WinZip 9.0 SR1 repack for silent installation

This procedure describes how to build a self-contained, silent installer for WinZip 9.0 SR1 using 7‑Zip and StartX. The result is a single executable that can be deployed silently through software distribution tools.

Requirements

  • WinZip 9.0 SR1 (installed locally first)
  • 7‑Zip (for creating a solid archive)
  • StartX (console helper for minimized, waitable batch execution)

Overview

The process is:

  • Install WinZip normally to the default folder.
  • Create a batch file (SetupWinZip.cmd) that recreates the WinZip folder and copies all required files, then runs WinZip in silent setup mode.
  • Use 7‑Zip to compress the WinZip folder contents into a .7z archive.
  • Create a config.txt file to instruct the 7‑Zip SFX module to run the batch file via StartX.
  • Combine 7z.sfx, config.txt, and the .7z archive into a single self-extracting executable.

Step 1 – Install WinZip

Install WinZip 9.0 SR1 into the default directory:

  • Default path: C:\Program Files\WinZip

This folder will be used as the source for the repack.

Step 2 – Create the setup batch file

In the WinZip installation directory, create a batch file named SetupWinZip.cmd with the following contents:

:: Make Folder
MD "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"

:: Copy Files to Installation Folder
copy /y EXAMPLE.ZIP "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y FILE_ID.DIZ "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y LICENSE.TXT "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y ORDER.TXT "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y README.TXT "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y VENDOR.TXT "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WHATSNEW.TXT "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WINZIP.CHM "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WINZIP.TXT "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WINZIP32.EXE "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZ.COM "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZ.PIF "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZ32.DLL "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZCAB.DLL "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZCAB3.DLL "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZINST.CHM "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZPOPUP.HLP "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZQKPICK.EXE "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZQKSTRT.RTF "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZSEPE32.EXE "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZSHLEX1.DLL "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZSHLSTB.DLL "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZTUTOR.HLP "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZVINFO.DLL "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZWIZARD.CHM "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"
copy /y WZZPMAIL.DLL "%PROGRAMFILES%\Winzip"

:: Install Winzip
"%PROGRAMFILES%\winzip\winzip32.exe" /noqp /notip /autoinstall

This script recreates the WinZip folder on the target system, copies all required files, and then runs WinZip with silent installation switches.

Step 3 – Add StartX

Copy StartX.exe into the WinZip installation directory (the same folder that contains SetupWinZip.cmd). StartX will be used by the SFX to launch the batch file minimized and wait for completion.

Step 4 – Create the 7‑Zip archive

Using 7‑Zip, create an ultra-compressed archive of the entire WinZip folder contents (including SetupWinZip.cmd and StartX.exe):

  • Archive name (example): setup.7z
  • Compression method: Ultra (for smallest size)

The archive should contain all WinZip files plus:

  • SetupWinZip.cmd
  • StartX.exe

Step 5 – Create config.txt

In the same directory, create a config.txt file with the following content:

;!@Install@!UTF-8!
RunProgram="StartX.exe /MIN /WAIT SetupWinZip.cmd"
;!@InstallEnd@!

This tells the 7‑Zip SFX module to start StartX.exe minimized, wait for SetupWinZip.cmd to finish, and then exit.

Step 6 – Build the final SFX installer

Copy 7z.sfx into the same directory that now contains:

  • 7z.sfx
  • config.txt
  • setup.7z

From a command prompt in this directory, run:

copy /b 7z.sfx +config.txt +setup.7z WinZip90SR1.exe

This creates a single self-extracting installer named WinZip90SR1.exe that:

  • Extracts the archived files to a temporary location.
  • Uses StartX to run SetupWinZip.cmd silently.
  • Installs WinZip 9.0 SR1 without user interaction.

Usage

The resulting WinZip90SR1.exe can be deployed via software distribution tools or login scripts. No additional command-line switches are required, as the silent behavior is embedded through the SFX configuration and WinZip’s /autoinstall options.