Logging of an application install

I am trying to code a VBScript that will record line by line in notepad (txt file) what an application is doing. For example, when I run "Install.exe", I want the script to monitor what files were dropped and what location they were placed in...
I figured I could do something like this with FileMon, but I'd rather have a script that I can easily edit out and replace the "install.exe" file with various others to see where the exe installs files to.

So far I was thinking I could use the >> command to get it to feed line by line in a text file, but that doesnt seem to work. An added note, the file is an exe, which when decompressed runs an MSI file that will actually do the installation of files.

Impossible to do? Better off in another language?
As always, I appreciate your help.

...Can you tell I am trying to set up something for automation? :)

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I figured I could do something like this with FileMon, but I'd rather have a script that I can easily edit out and replace the "install.exe" file with various others to see where the exe installs files to.

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Why is it different from editting the Filter in Filemon?

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How FileMon Works

For the Windows 9x driver, the heart of FileMon is in the virtual device driver, Filevxd.vxd. It is dynamically loaded, and in its initialization it installs a file system filter via the VxD service, IFSMGR_InstallFileSystemApiHook, to insert itself onto the call chain of all file system requests. On Windows NT the heart of FileMon is a file system driver that creates and attaches filter device objects to target file system device objects so that FileMon will see all IRPs and FastIO requests directed at drives. When FileMon sees an open, create or close call, it updates an internal hash table that serves as the mapping between internal file handles and file path names. Whenever it sees calls that are handle based, it looks up the handle in the hash table to obtain the full name for display. If a handle-based access references a file opened before FileMon started, FileMon will fail to find the mapping in its hash table and will simply present the handle's value instead.

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As far as I know that bolded statement isn't possible in VB(script)..


NB Most installers (can) create a logfile with all the information you need..

The reason I dont want to use Filemon is it is too "powerful" letting me know when things are opened, when files are closed etc. I want it to be more like this file was placed in x directory...
MSI installers will show what files were placed, but again it is too verbose and records way too many things. This app should be fairly simple and dumb.

In our Win98 days, Veritisoft made a program called "Remove IT" , that did that very thing. Don't know if they are still around. But I still have the 2 floppies...lol

Found it! The Quarterdeck Company bought it from Veritsoft: Here

cheers.

Son of a .....
From QuarterDeck to Verisoft to Symantec to dead product :(
Cough cough...torrent a copy of the program :) LOL jk
Cant seem to find it in my short amount of time searching

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Originally posted here by wildred
MSI installers will show what files were placed, but again it is too verbose and records way too many things.

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Make it easier on yourself and create a program that's able to filter these logs. That should be relatively easy. KISS my friend..