How to create a MSI installation file to install a GraphPad Prism 5 site license.

Note that this FAQ applies only to Prism 5, which is no longer the current version. If you want to install Prism 6 using an MSI file, submit your request at help.graphpad.com for individual help. 

If you are installing Prism on many computers as part of a site license, first read this overall explanation of your options. Then read on to learn about one way to install Prism by using MSI files.

It explains how to create a Windows installer by configuring a MSI file. These instructions were provided to us kindly by someone at an institution who figured this out. We pass along the tip, but can't answer any questions. These instructions are written for people who deal with networks and installations all the time. If you don't understand the jargon, then this method is not for you! These instructions are a bit dated, but you'll probably be able to adapt them to Vista or Windows 7. 

1. Install WinInstall LE 2003 software (free), which will create a share\WININSTALL on the machine it is installed on.
2.  Prepare a vanilla XP desktop install on a 2nd machine (desktop pc).
3.  As administrator, run the Disco32.exe wizard from the    \\firstpc\WININSTALL share on desktoppc to take a snapshot of its registry keys and files.
4. Run the Prism installer on the desktop pc.
5. Launch Prism and enter the serial number.  Then quit Prism.
6. Run the Disco32.exe wizard again on desktoppc to take a post-install snapshot.
7. An MSI will be created in \\firstpc\WinInstall\Packages.
8. Edit the bundled MSI in WinInstall LE to remove any unwanted registry keys (File, Open, navigate to MSI file).  Select "Registry" in the lefthand pane.  Remove any incidental Registry keys created during the capture under HKEY_CURRENT_USER or HKEY_USERS (usually Recent Documents, etc.).
9. Click on "General" items in the left hand pane.  Click on the"Install Modes" tab in the right hand pane.  Select "Install Only PerMachine" to install shortcuts and start menu items to "AllUsers" folders.
10. Deploy as usual via GPO.

Why step 8? In the process of clicking on the start menu, browsing to a network share, etc., clicking on the installer Windows will write several
registry entries which translate to "Last program I ran" or "Last network share accessed"  etc.  Unless you are extremely careful not to click anything else other than the installer and the capture program, you will create several registry changes for the current user which WinInstall will happily roll into the MSI.

If you'd prefer not to capture the registry changes, you can use this .reg file.  You'll need to search for [Prism5.exe PATH] and replace with the path to Prism executable (with double slashes), for example:     C:\\Program Files\\GraphPad\\Prism 5\\prism.exe

Note that while this MSI file will install the Prism files, it will not activate the Prism license. You will need to enter serial numbers, and activate computers, one at a time. For Prism 6, we offer a silent activation process, but this is not available for Prism 5.