Infusing Office Communicator MSI with MSP

[PreviousPoster]

Does any know how to infuse the latest hotfix (Communicator.msp) to the original Office Communicator MSI file (Communicator.msi) and re-deploy Office Communicator using GPSI?

I have tried: msiexec /a Communicator.msi /p Communicator.msp
The result is a PFiles directory with extracted msp files.

How do get the updated MSI file? Am I missing some steps? Thank everyone in advance!

[jdobiash]

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ork2003/HA011525741033.aspx

Refer to the section "Patching an administrative installation point".

Once you patch it, you just use the "Redeploy" option of GPSI.

[PreviousPoster]

Thank you jbobiash for you quick response.

Currently, the Office Communicator is being deployed via GPSI using the Communicator.msi file and not through an administrative installation point. What I'm trying to accomplish is to patch the MSI file with the MSP file and re-deploy the updated MSI file. Do I have the wrong idea? Please advise...

[jdobiash]

Thank you jbobiash for you quick response.

Currently, the Office Communicator is being deployed via GPSI using the Communicator.msi file and not through an administrative installation point. What I'm trying to accomplish is to patch the MSI file with the MSP file and re-deploy the updated MSI file. Do I have the wrong idea? Please advise...

I'm not sure if you can patch it without it first being an Admin point, but that would mean you'd have to set it up as an Admin point, then create a new GPO (or a new package) and deploy that. You might be able to run the MSP file directly on each machine to update it, however, perhaps through a script.

[PreviousPoster]

Thank you jbobiash for you quick response.

Currently, the Office Communicator is being deployed via GPSI using the Communicator.msi file and not through an administrative installation point. What I'm trying to accomplish is to patch the MSI file with the MSP file and re-deploy the updated MSI file. Do I have the wrong idea? Please advise...

I have the exacty same issue. Did u manage to fix this?
Cheers

[PreviousPoster]

This is only possible if the original MSI file supports a so-called "Administrative Install" (most MS applications do).
The procedure is roughly:

-Make a folder for the new package (for instance c:\newpackage) and run this from the command line:
msiexec /a communicator.msi TARGETDIR=c:\newpackage

-you will go through the installation wizard, which will create a silent install version of the original communicator.msi to c:\newpackage\communicator.msi along with a couple of folders

-Now you can apply the patch files to this new msi file:
msiexec /a c:\newpackage\communicator.msi /p communicator.msp
This will "slipstream" the patch into your msi.

[PreviousPoster]

That worked great, I also was trying to update just the MSI file (not admin install).
I have a question If I then renamed the MSi to say Communicatorv2.1.1.1.msi would that cause any peoblems other than I have to make new software package and maybe make it update the other?
And last question..
If I want to package it all back up into 1 MSI file can I do that? Say If I wanted to put it out for users to download at Home?

thanks