstalls a
                                                  product if a file
                                                  is missing or the stored
                                                  checksum value does not
                                                  match the calculated
                                                  value.

                                                  a - Forces all files to
                                                  be reinstalled.

                                                  u - Rewrites all
                                                  required user-
                                                  specific registry
                                                  entries.

                                                  m - Rewrites all
                                                  required
                                                  computer-specific
                                                  registry entries.

                                                  s - Overwrites all
                                                  existing shortcuts.

                                                  v - Runs from the source
                                                  file and re-caches the
                                                  local package.

/a   Package                                      Administrative
                                                  installation option.
                                                  Installs a product on
                                                  the network.

/x   Package|ProductCode                          Uninstalls a product.

/j   [u|m]Package                                 Advertises a product.
     or [u|m]Package /t Transform List            The property values used
     or[u|m]Package /g LanguageID                 on the command line are
                                                  ignored.

                                                  u - Advertises a product
                                                  to the current user.

                                                  m - Advertises a product
                                                  to all users.

                                                  g - Language ID.

                                                  t - Applies a transform
                                                  list to an advertised
                                                  package.

/l      [i|w|e|a|r|u|c|m|p|v|+|!]Logfile          Specifies the log
                                                  file path and
                                                  indicates the flags
                                                  to be logged.

                                                  i - Status messages.

                                                  w - Non-fatal warnings.

                                                  e - All error messages.

                                                  a - Startup of actions.

                                                  r - Action-specific
                                                  records

                                                  u - User requests.

                                                  c - Initial User
                                                  Interface (UI)
                                                  parameters

                                                  m - Out-of-memory.
 
                                                  p - Terminal properties.

                                                  v - Verbose output.

                                                  + - Appends to the
                                                  existing file.
           
                                                  ! - Clears each line in
                                                  the log file.

                                                  "*" - Wildcard.
                                                  Logs all information,
                                                  but the use of the v
                                                  option is not included.
                                                  To include the v option,
                                                  type "/l*v."

/p   Patch/Package                                Applies a patch. To
                                                  apply a patch to an
                                                  installed Administrator
                                                  image, type the
                                                  following options:

                                                  /p [PatchPackage]
                                                  /a [Package]

/q   n|b|r|f                                      Sets the UI level.

                                                  q , qn - No UI.

                                                  qb - Basic UI.

                                                  qr - Reduced UI. A modal
                                                  dialog box is displayed
                                                  at the end of the
                                                  installation.

                                                  qf - Full UI. A modal
                                                  dialog box is displayed
                                                  at the end of the
                                                  installation.

                                                  qn+ - No UI. However, a
                                                  modal dialog box is
                                                  displayed at the end of
                                                  the installation.

                                                  qb+ - Basic UI. A modal
                                                  dialog box is displayed
                                                  at the end of the
                                                  installation. If you
                                                  cancel the installation,
                                                  a modal dialog box is
                                                  not displayed.

                                                  qb- - Basic UI with no
                                                  modal dialog boxes.
                                                  The "/qb+-" switch
                                                  is not a supported UI
                                                  level.

/y   module                                       Calls the system
                                                  Application Programming
                                                  Interface (API)
                                                  DllRegisterServer, which
                                                  registers modules that
                                                  are typed on the
                                                  command line (for
                                                  example, "msiexec /y
                                                  my_file.dll").

                                                  This option is only used
                                                  for registry information
                                                  that cannot be added
                                                  using the registry
                                                  tables of the .msi file.

/z   module                                       Calls the system API
                                                  DllUnRegisterServer,
                                                  to unregister modules
                                                  that are typed on the
                                                  command line (for
                                                  example, "msiexec /z
                                                  my_file.dll").

                                                  This option is only used
                                                  for registry information
                                                  that cannot be removed
                                                  using the registry
                                                  tables of the .msi file.