SW Installation

Just want to check if this is possible.

Well say i have copy of all the four cd (copy and pasted)on a hard
drive and want to do the installation. Is it possible as i believe that
only 1st cd can be run this way and when it will ask for 2nd cd it will
gve errors.

any idea


Regards

Deepak

 

For our installations here, the first thing I usually do is copy the CDs to
a location on the server. When it prompts that some of the files already
exist (from the previous CD) then tell it to go ahead and copy. Then to do
a new install on a machine, I can run a batch file that installs off the
network drive. No more CD shuffle. Also, when applying a service pack, you
don't have to do the shuffle - it will find the necessary files on the
network drive.

WT

 

Speaking from past experience it used to work to copy all the cd's to a
folder in the root of a drive, like c:\swinstall, or something like that.
If it is in a folder deeper than the root it will fail. I don't beleive in
that scenerio that it even prompts you for the next cd (but my memory
fades). I don't know if it still works with current versions but it did
back in the early days. I had tried this method to allow for easy updates
on a laptop. I ultimately decided to bite the bullet and simply create an
Admin image, which has it's trade-offs but is the official method of what
you seek...

Admin image pros:
.. admin image folder can live anywhere on a drive, not just off the root
.. the keycodes etc. are already enterered so you don't have to keep track of
them at install time
.. system configs can be "seeded" and made part of the image, but you must
learn how to keep track or you could end up goofing up your install (for
example: network admin image designed for network sharing is inappropriate
for local install only, etc. - hint: edit the
"SolidWorks_2007_SP0_client_options.ini" and "swsetup.ini" files to control
install folders, toolbox and shared folders, etc.)

Admin image cons:
.. takes up more space because all those nicely compressed cd cab files are
expanded and you end up with a bunch of alternate languages and stuff that
eat drive space with little advantage to the average setup
.. anytime you want to update Solidworks you must first update the admin
image. Seems silly on a laptop or single user desktop but that's how it is.
To get the pros you accept the cons.

For a desktop or laptop for which you can live with a folder off the root
dedicated to the SW cd's then it's worth a try. It's worth mentioning that
this folder can be moved to a different location and put back for updates,
etc. if you're willing to manage it that way. If you want to be politically
correct to the SW vision, then create an admin image

- Eddy