Upgrading VMware View Client from 5.0 to 5.1 with Active Directory Group Policy

To follow up one of my previous posts:

Extracting the msi file from VMware View Client installation executable and installing it via Active Directory Group Policy
http://terenceluk.blogspot.com/2012/02/extracting-msi-file-from-vmware-view.html

… a few of my colleagues asked me whether we could do the same when upgrading Windows based VMware View Client from 5.0 to 5.1, whether settings such as the Connection Server:

… would be retained if this was used and the answer is yes.  I’ve used this method to update old Windows XP desktops a few times and haven’t had any issues with it.  To do so, begin by executing the VMware View Client install:

Wait till the following installation wizard window is displayed:

Then proceed to open the Run window and open the %temp% folder as such:

From within the temporary files folder, look for a folder named with a GUID and followed by a ~temp:

C:\Users\tluk\AppData\Local\Temp\{1AA39F1E-0098-41f9-9DDC-9CB7B47C9441}~setup

Copy all of the files:

• Core.cab
• instmsiw.exe
• ThinPr~1.cab
• TSSO.cab
• USB.cab
• vcredist_x64.exe
• vcredist_x86.exe
• VMware View Client64.msi

… into a network share where your desktops can access.

Log onto a domain controller and open up the Group Policy Management Console and create a new policy:

Name the policy appropriately:

Edit the newly created policy and navigate to the node Computer Configuration –> Policies –> Software Settings –> Software installation and then right click in the right window, select New –> Package:

Within browser, navigate to the VMware View Client64.msi file via the UNC path:

Once you’ve clicked on the Open button, you’ll be prompted with the following window. Select the Assigned radio button and click OK:

As shown in the screenshot, the msi package has now been published:

Proceed with assigning this policy to an OU containing the physical Windows desktops’ computer objects and either wait for replication or force it with gpupdate /force and then reboot the computer.  Note that this is a computer policy that is applied upon start up of the desktop rather than a user policy which is installed when a user logs in.  Most environments I work in have a few extremely old desktops that take forever to load and so a computer policy works a bit better.  For more information about switches allowed with the MSI file, see the following document’s page 117:

VMware View Installation
http://pubs.vmware.com/view-51/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/view-51-installation.pdf