What are silent installs and can I use them for installing CRSP data?

Silent installs allow for installations to be completed in a non-interactive mode.  CRSP databases, built with InstallAnywhere© installation projects can be installed using silent installs.

CRSP recommends that the default settings are used, but users can create a short response file that points to an alternative location to install the data, offering additional flexibility.  By default, CRSP data will be installed under C:\crspdata on Windows and $HOME/crspdata on Linux and Sun. Silent installs work on all three CRSP supported platforms – Windows, Linux, and Sun. 

At the command prompt in the location where the data DVD is located, enter the following command.

Sun:
setupSoalris.bin –i silent [-f response_file]

Linux:
setupLinux.bin –i silent [-f response_file]

Windows:
Setupwin32.exe –i silent [-f response_ file]

The response file is a simple text file containing the alternative destination directory. 

Examples:

Windows:
D:\>setupwin32.exe –I silent –f c:\crsp\work\silent.txt

Where silent.txt contains the line below and would install the data in g:\crsp\crspdata.
                USER_INSTALL_DIR=g:\\crsp\\crspdata

Linux and Solaris:
/CDROM/setupLinux.bin –i silent –f /home/proddvd/silent.txt

Where silent.txt contains the line:
                USER_INSTALL_DIR=/space/crsp/crspdata