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Discreet 3dsmax 51sp1 MSI Information
Last Updated: 11.03.03 by Chad Dupuis, acis-windows@mit.edu

1. MSI Information
2. Configuration Issues
3. Known Bugs
4. Installations

1. MSI Information
• This was a fairly complicated installation and there was a significant amount of trial and error before making a working MSI. Consequently not every step is listed here.
• MSI (discreet_3dsmax_50_preinstall.msi) was edited from an MSI created by the Discreet network installation wizard. The wizard creates an executable installer which does many things outside of just running the MSI. It also installs the program in a state where an administrator has to be the first person to run the application after it is installed. I had to set ACADLICENSECHECK=ACCEPT in the property table, remove the desktop icon and set all features to "Allow Advertise."
• Therefore, we have a post install MSI (discreet_3dsmax_50_postinstall.msi), which can be installed anytime, which sets up the changes that are made when the program is launched the first time as an administrator.
• There are a few changes made to the 3dsmax.ini file.
  • [Directories] AutoBackup="H:\WinData\My Documents\"
  • [WindowState] GFXType=OpenGL
• There are a few custom actions which set necessary permissions:
  • C:\3dsmax5 needs to have Users modify
  • C:\3dsmax5\UI needs to have Users modify
• 5.1 Update MSI Available: This MSI was repackaged from a snapshot of the installation on top of our 5.0 MSI's. It required minor modifications to a couple shortcuts.
• 5.1 Service Pack I MSI Available: This MSI was extracted from the vendor supplied installer and needs to be installed after the 5.1 upgrade.
2. Configuration Issues
• In order for certain plugins to initialize correctly "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\" must be in the system path. Otherwise you will get emproxy.dlo, dwgimp.dll, dwgexp.dle, igesimp.dli and igesexp.dls failed to initialize messages. The alternative is to remove these files from the c:\3dsmax5\stdplugs folder, which of course, removes the functionality to import and export dwg and iges files. See http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=2878545&linkID=2475323 for more info.
• User should know that their backup files are being saved to H:\WinData\My Documents not to the default - c:\3dsmax5\autoback
3. Known Bugs
• No Known Bugs.
4. Installations
• No Known Installations.
• Source: Dfs\MSI\ACST\discreet_3dsmax_50\
  • discreet_3dsmax_preinstall_50.msi
  • discreet_3dsmax_postinstall_50.msi
  • \discreet_3dsmax_update_51\discreet_3dsmax_update_51.msi
  • \discreet_3dsmax_51sp1\3dsmax51SP1.msi
• License: Architecture License