Next Topic

Previous Topic

Book Contents

Command Line

Patch Mgmt > Command Line

The Command Line page defines the command line switches used to silently install a specified patch. Occasionally a patch is released that does not use normal switch settings or the patch database has not been updated with the new switches. If you find a patch does not successfully install with its assigned switch settings, you can change them with this page. Locate patch switches by clicking the KB Article link and reading through the knowledge base article.

Warning: Changes to the switches effect all administrators. Only a master administrator can access this page.

Suppress Automatic Reboot

Usually you want to load a patch without requiring any user interaction at all. The system supports batch installs of multiple patches at the same time and reboots once at the end of all patch installations. Therefore, use switch settings to suppress automatic reboot wherever possible.

Switch Settings

Typical patch file switch settings for silent, unattended installs without reboot:

  • /quiet /norestart - This is the standard setting for most patches in recent years. 
  • /u /q /z - Typical switch settings used to silently install older patches that do not use the Windows Installer technology.
  • /m /q /z - Typical switch settings to silently install older patches released for Windows NT4.
  • /q:a /r:n - Internet Explorer and other application switch settings to install in quiet administrator mode (/q:a) and not automatically reset (/r:n) when the install completes.
  • Other switch settings found with Microsoft patch installations include:
    • /? - Display the list of installation switches.
    • /u - Use Unattended mode.
    • /m - Unattended mode in older patches.
    • /f - Force other programs to quit when the computer shuts down.
    • /n - Do not back up files for removal.
    • /o - Overwrite OEM files without prompting.
    • /z - Do not restart when the installation is complete.
    • /q - Use quiet mode (no user interaction).
    • /l - List the installed hotfixes.
    • /x - Extract files without running Setup.

Microsoft Office command line switches

The only switch permitted for use with Microsoft Office 2000 and Office XP related patches is /Q. If /Q is not specified, Microsoft Office 2000 and Microsoft Office XP switches will be automatically reset to /INSTALL-AS-USER. Microsoft Office 2003 patches may also include the /MSOCACHE switch used to attempt a silent install if the MSOCache exists on the machine. These settings are enforced by the application.

Note:The /MSOCACHE switch only applies to Office 2003. When the patch database is updated, this switch is automatically added to all Office 2003 patches where a user has never modified a particular patch's command line switches. It is not automatically added to Office 2003 service packs. When this switch is used, the system determines if the MSOCache exists on the target machine. If the MSOCache does exist and this switch is used, the system automatically uses the run silently switch (/Q) thereby relying on the MSOCache rather than requiring the actual installation media. If the MSOCache does not exist on the target machine, the existing switch is used. If a patch installation fails that uses the /MSOCACHE switch, it typically means that the MSOCache could not be used by the patch. In this case, you must clear out all command line switches for this patch and set the /INSTALL-AS-USER switch. Re-running the patch installation should now succeed. Unfortunately, this requires user intervention and also probably requires the Office 2003 installation media.

Server-side command line switches

Special server-side command line switches can be combined with patch specific switches:

  • /INSTALL-AS-USER - Tells the system to only install this patch as a user. Some rare patches do not install successfully unless someone is logged onto the machine. Add this switch if you find a patch is failing to install if no one is logged in.

    Warning: This setting conflicts with the Skip update if user logged in setting found in Reboot Action. /INSTALL-AS-USER requires that a user be logged in to install.

  • /DELAY-AFTER=xxx - After the install wait xxx seconds before performing the reboot step. The reboot step starts after the install package completes. Some rare installers spawn additional programs that must also complete before rebooting. Add this switch to give other processes time to complete after the main installer is done.

Filter patches by

Based on the patch category selected, this page displays all patches and service packs for all machines, both missing and installed, that match the current Machine ID/Group ID filter.

New Switches

Enter the command line switches you want to apply to selected patches.

Apply

Click Apply to apply the specified command line switches to selected patches.

Reset

Click Reset to reset the command lines of selected patches back to their default settings.

Select All/Unselect All

Click the Select All link to check all rows on the page. Click the Unselect All link to uncheck all rows on the page.

KB Article

The knowledge base article describing the patch. Click the KB Article link to display a Details page about the patch. The Details page contains a link to display the knowledge base article.

Patch Name

The patch install filename.

Security Bulletin

The security bulletin associated with a patch. Patches classified as security updates have a security bulletin ID (MSyy-xxx). Click the Security Bulletin link to review the security bulletin, if available.

Product

The Product column helps identify the product category associated with a specific patch. If a patch is used across multiple operating system families (i.e., Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Vista, etc.), the product category is Common Windows Component. Examples include Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, MDAC, MSXML, etc.

Switches

The command line switches used to install this patch.