[archive] Windows Server control

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 22 August 2007]

I am looking for ways to do the following from a Windows Client on a local network on a Windows Server:

- execute a "setup" program
- read and update the Windows registry

I've seen a few ways to do this on various websites. Just to clarify, what I want to do is have a PC on the network cause a setup program to be executed on a Windows server so that the installation (and registry entries, etc) occur on the server, not the client PC. Of course, I'm also referring to a non-thin client situation.

Any ideas? Hints?

Thanks,
Rob

Well, first of all, the user you are executing as on the local machine will also have to be a user on the server, and it will have to be a user with elevated privileges. I guess you will have to be administrator class.
The real oddity here is that you want to remote install on a server, normally the server is the base and you want to do things on a client.

My immediate thought now would be to copy files and make and entry in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE RunOnce and then reboot. I realize however that you may want to avoid that.

If you have a chance to install something on the server in advance, it is always an option to use AcuGT COM server and just have a remote program do stuff for you. Even C$SOCKET (granted, that is probably easier than opening for a DCOM service).

Some links that might be useful:
How to manage remote access to the Registry: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314837

This not exactly what you are looking for, but it covers the topic as well: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2ae08fe5(vs.80).aspx

As you state this is about a setup program, perhaps Windows Automated Installation is something? http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C7D4BC6D-15F3-4284-9123-679830D629F2&displaylang=en

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 22 August 2007]

I am looking for ways to do the following from a Windows Client on a local network on a Windows Server:

- execute a "setup" program
- read and update the Windows registry

I've seen a few ways to do this on various websites. Just to clarify, what I want to do is have a PC on the network cause a setup program to be executed on a Windows server so that the installation (and registry entries, etc) occur on the server, not the client PC. Of course, I'm also referring to a non-thin client situation.

Any ideas? Hints?

Thanks,
Rob

Thanks for the links, Gisle. I saw a few of those, but I think there's one I didn't see. I've also found a few other things I'm looking into:

PsExec - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/psexec.mspx

xCmd - http://www.codeguru.com/Cpp/I-N/network/remoteinvocation/article.php/c5433

Rob

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 22 August 2007]

I am looking for ways to do the following from a Windows Client on a local network on a Windows Server:

- execute a "setup" program
- read and update the Windows registry

I've seen a few ways to do this on various websites. Just to clarify, what I want to do is have a PC on the network cause a setup program to be executed on a Windows server so that the installation (and registry entries, etc) occur on the server, not the client PC. Of course, I'm also referring to a non-thin client situation.

Any ideas? Hints?

Thanks,
Rob

The PsExec utility is quite impressive. However, I can imagine some system administrators not being happy for such a thing? :-)
Good luck with your research, would be nice to hear once, what technique you end up using.

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 22 August 2007]

I am looking for ways to do the following from a Windows Client on a local network on a Windows Server:

- execute a "setup" program
- read and update the Windows registry

I've seen a few ways to do this on various websites. Just to clarify, what I want to do is have a PC on the network cause a setup program to be executed on a Windows server so that the installation (and registry entries, etc) occur on the server, not the client PC. Of course, I'm also referring to a non-thin client situation.

Any ideas? Hints?

Thanks,
Rob

The PsExec utility is quite impressive. However, I can imagine some system administrators not being happy for such a thing? :-)
Good luck with your research, would be nice to hear once, what technique you end up using.

[Migrated content. Thread originally posted on 22 August 2007]

I am looking for ways to do the following from a Windows Client on a local network on a Windows Server:

- execute a "setup" program
- read and update the Windows registry

I've seen a few ways to do this on various websites. Just to clarify, what I want to do is have a PC on the network cause a setup program to be executed on a Windows server so that the installation (and registry entries, etc) occur on the server, not the client PC. Of course, I'm also referring to a non-thin client situation.

Any ideas? Hints?

Thanks,
Rob

The PsExec utility is quite impressive. However, I can imagine some system administrators not being happy for such a thing? :-)
Good luck with your research, would be nice to hear once, what technique you end up using.