Automate MSI Installations with PowerShell

The following is a PowerShell wrapper for msiexec.exe that enables you to automate the installation of MSI packages. You will see in the code that I picked certain msiexec options that were required for the particular need I had, such as quiet install (/qn). If you need other options, simply add or remove them to the arguments section.

The function takes pipeline input, so to install an msi you can do the following

"C:\temp\GoogleChromeStandaloneEnterprise.msi" | Install-MSIFile -Verbose

If the installation fails then the exit code will be displayed if verbose mode has been selected:

I’ve also made Uninstall-MSI which requires you supply the MSI file to be able to uninstall and does not remove from Add / Remove Programs.

function Install-MSIFile {

[CmdletBinding()]
 Param(
  [parameter(mandatory=$true,ValueFromPipeline=$true,ValueFromPipelinebyPropertyName=$true)]
        [ValidateNotNullorEmpty()]
        [string]$msiFile,

        [parameter()]
        [ValidateNotNullorEmpty()]
        [string]$targetDir
 )
if (!(Test-Path $msiFile)){
    throw "Path to the MSI File $($msiFile) is invalid. Please supply a valid MSI file"
}
$arguments = @(
    "/i"
    "`"$msiFile`""
    "/qn"
    "/norestart"
)
if ($targetDir){
    if (!(Test-Path $targetDir)){
        throw "Path to the Installation Directory $($targetDir) is invalid. Please supply a valid installation directory"
    }
    $arguments += "INSTALLDIR=`"$targetDir`""
}
Write-Verbose "Installing $msiFile....."
$process = Start-Process -FilePath msiexec.exe -ArgumentList $arguments -Wait -PassThru
if ($process.ExitCode -eq 0){
    Write-Verbose "$msiFile has been successfully installed"
}
else {
    Write-Verbose "installer exit code  $($process.ExitCode) for file  $($msifile)"
}
}

function Uninstall-MSIFile {

[CmdletBinding()]
Param(
[parameter(mandatory=$true,ValueFromPipeline=$true,ValueFromPipelinebyPropertyName=$true)]
[ValidateNotNullorEmpty()]
[string]$msiFile
)
if (!(Test-Path $msiFile)){
throw "Path to the MSI File $($msiFile) is invalid. Please supply a valid MSI file"
}
$arguments = @(
"/x"
"`"$msiFile`""
"/qn"
"/norestart"
)
Write-Verbose "Uninstalling $msiFile....."
$process = Start-Process -FilePath msiexec.exe -ArgumentList $arguments -Wait -PassThru
if ($process.ExitCode -eq 0){
Write-Verbose "$msiFile has been successfully uninstalled"
}
else {
Write-Error "installer exit code  $($process.ExitCode) for file  $($msifile)"
}
}