Cannot install RockWorks 17 silently with SCCM

[its-desktop 0]

I am attempting to set up a software application in SCCM for RockWorks 17, using the silent parameters that are available for RockWorks, however, each time I try the installation appears to hang. Upon closer inspection in Task Manager, I have discovered that the "rockworks17_installation.exe" is getting stuck - as are the sub programs launched by the main exe such as "rockworks17_installation.tmp" and "_setup64.tmp". 

 

The script I am using works perfectly when running through a CMD window, however, it seems to stall when installing as an elevated "SYSTEM" user via SCCM.

 

Any help with this issue would be appreciated.

[TomB 0]

Hi its-desktop,

 

I haven't seen problems with the .TMP files, but there have been issues in the past under SCCM with the ChkMaint.dll and calling RegSrvr to register the RockWorks17.exe file. To work around those problems, add some command line arguments to the installation command:

 

rockworks17_installation.exe /LOG=c:\temp\RockInst.log /TASKS="!registercom" /SILENT /FORCE=TRUE

If the problem continues, report the command line that you use and send the .LOG file. We'll take a look.

 

Regards,
Tom B

 

[its-desktop 0]

I tried the above line in my installation script, however, the installation still gets stuck.

 

I could provide my entire installation batch script here, however, it doesn't get past the installation stage, so I will show just up to that point (with your changes from above included):

 

@ECHO OFF

 

REM Install RockWorks 17
"%~dp0rockworks17_installation.exe" /LOG=c:\temp\RockInst.log /TASKS="!registercom" /SILENT /FORCE=TRUE
 

As you can see, there isn't anything too groundbreaking in there. The log file hasn't been created, however, the RockWorks Desktop icon is deployed. When attempting to run the applications, RockWorks shows an error popup with "Access violation at address 00000000000000000 in module 'RockWorks17.exe'. Execution of address 00000000000000000". The other program - RW 15 to 17 Conversion Tool 64bit - appears to be working fine.

[TomB 0]

Hi its-desktop,

 

What drive is mapped by the %~dp0 variable? Is this a valid drive?

 

Does your installation batch file create a separate log file? If so, please send it.

 

I am not an expert on SCCM, but others on the web suggest using a pushd %~dp0 to map the drive separately.

pushd "%~dp0"
setup.exe

Replace setup.exe with the RockWorks17_installation.exe command line.

 

Are you able to run the batch file in the same directory as the RockWorks17_installation.exe file? This procedure will remove the %~dp0 variable from the command line so we can see if that is the cause of the problem.

 

Regards,

Tom B

RockWare Inc

[its-desktop 0]

Hi Tom,

 

%~dp0 is a variable that is used with batch files that expands to the drive letter and path of the location of the batch file.

 

The way SCCM works is that it copies the installation files of a software package down to the local computer, storing the content in a randomly named folder (e.g. "7j") under C:\Windows\ccmcache. Because the folder is randomly named, we cannot know what it will be called on each computer, so that is where %~dp0 comes in to play.

 

Since the batch file is running in the same directory as the executable, I removed the %~dp0 component from the script and it appears to now work and my script runs through to the end.

 

The only issue is when I try running RockWorks I am still seeing the "Access violation at address 00000000000000000 in module 'RockWorks17.exe' error. I tried rebooting the computer as I have seen that working in the past when I have seen that error in testing, however, it hasn't worked this time.

 

Any tips on that error?

[its-desktop 0]

Oh, here is the log file for the above installation (with the access violation error).

RockInst.log

[TomB 0]

Does the Access Violation error occur if you run RockWorks after installing without using SCCM?

 

Does the Access Violation error occur if you run RockWorks after installing with SCCM without the command line switches?

 

Send me the program log with a description of the steps you perform and I'll take a look. The RockWorks program log is at:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\RockWare\RockWorks17\RockWorks_Log.txt

 

Regards,

Tom B

RockWare Inc

[its-desktop 0]

Hi Tom,

 

10 hours ago, TomB said:

Does the Access Violation error occur if you run RockWorks after installing without using SCCM?

 

Yes, works perfectly.

 

10 hours ago, TomB said:

Does the Access Violation error occur if you run RockWorks after installing with SCCM without the command line switches?

 

Tried running the installation script manually, but, got interrupted by an error message (see attached). I tried selecting the "retry" option, but the installation couldn't get past that error.

 

Selecting "ignore" seems to move the installation forward without any other issues. I can run the software without issues.

 

11 hours ago, TomB said:

Send me the program log with a description of the steps you perform and I'll take a look.

Aaaaaaand, just to complicate things further, I cannot access that log file because SCCM runs the installation as "SYSTEM" user, which does not create a local profile, therefore no files are created in the directory you mentioned.

 

If you have any further ideas, I will definitely take them on board, however, at this stage because the time that this is taking I think I will be forced to arrange for manual installation for our affected computer labs.

 

Thanks for your help...

[TomB 0]

It looks like the installation works great unless you use SCCM. Others are able to use SCCM to install the software, so there is something unique about your setup that is causing the problem. I agree that manual installation sounds like the best workaround.

 

If I hear of anything that may help with SCCM deployment, I will post it here.

 

Regards,
Tom B

RockWare Inc