使用C＃Forms Application静默安装SQL Server

Question

I have an windows application developed in C#, I need to install it on a PC which will just have the Operating System and .Net Framework installed. Now I have to give an option to install SQL Server 2008 R2 Express edition on that PC, using this windows application. I have coded for installing/uninstalling a windows service, but struck with sql server installation. could someone help me out in doing this.

Answer 1

Follow the guidelines in How to Embed SQL Server Express in an Application . It covers everything you need, including pickiing up the right distribution, choosing an appropriate installation method (wpi vs. setup.exe) and how to configure the installation. the wiki even has a C# code on how to detect a previous Express instalation, how to invoke the WPI (Web Platform Installer) for SQL Express from C#:

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(
  @"C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Web Platform Installer\webplatforminstaller.exe",
  " /id SQLExpress");

or using the "wpi://" URL handler:

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("wpi://SQLExpress/");

or using the Web App Galery:

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(
  "http://www.microsoft.com/web/gallery/install.aspx?appsxml=&appid=SQLExpress");

and, finally, using the SQL Express setup (recommended for advanced configuration):

System.Diagnostics.Process processObj = 
  System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(@"c:\temp\sqlsetup\setup.exe",

@"/q /Action=Install /Hideconsole /IAcceptSQLServerLicenseTerms=True 
 /Features=SQL,Tools /InstanceName=SQLExpress
 /SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS=""Builtin\Administrators"" 
 /SQLSVCACCOUNT=""DomainName\UserName"" /SQLSVCPASSWORD=""StrongPassword""");

and it has the full list of setup parameters.

Answer 2

You can use msiexec.exe . You can simply install an MSI by passing the MSI path. Using command you can set whether to show UI during the installation or make it a silent installation,

string installCommandString = "/i {0} /qn";

• /qn : Set user interface level: None
• /qb : Set user interface level: Basic UI
• /qr : Set user interface level: Reduced UI
• /qf : Set user interface level: Full UI (default)

C# code

string installCommandString = "/i {0} /qn";

Process process = new Process();
ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo();
process.StartInfo = startInfo;

startInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
startInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;

startInfo.FileName = "msiexec.exe";
startInfo.Arguments = string.Format(installCommandString, "SQL Server MSI Path");

process.Start();

Answer 3

If you are using the standard MSI installer, built into Visual Studio then there is an option to set pre-requisites.

• Right click the MSI
• Select properties
• Select prerequisites

Near the bottom there is an option for SQL Server Express and you can specify where to get the components from - vendor, or from a location on your servers.