Windows Active Setup

Install an application that requires HKCU settings to be deployed to each user.

Have you ever installed an application to a machine using a specific user account, then you logon as another user and the user specific registry entries don't exist?

How do you fix that?

Deploy the registry entries via a logon script?

Create another user based application and deploy that to users?

This is where Active Setup kicks arse.

Instead of creating something else, add the following registry entries to the package via an MST:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\
(Default)=My Active Setup Test
StubPath=msiexec.exe /fu [ProductCode] /qn
Version=1.0

When a user next logs on Windows will compare the HKLM Installed Components with those that exist in the HKCU key (HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components). If the Component doesn't exist in the HKCU key then Windows will execute the StubPath.

When a StubPath is executed the Components UID is then added to the HKCU key so that it doesn't run again

The following link is to Arons Blog which goes into more detail:

Link: Aruns Blog

Link: Active Setup Explained