DisplayLink 8.0 M0 Corporate Install Deployment Changes?

[atomicd10]

Hello,

The most recent corporate install files follow a different naming convention than what they have in the past, and the existing corporate deployment instructions still detail how to install DisplayLink using the prior naming convention and files.

Previously there were two files in the corporate installer package named DisplayLinkCore.msi and Setup.msi, now in this latest version there are two named DisplayLink_Win7-10TH2.msi and DisplayLink_Win10RS1.msi.

I was unable to find any deployment documentation on the new files, but I assume the DisplayLink_Win7-10TH2.msi install file is intended for Windows 7 to Windows 10 "Threshold 2" and the DisplayLink_Win10RS1.msi install file is meant ONLY for Windows 10 RedStone. This seems to imply that the versions are incompatible with one another, so when performing an in-place upgrade to Win10 RedStone in an enterprise environment the drivers will likely need to be uninstalled prior to the update and reinstalled after the update which obviously wouldn't be ideal; does anyone know if this is true?

In our environment we are running Win10 Threshold 2. Has anyone found install arguments that work well for them with this new version in Windows 10 TH2? The reason I ask is because we've had a pile of issues installing/deploying DisplayLink in the past, and so I'm curious what others are using for their installation command-line.

Historically we have essentially used the following command-line arguments for installation (and in the same order):

msiexec /i "c:\somePath\DisplayLinkCore.msi" /l*v "c:\somePath\DisplayLinkCore_Install.log" /q/n

msiexec /i "c:\somePath\setup.msi" /l*v "c:\somePath\setup_Install.log" /q/n

Historically we have used the following command-line arguments for uninstalling (and in the same order):

msiexec /qn /x "c:\somePath\setup.msi" DL_PACKAGE_ONLY=Yes REBOOT=ReallySuppress /l*v "c:\somePath\setup_uninstall.log"

msiexec /qn /x "c:\somePath\DisplayLinkCore.msi" REBOOT=ReallySuppress /l*v "c:\somePath\DisplayLinkCore_uninstall.log"

I assume a similar command line will likely work, but I'm curious if anyone does it any differently or has any suggestions for the new version and TH2.


Thanks!

[AlbanRampon]

Hello,
There are indeed some changes with the upcoming Windows 10 anniversary update. There are also updates in the current versions. Both of them will make your job easier from now on, and will drastically reduce the reasons for complaints from your end users.
I have to update the deployment guidelines for RTM but let me detail here the main changes and what they mean to you.

On Windows 7 - Windows 10 TH2 (up to and including build 10586)
You should use the same packages as before, deploying them with a build ceiling in your rules if you are using the Windows Insiders build in production.
There is a change on the receiving computer. Before 8.0, the video driver would be swapped when the installation is made. This means that the screens were getting blanked until the end user rebooted. This is now gone.
The installer will upgrade sound and Ethernet straight away, but not the video drivers which will be swapped at the following reboot. This means the user does NOT have to reboot straight away anymore as they keep their external displays.
The DisplayLink icon will also stay present and report where the issue is: no dock, or no monitor detected, to ease troubleshooting.

From Windows 10 RS1 (builds higher than 10586)
DisplayLink has been working with Microsoft to bring *native* DisplayLink USB graphics support in the OS. So this means a change of driver architecture, but now it will be a much lighter one. We don't care about the primary graphics card driver anymore because we have the right hooks in the OS. It also means we will be able to work with old computers upgraded to Windows 10 without proper Windows 10 graphics drivers (using the Microsoft basic driver) or the exotic semi-clone graphics card. You'll notice that your device using DisplayLink technology is also now in Device Manager in the Display adapters category.
The installation is also much better: no need to reboot even for first ever install.
8.0 M0 for Windows 10 Redstone has been published on Windows Update for Windows Insiders yesterday. It will deactivate 7.9.
Removing 7.9 before would be better. Unfortunately, because of the removal of the co-installers from Redstone, we cannot clean-up everything as the driver does not have access to the files! We are looking at ways to improve that.

Today, 7.9 M7 (build 7.9.1589.0) might work on some computers with RS1 builds. However, please do NOT deploy 7.9 on RS1 as a new WDDM 2.1 version is coming up and it will create problems.

When do you expect to roll out Windows 10 Redstone in your company?
Are you in the Current Business Branch?

Kind regards,
Alban

[atomicd10]

Hi Alban,

Thank you for the detailed response, I really appreciate it!

We won't be upgrading to Redstone anytime soon; we are still in the process of upgrading our firm to Windows 10 with our baseline being TH2.

Currently we have 7.9 M7 installed in our Win10 TH2 environment, and we appear to have an issue when upgrading to 8.0 M0. If 7.9 M7 is installed prior to the 8.0 M0 install, the active driver version remains at 7.9 (even after reboots) but if 8.0 M0 is installed onto a computer without any version of DisplayLink installed the driver version will be 8, so it appears that upgrading the driver in our environment doesn't seem to work. Note that the install logs in these upgrade scenarios indicate that it was installed correctly.

If there is a prior version of DisplayLink installed when upgrading to 8.0 M0 in Win10 TH2, do the prior DisplayLink drivers need to be uninstalled prior to installing 8.0 M0? We're really just looking for an upgrade path from 7.9 M7 to 8.0 M0 without requiring a reboot, if possible.

Thanks again for the information!

[AlbanRampon]

Hi Atomic,

The 7.9 should be removed by the 8.0 install.
If that doesn't work, then it's a bug for us to look at.

Could you please collect logs before you do the upgrade?
Also, can you indicate how was the 7.9 deployed and how you update to 8.0? (MSI, EXE, Windows Update, migration from Win7/8.1 to Win10 TH...).
We'd need to reproduce internally to find the reason and I think how was the initial version installed could have importance.

Thank you,
Alban

[atomicd10]

Thank you for the quick reply!

If possible, would you provide me with an email address or a secure location where the log files can be uploaded? There's somewhat sensitive enterprise information in these log files that I would prefer not be on the public Internet.

We use the 'corporate' DisplayLink MSI installer(s) in our environment.

In our Win10 TH2 environment, DisplayLink 7.9 M7 is installed using the following commands, with no other version of DisplayLink installed (happens right after the computer is imaged):

Step 1:
msiexec.exe /i "C:\somePath\DisplayLinkCore.msi" /l*v "C:\somePath\DisplayLinkCoreInstall.log" /q/n

Step 2 (waits for step 1 to complete before executing):
msiexec.exe /i "C:\somePath\Setup.msi" /l*v "C:\somePath\DisplayLinkSetupInstall.log" /q/n


The issue comes in with the upgrade in Win10 TH2 from 7.9 M7 to 8.0 M0 (also in Win10 TH2), where the install isn't removing the prior version or evidently utilizing the new driver (per Device Manager). If DisplayLink is not installed and the new driver is installed it appears to work as expected, however. Here's the command we use for the upgrade or a clean install for 8.0 M0:

msiexec.exe /i "C:\somePath\DisplayLink_Win7-10TH2.msi" /l*v "C:\somePath\DisplayLink_Install_8.0_M0.log" /q/n



Thanks,

- Andy

[AlbanRampon]

Hi Andy,
zip posted here can only be downloaded by DisplayLink employees.
But you can send this to technical_enquiries at ourdomain dot com referring to this thread. I haven't been dealing with tickets much lately so my colleague Wim is likely to pick it up.
I've just been made aware of an issue on the 8.0 M0 + 8.0 M1 corporate installer from our dev team and it may be related...
The scenario you are describing is part of our tests as it's the most basic upgrade path.
Thank you,
Alban

[AlbanRampon]

We have discovered an issue preventing the removal of 8.0 M0 and 8.0 M1 corporate installations or upgrading from them to other versions without the cleaner.

I have removed them from our website as I don't believe this is acceptable.

Once I have received your log files, I'll file a bug for that one as well.

[atomicd10]

Attached are the log files associated with a freshly imaged computer that had 7.9 M7 installed after it was imaged, and then once all of the MS updates and whatnot were installed the DisplayLink tool was executed to enable logging and the 8.0 M0 upgrade was performed.

In Device Manager what was interesting is that it showed the USB3 dock as having version 8 of the driver installed initially, but after a couple of minutes the driver version reverted back to 7.9 and remained at 7.9 even after a reboot. However, oddly the DisplayLink network driver remained at 8.0.

Note that the attached zip file has been encrypted; I will PM you the password.

Thank you for all of your help with this and for looking into this issue!

- Andy

[Kubam]

Hello Andy,
I suspect some interaction with Windows Update mechanism. Can I ask you try exactly the same scenario but without internet connection (or preferably any network connection)? Of course machine needs to be clean from DL drivers so please run cleaner before the tests. Without internet connection, WU mechanism will not work and we can see whether there is any interaction with it. Thanks in advance.
BR,
Kuba

[AlbanRampon]

Hi Andy,

We have the root cause... A bug in Windows Update (WU) for Win10 we reported about 1y ago!

Windows Update doesn't look at version but (signature) dates.
Because 7.9 M7 was signed after 8.0 M0, you install 8.0 M0 correctly but WU overwrites it.

Now we understand, I can safely redistribute 8.0 M1 which was signed after.
I will do this in a few hours and post a reply when done.

Thanks for your patience whilst we are looking into it!
Alban