Altair Hyperworks Silent Install
Stella Kreuter
Altair HyperWorks uses InstallShield InstallScript based installers. The software will need to be installed and uninstalled manually using the /r option to record a setup.iss for the install and uninstall stages. Once that is complete, the following WPKG setup should work.
Note that the /f2 option is mandatory to make the silent install/uninstall work. The Altair Hyper Works installer refuses to install without this option, unless you perform the install manually while logged in to the console. The silent install will also fail if the target directory already exists.
Those setup.exe files generated with InstallShield inherently support the creation and use of answer files that may be used to silent install applications. Although it has no logic to handle anything not expected by the answerfile (more or less dialogs, more or less options in a dialog) it can be a helpful means of installation for some applications. The supported switches are as follows:
Specifies an alternate compiled script. Unless the compiled script (.ins file) also resides in the same directory as that of Setup.exe, the full path to the compiled script must be specified. _setup.dll must also reside in the same directory as your .ins file. For example, setup -ftest.ins will launch setup using Test.ins instead of Setup.ins.
Specifies an alternate location and name of the response file (.iss file). If this option is used when running InstallShield Silent, the response file is read from the folder/file specified by[path\ResponseFile]. If this option is used along with the -r option, the response file is written to the folder/file specified by[path\ResponseFile]. If an alternate compiled script is specified using the -f switch, the -f1 switch entry must follow the -f switch entry.
Specifies an alternate location and name of the log file created by InstallShield Silent. By default, Setup.log log file is created and stored in the same directory as that of Setup.ins. If an alternate compiled script is specified using the -f switch, the -f2 switch entry must follow the -f switch entry.
Causes Setup.exe to generate a Management Information Format (.mif) file automatically at the end of the setup. Do not include a path - the .mif file is always placed in the Windows folder. [filename] is optional. If you do not specify a filename, the resulting file will be called Status.mif.
Prevents a network connection and Setup.exe from closing before the setup is complete. This switch works with setups originating from a Windows NT server over a network. Please note that SMS must be uppercase; this is a case-sensitive switch.
Prevents Setup.exe from checking the available memory during initialization. This switch is necessary when running a setup on a machine with more than 256 MB of memory; if it is not used, Setup.exe reports insufficient memory and exits.
When using long path and filename expressions with switches, enclose the expressions in double quotation marks. The enclosing double quotes tell the operating system that spaces within the quotation marks are not to be treated as command line delimiters.
The rear panel provides eight more USB ports as well as a 9-pin serial port, two RJ45 LAN ports, six audio jacks, S/PDIF input and output connections, a second 1394 port, and an eSATA connection. Pressing a small lever on the tool-less chassis is all it takes to remove the side panel to access the well-organized interior.
Inside, the two CPU sockets were fitted with a pair of 2.67GHz Intel X5550 CPUs hidden beneath large heat sinks and cooling fans. Each of these quad-core CPUs has 8MB of smart cache and is rated at 95 watts of thermal design power (TDP). Lenovo offers the ThinkStation D20 with CPUs ranging from the 1.86GHz Xeon E5502 up to the 3.2GHz Xeon W5580. The Lenovo extended ATX form factor motherboard has capability for 12 DIMM sockets. Our evaluation unit came with 8GB installed as four 2GB DDR3 PC3-1060 1333MHz memory modules. The D20 will be able to accommodate up to 192GB of RAM once 16GB DIMMs become available.
The motherboard provides a total of six expansion slots: two PCIe x16 slots, a PCIe x4 slot, a PCIe x1 slot, and a pair of standard PCI adapter card slots. One of the x16 slots on our evaluation unit was filled with an NVIDIA Quadro FX4800 graphics accelerator equipped with 1.5GB of memory. This large, ultra high-end board covered one of the PCI slots and was so wide that we questioned whether it would be possible to install a second FX4800, although Lenovo does offer that option. With two large graphics adapters installed, the only slots left accessible would be the PCIe x1 and one of the PCI card slots. Lenovo also offers less-powerful graphics boards, including the entry-level NVIDIA Quadro NVS290 as well as ATI boards including the Fire Pro V7750.
The 1060W power supply provides more than enough energy and enough additional power connectors to handle any expansion option. In spite of lots of fans, including those on the CPUs, rear panel, power supply, graphics card, and behind the hard drive bay, the ThinkStation D20 was virtually silent after its initial startup.
Lenovo rounded out our evaluation unit with its Preferred Pro USB Fingerprint keyboard, a full-size 104-key keyboard with an integrated fingerprint sensor and accompanying software so you can swipe a finger across the sensor rather than type passwords. A Lenovo-branded Primax optical wheel mouse was also included.
In addition to the 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Vista that we received, you have the option of having other operating systems, including Windows 7 or Red Hat Linux 5 pre-installed, as well as ordering a system with no installed operating system. Several versions of Microsoft Office as well as other application software are also available at the time of purchase. Lenovo backs the system with a three-year limited onsite warranty. The D20 uses 27 percent post-consumer and 23 percent post industrial plastic content, meets Entergy Star 5.0, EPEAT Gold, RoHS, and 80 PLUS Bronze criteria, and is GREENGUARD certified.
Base systems start at $1,269. As configured, our evaluation unit priced out online at $5,943. You could certainly reduce that price significantly by opting for a single hard drive and lesser graphics board, and still end up with an extremely powerful system. Once again, Lenovo has impressed us. The ThinkStation D20 is clearly a top-of-the-line workstation.
David Cohn is a consultant and technical writer based in Bellingham, WA, and has been benchmarking PCs since 1984. He is a Contributing Editor to Digital Engineering, the former senior content manager at 4D Technologies, and the author of more than a dozen books. Email at [email protected] or visit his website at www.dscohn.com.
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