RE: [ActiveDir] Using GPO to install an MSI package - Slightly Off Topic

[Darren Mar-Elia]

Dave- Hallelujah! I'm with you here. Can we start some kind of movement? I'm thinking a web site like dontwritestupidwindowsapps.org? Maybe hold some rallies outside of offending software company's headquarters where we burn their shrinkwrap? I'm serious. This used to bug the holy heck out of me when I lived in the IT world. But of course "the business" would always say, "well we absolutely must have this huge smoldering pile of crap application and there is only one vendor in Upper East Moldoria that provides it so we don't care if its not 'Windows compliant'."   Darren "Logo or Die" Mar-Elia     From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David Cliffe Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 8:39 AM To: ActiveDir@mail.activedir.org Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] Using GPO to install an MSI package - Slightly Off Topic You guys gave some great suggestions to this tough question, and made some good points.  For what it's worth, mine is a bit less realistic - STOP purchasing software from a company that can't get this right (regardless of excuse or reason).   Perhaps the same can be said of applications that use NetBIOS calls.  If we ever really want to get that out of the Windows world (do we?), then the application providers need to STOP using it.   If we don't buy it, they can't make it...right?  Sorry if this is a bit simplistic!   -DaveC Reuters America   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jason B Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 10:44 AM To: ActiveDir@mail.activedir.org Subject: [ActiveDir] Using GPO to install an MSI package Okay, our environment is that all our clients are running Windows XP SP2, and our servers are Windows 2003.  The situation is that our Accounting department uses Quickbooks, and about 70 of our employees need to use an application that comes with Quickbooks called "QB Timer".  It's free for use for our employees and it integrates with Quickbooks without requiring a Quickbooks install on each machine.  Now, the quandry:  according to Intuit/Quickbooks, the program requires at least Power User permissions to install and run.  Neither I, nor our CIO are willing to give local Power User permissions for these users, as that opens things up to too many potential problems, but our CFO and COO are REQUIRING the use of this application, or a similar one that integrates with Quickbooks.  Now, the QBTimer is free, which is good, so that's the *preferred* app to use.  It comes as an exe with a few other files, so I used WinInstall LE 2003 on a clean XP SP2 machine to package it into an MSI file.  That worked well, and I can install it/assign it through GPO - even if the user doesn't have local Power User privs.  However, true to form with Intuit products, it won't run if the logged on user doesn't have local admin or PU privs.  If I grant PU privs to the user, it runs fine.  I feel like I am --> <-- this close to getting this done, but I ran out of ideas to get this to work.  I tried looking at the reg file that was made when I ran WinInstall and gave the users full rights to the specific areas in the registry to see if that did anything; which it didn't.   Does anyone else have any siggestions, or am I stuck with Intuit's "users must have >= Power User privs" to run that app?   ANY help or suggestions are GREATLY appreciated!   --Jason ----------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our Internet site at http://www.reuters.com Get closer to the financial markets with Reuters Messaging - for more information and to register, visit http://www.reuters.com/messaging Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically states them to be the views of Reuters Ltd.