PowerShell is King – Download all VC++ runtimes using a script

Deployment

By Mikael Nystrom on August 5, 2014 • ( 14 Comments )

Update:

– Added download for VC++ 2015

– Added download for VC++ 2017

Note: If you install VC++ 2017, it will replace VC++ 2015.

Note: VC++ 2005 is not supported, and therefore you don’t get any security updates for it.

Note: Script has been moved to GitHub https://github.com/DeploymentBunny/Files/tree/master/Tools/Get-AllC%2B%2BRuntimes

Download all VC++ using a script

Yes, it is true, sine I create reference images for customers I always need the VC++ runtimes, and yes I need all of them. Microsoft actually has one page with all the latest versions, well the page points to all the separate downloads, anyway. Since automation is nice and PowerShell is a god workhorse to do the job I used one of my old download engine and modified it slightly.

How does it work?

The script reads 2 parameters from the command line, the XML file and the download folder. In the XML file each file has its settings (some of them not used here), basically the URL, name of file, where to store it and things like that. The script does a for each loop until all files has been downloaded, if one file could not be downloaded, just run the script once more and it will download the missing files, not touching the existing ones

Step-By-Step, kind of

Download the script and the XML file from this location https://github.com/DeploymentBunny/Files/tree/master/Tools/Get-AllC%2B%2BRuntimes

Remove the Windows Download Blocking (You know, right click on file, properties, unblock)

Execute the script from an elevated PowerShell prompt like this

.\Get-Downloads.ps1 -DownloadFile .\download.xml –DownloadFolder  ‘C:\Downloads’

Wait until done

In the C:\Downloads folder you should now have a separate folder for all VC++ runtimes.

/mike

Categories: Deployment, OS Deployment

Tagged as: Microsoft, OS Deployment, PowerShell, runtimes