Availability: This article describes the MSI installer for portier Vision from version 5.5.0 onwards. Older versions use the NSIS installer with different parameters; see section at the end.
From version 5.5.0 onwards, portier Vision is delivered as a signed MSI package. This allows Vision to be distributed using standard Windows tools: Group Policy (GPO), Microsoft Intune, SCCM/MECM, PDQ Deploy, or a PowerShell/batch script via msiexec. Per machine installation goes to C:\Program Files (x86)\portier\Vision; upgrades from older MSI versions are automatically detected and replaced.
The package holds more than the Vision application. It installs three executables, PortierVision.exe, companion_services.exe and services.exe, plus a presets bundle for personnel mapping.
The MSI also registers two things in Windows.
A scheduled task. The bundled script Register-CompanionTask.ps1 registers it in Task Scheduler. It starts companion_services.exe, which runs the Companion's scheduled background work: reminder emails, Entra ID sync, exports and data retention cleanup.
An event source in the Windows Event Log, which Vision writes its messages under.
Both appear on every machine that receives the package. Account for them before you roll out through Intune or SCCM.
The MSI always installs all components. Individual component selection is no longer available. The component flags from the NSIS installer (/vision=, /firebird=, /reports=) are discontinued without replacement; if carried over from old scripts, they have no effect.
Standard command for unattended installation:
msiexec /i PortierVision-5.5.0.msi /qn /norestart/i: installation
/qn: no UI, no dialogs
/norestart: suppresses automatic restart
Local administrator rights are required because the MSI is installed per-machine.
The target path can be set on a fresh machine via the INSTALLFOLDER property:
msiexec /i PortierVision-5.5.0.msi /qn /norestart INSTALLFOLDER="D:\portier\Vision"Important: If a Vision installation already exists on the machine (whether MSI or legacy NSIS installation), the installer reads the existing path from HKCU\Software\portier\Vision\InstallPath or HKLM\Software\portier\Vision\InstallPath and overwrites any INSTALLFOLDER value from the command line. This is intentional: upgrades stay in place. If you want to change the path, you must uninstall first.
The MSI sets up no database connection. On a fresh machine the connection has to be set once, either in the Companion's database configuration or by shipping the prepared INI file with your software distribution. On an upgrade, an existing connection is kept.
If your Vision installation runs on SQL Server, ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server has to be registered on every machine. Firebird needs no ODBC driver.
The msiexec return code only tells you the package ran through. 0 is success, 3010 is success with a pending restart. Three checks show whether the installation landed completely.
Application present:
Test-Path "C:\Program Files (x86)\portier\Vision\PortierVision.exe"Scheduled task registered:
Get-ScheduledTask | Where-Object { $_.TaskName -like "ortier" -or $_.TaskPath -like "ortier" }Event source created:
Get-ChildItem "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\Application" | Where-Object PSChildName -like "ortier"Every setup writes HKLM\Software\portier\Vision\UpdateMode = Auto. If you want to suppress the built-in auto-updater because your software distribution manages updates centrally, set the value via GPO or Intune policy to Managed or Notify. The group policy is reapplied after MSI installation and overwrites the value.
Details on the three modes: Automatic updates for portier Vision.
For detailed installation logging:
msiexec /i PortierVision-5.5.0.msi /qn /norestart /l*v "C:\Temp\vision-install.log"/l*v logs all messages including verbose output. If you encounter errors in software distribution, this file is your first point of contact.
If the original MSI file is available:
msiexec /x PortierVision-5.5.0.msi /qn /norestartWithout the MSI file, read the product code from the uninstall registry and pass it:
$entry = Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* |
Where-Object DisplayName -eq 'PortierVision' | Select-Object -First 1
if ($entry) {
Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList "/x $($entry.PSChildName) /qn /norestart" -Wait
}Do not use Get-WmiObject Win32_Product or Get-CimInstance Win32_Product: this class triggers a Windows Installer consistency check across all installed MSIs and often takes several minutes per machine.
The UpgradeCode {3F8A6B2D-4E17-4F9C-8A5B-2C6D1E3F4A7B} remains constant across versions. The ProductCode (which is needed for msiexec /x) changes with each version and is found in the uninstall registry under PSChildName.
Run the same three checks from "Verify the installation" after an uninstall. That shows you on your own image what was removed and what your deployment tooling still has to clean up. The database itself is never touched by the MSI.
Running a newer MSI version over an existing installation is a major upgrade: the MSI first removes the old version (including a graceful stop of a running PortierVision.exe via the Windows Restart Manager) and then installs the new version. No separate uninstallation is required. User settings in the registry and database connections are retained.
After each reinstallation or major upgrade installation, the MSI automatically starts PortierVision.exe in the context of the logged-in user. In an unattended rollout via Intune or SCCM in the SYSTEM context without a logged-in user, this start runs silently in the background. If, on the other hand, the MSI is run interactively under an admin account or via script on a workstation with an active user session, Vision opens immediately after completion. This behavior cannot currently be suppressed via an MSI parameter; plan rollouts accordingly for times when machines are not actively in use.
msiexec /fa PortierVision-5.5.0.msi /qn/f = repair, a = reinstall all files. Useful after a corrupted installation.
Versions before 5.5.0 use an NSIS installer (SetupPortierVision_X.Y.Z.exe). The silent parameters are /S (silent), /D=<path> (without quotes) as well as component flags /vision=, /firebird=, /reports=. For new rollouts, you should switch to 5.5.0 or newer to have all standard MSI tools available.