5 Command Line Reference#
5.1 System Update#
System Update can be controlled via command line by leveraging the group policy control for the Administrator Command Line. A typical scenario would have System Update executed by a task in the Windows Task Scheduler set to run on a recurring basis to ensure the device stays current. That scheduled task would execute:
The rest of the command line parameters would be specified as a Policy in the registry using either Group Policy or by manipulating the registry directly at:
HKLM\Software\Policies\Lenovo\System Update\UserSettings\General
Value: [REG\_SZ] AdminCommandLine
Example: /CM -search A -action INSTALL -includerebootpackages 3 -nolicense -exporttowmi
Note
When using a custom scheduled task, a new task should be created, and the default task created when System Update is installed should be disabled. Additionally, the "SchedulerAbility" setting must be set to "NO" in the registry at HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Lenovo\System Update\Preferences\UserSettings\Scheduler
This will prevent System Update from re-enabling the default tasks.
Parameters#
Note
The parameter of -schtask should not be used in a custom command line.
/CM#
Required. Identifies the running instance of System Update is executing by command line instead of being launched directly.
-search#
Required. Specifies the updates to search for based on severity. Possible values are:
- C = Critical only
- R = Recommended and Critical
- A = All (Optional, Recommended and Critical)
-action#
Required. Specifies the action to take with the updates found. Only specify one action; cannot specify combination of actions
Possible values are:
- DOWNLOAD: Updates for the system are automatically downloaded only; updates can be filtered using -includerebootpackages or -packagetypes parameters
- LIST: User is notified with a list of available updates to choose from; updates can be filtered using -includerebootpackages or -packagetypes parameter
- INSTALL: Updates are downloaded and installed; updates can be filtered using -includerebootpackages and -packagetypes parameters
-scheduler#
Optional. Specifies that System Update is running from a scheduled task so the pick list license notice should not be displayed.
-includerebootpackages#
Optional. Specifies by number the reboot types to include in the set of updates found. Possible values are 1, 3, 4, 5. If this parameter is not specified, only reboot type 0 packages will be included. The value 2 is never used. Multiple reboot types can be specified by separating with a comma. This filter will always be applied first.
0: No reboot is required - no need to specify on command line
1: Forced reboot (update itself initiates the reboot)
3: Requires reboot (System Update initiates the reboot)
4: Forces shutdown (update itself initiates shutdown)
5: Delayed forced reboot (used for firmware, System Update will enforce reboot with dialog displaying count-down timer)
Note
When used with -packagetypes, the resulting set of updates is the intersection of both filters.
-packagetypes#
Optional. Specifies by number a filter for the package types to be applied. Multiple package types can be specified by separating with comma.
0 : Reserved – unused at this time.
1 : Application
2 : Driver
3 : Bios
4 : Firmware
Note
When used with -includerebootpackages, the resulting set of updates is the intersection of both filters. If -includerebootpackages is not specified, only reboot type 0 packages will be considered.
-noreboot#
Optional. In normal operation, if System Update installs one or more Reboot Type 3 (Requires reboot) updates, it will initiate a reboot after the last installation completes. To suppress this reboot simply specify this parameter. This parameter only has an effect for Reboot Type 3 packages. For Reboot Type 1 and 4, the reboot or shutdown is orchestrated by the update itself and is not under the control of System Update. For Reboot Type 5 packages a reboot must be executed immediately after update and is forced by System Update.
-noicon#
Optional. Suppresses the balloon tooltip from the notification area of the system tray.
-nolicense#
Optional. Suppresses the license notice from System Update.
-rebootprompt#
Optional. Forces the display of the reboot prompt dialog after installing updates that will require a restart. This parameter is only applicable when the -noicon parameter is used and the -noreboot parameter is NOT used. In this scenario, if the -rebootprompt parameter were not used, the system could be rebooted without any warning to the user.
-repository#
Optional. Specifies the full path to the local repository location. This must be a local folder path, a UNC file share path, or a URL to a web-hosted repository.
-exporttowmi#
Optional. Causes System Update to store update history data in a WMI table:
5.1.1 User Prompt Handling#
When System Update finds updates that will cause a restart of the system, it will display a warning dialog to the end user to allow them to save their work before proceeding with the updates. There are limited ways of controlling this behavior depending on which updates are found applicable and which command line parameters are used.
- If -noreboot and -noicon are used and only Reboot Type 0 or 3 updates are found, then System Update will install the updates with no prompting and the system will not be restarted.
- If only -noicon is used and only Reboot Type 0 or 3 updates are found, then the updates will be installed and the system will be restarted with no prompting.
- If -noicon and -rebootprompt are used and Reboot Type 0 or 3 updates are found, then the user is prompted before installation to ensure they save their work.
- If Reboot Type 1, 4 or 5 updates are found then System Update will always prompt the user before proceeding to install the updates. With Reboot Type 1 and 4 updates, the system will be restarted or shutdown respectively by the update itself. With Reboot Type 5 updates, a reboot timer will be displayed and the system will be restarted within 5 minutes.
5.2 Thin Installer#
Thin Installer must be executed with administrative privileges in order to function properly and it can be controlled by command line. Since Thin Installer does not require installation it can be executed from the folder it resides in, such as:
C:\\<source folder>\ThinInstaller.exe /CM -search R -action INSTALL -includerebootpackages 3 -noreboot -noicon -repository <path> -exporttowmi
Parameters#
/CM#
Required. Identifies the running instance of Thin Installer is executed with command line parameters instead of being launched directly.
-search#
Required. Specifies the updates to search for based on severity. Possible values are:
- C = Critical only
- R = Recommended and Critical
- A = All (Optional, Recommended and Critical)
-action#
Required. Specifies the action to take with the updates found. It can only specify one action; cannot specify combination of actions. Possible values are:
- DOWNLOAD : Applicable updates for the system are automatically downloaded only; updates can be filtered using -includerebootpackages and -packagetypes parameters
- LIST : User is notified with a list of available updates to choose from; as of version 1.3.0041 the updates can be filtered using -includerebootpackages and -packagetypes parameters
- INSTALL : Updates are downloaded and installed; updates can be filtered using -includerebootpackages and -packagetypes parameters
- SCAN : Assesses applicability of updates available in the repository; generates an Update_ApplicabilityRulesTrace.txt file automatically; as of version 1.3.0041 updates can be filtered using -includerebootpackages and -packagetypes parameters
- INSTALLDEFERRED : install the updates which were previously downloaded using the DOWNLOAD parameter; any filtering parameters on the command line are ignored
Note
The return codes used by Thin Installer will vary by the action performed. See section 5.2.1 Thin Installer Return Codes
-includerebootpackages#
Optional. Specifies by number the reboot types to include in the set of updates found to be downloaded and/or installed. Possible values are 1, 3, 4, 5. If this parameter is not specified, only reboot type 0 packages will be included. The value 2 is never used. Multiple reboot types can be specified by separating with a comma. This filter will always be applied first.
0: No reboot is required - no need to specify on command line
1 : Forced reboot (update itself initiates the reboot)
3 : Requires reboot (Thin Installer initiates the reboot)
4 : Forces shutdown (update itself initiates shutdown)
5 : Delayed forced reboot (used for firmware, Thin Installer will enforce reboot with dialog displaying count-down timer)
Note
When used with -packagetypes, the resulting set of updates is the intersection of both filters.
-packagetypes#
Optional. Specifies by number a filter for the package types to be applied. Multiple package types can be specified by separating with comma.
0 : Reserved – unused at this time.
1 : Application
2 : Driver
3 : Bios
4 : Firmware
Note
When used with -includerebootpackages, the resulting set of updates is the intersection of both filters. If -includerebootpackages is not specified, only reboot type 0 packages will be considered.
-noreboot#
Optional. In normal operation, if Thin Installer installs one or more Reboot Type 3 (Requires reboot) updates, it will initiate a reboot after the last installation completes. To suppress this reboot simply specify this parameter. This parameter only has an effect for Reboot Type 3 packages. For Reboot Type 1 and 4, the reboot or shutdown is orchestrated by the update itself and is not under the control of Thin Installer. For Reboot Type 5 updates a reboot must be executed immediately after the update and is forced by Thin Installer.
-noicon#
Optional. Suppresses the balloon tooltip from the notification area of the system tray.
-nocancel#
Optional. Hides the Cancel button so that user cannot interrupt scheduled task to update the system using Thin Installer while displaying GUI to notify user that updates are being applied.
-nocontinueafterreboot#
Optional. By default, if there are multiple Reboot Type 1 or 4 updates that are applicable, Thin Installer will create a Run Once key to continue installation of updates after the first update reboots or shuts down the system. Unless the next logged-on user is an Administrator level user, Thin Installer will not be able to run. In this scenario, use -nocontinueafterreboot to prevent Thin Installer from creating the registry key. Thin Installer will need to be executed again with administrator level privileges in order to install the remaining updates.
-debug#
Optional. Enables debug mode without having to specify it in the ThinInstaller.exe.configuration file. This causes Thin Installer to generate the Update_ApplicabilityRulesTrace.txt file in the log file location.
-showprogress#
Optional. Displays the progress of downloading and installing updates. Not recommended when using Thin Installer in a task sequence as it will interrupt the execution of the task sequence.
-scheduler#
Optional. If -action is specified as INSTALL or INSTALLDEFERRED and the ThinInstaller.exe.configuration file specifies YES for \<DisplayLicenseNotice\>, then this parameter will cause Thin Installer to ignore the configuration file and will not display the license notice before displaying the list of available updates.
-repository#
Optional. Specifies the full path to the local repository location. This can be a local folder path, a UNC file share path, or a URL to a web-hosted repository.
-exporttowmi#
Optional. Causes Thin Installer to store update history data in a WMI table:
-log#
Optional. Specifies fully qualified path for storing the log file
-ignorexmlsignature#
Optional. Introduced in version 1.04.02.0017, this parameter will cause Thin Installer to ignore whether or not the XML package descriptor for an update is digitally signed by Lenovo. By default, Thin Installer will check for a valid Lenovo digital signature on the XML and will skip any updates that do not have one. This ensures the security of the solution. Only use this parameter if you have knowingly modified the XML for an update and trust the changes.
5.2.1 Thin Installer Return Codes#
There are specific return codes used by Thin Installer based on which -action parameter is used.
| INSTALL | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3010 | Indicates a reboot is required because one or more Reboot Type 3 updates were installed with the -noreboot parameter specified | |
| SCAN | ||
| 10000 | No applicable updates found | |
| 10001 | Applicable updates found | |
| DOWNLOAD | ||
| 20000 | All applicable packages were downloaded | |
| 20001 | Some applicable packages failed to download while others succeeded | |
| 20002 | Applicable packages were found but none were downloaded successfully | |
| 20003 | No applicable updates were found to download |
5.3 Update Retriever#
Update Retriever can be launched from its default installation location at
It does require Administrator privileges to run.
/SCHEDULER#
Optional. Used to launch Update Retriever to perform the automatic search actions specified under "Schedule updates".
/GUI#
Optional. Launches Update Retriever to the "Get new updates" screen.
/CATALOGSCAN#
Optional. Launches Update Retriever silently to automatically search for new content since the last search in the catalogs of all the model + OS pairs that have been specified. If there has been no new content released, Update Retriever exits. If new content is found, Update Retriever UI will appear to display the search results.