Microsoft KB Archive/238232

= PRB: MSDE unattended installation needs full path name of the .iss file =

Article ID: 238232

Article Last Modified on 5/10/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Data Engine 1.0

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This article was previously published under Q238232



SYMPTOMS
When installing the Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) from the MSDEx86.exe file, you may see the following error message:

The path specified in a command line argument is invalid /x86/Setup/Setup.iss.



CAUSE
The MSDE unattended command line installation requires the full path name of the .iss file.



WORKAROUND
This behavior is by design. You must always indicate the fully qualified path to the .iss file on the command line. MSDE for Visual Studio cannot be installed by double-clicking the MSDEx86.exe file or by leaving one of the required parameters.



MORE INFORMATION
For additional information on installing MSDE, take a look at the Readme.txt file in the MSDE Web download package (Msdex86_pkg.exe, msdealpha_pkg.exe) or in the MSDE CD. The Readme.txt file contents for the MSDE download package is shown below. Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) Version 1.0

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Introduction

Platforms supported ---   Windows 95 Windows 98 Windows NT 4.0 SP4 Contents of CD -- readme.txt MSDEx86.exe - Intel version of MSDE installer MSDEalpha.exe - Alpha version of MSDE installer

Usage Notes ---   IMPORTANT NOTES: 1. Resources for developers building applications with MSDE, including whitepapers, general additional FAQS, and sample code can be found at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/msde

2. Resources for developers building applications with SQL Server 7.0 including SQL Books Online, can be found at: http://support.microsoft.com/support/sql

3. Details on technical support for Visual Studio 6.0 products can be found by either a. selecting Help --> Technical Support from any Visual Studio 6.0 product, or       b. from MSDN, select: "Visual Studio Documentation" -->Getting started with Visual Studio --> Technical Support

4. The following syntax is used to install MSDE using all of the default installation settings

MSDEx86.exe -s -a -f1 " unattend.iss" or

MSDEalpha.exe -s -a -f1 " unattend.iss"

where is the full path to the unattend.iss file.

You must always indicate the fully qualified path to the .iss file on the command line.

To use installation settings other than the defaults, a copy of the unattend.iss file can be edited and passed on the command line. For example, assuming that a copy of unattend.iss is copied to c:\temp, renamed to   "mydefaults.iss" and edited. It would be possible to install MSDE using this new .iss file by issuing the following command:

msdex86.exe -s -a -f1 "c:\temp\mydefaults.iss"