Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) Silent Install (How-To Guide)

Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) is a desktop client that enables Microsoft customers to troubleshoot and diagnose their issues. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) from the command line using the EXE installer.

How to Install the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant Silently

Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) Silent Install (EXE)

  1. Navigate to: https://aka.ms/SaRANetworkInstallFiles
  2. Download the SaRA_x_y_z.zip to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  3. Extract the SaRA_x_y_z.zip to “C:\Downloads”
  4. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  5. Navigate to the “C:\Downloads\SaRA_x_y_z” folder
  6. Enter the following command: SaraSetup.exe /q
  7. Press Enter

After a few moments you should see the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant
Vendor:Microsoft Corporation
Architecture:x86
Installer Type:EXE
Silent Install Switch:SaraSetup.exe /q
Silent Uninstall Switch:See Uninstall Section Below
Download Link:https://aka.ms/SaRANetworkInstallFiles
PowerShell Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/microsoft-support-and-recovery-assistant-sara-install-and-uninstall-powershell/
Detection Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/create-a-custom-detection-script-for-the-microsoft-support-and-recovery-assistant-sara-powershell/

The information above provides a quick overview of the software title, vendor, silent install, and silent uninstall switches. The download links provided take you directly to the vendors website. Continue reading if you are interested in additional details and configurations.


Additional Configurations

Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) – Cannot Start Application Fix

  • If you receive the following message “Application cannot be started. Contact the application vendor.” when launching the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA)
  • Click the Details… button and you will see that access to the temp directory path is denied.
  • You can fix the issue by deleting the following temp folder: “%LocalAppData%\Temp\Deployment”
  • Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  • Enter the following command:
RMDIR /Q /S "%LocalAppData%\Temp\Deployment"

How to Uninstall the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) Silently

Check out the following posts for a scripted solution:

Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) Install and Uninstall (PowerShell)
Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) Silent Uninstall (PowerShell)

Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) Silent Uninstall

ClickOnce Applications require some sort of scripting to automate uninstalls as there are no “command-line switches” like the vast majority of other applications. Below is a PowerShell script that will automate the uninstall of the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant. Note: This script must be run as the User and will NOT work if trying to run as the SYSTEM account. This is a limitation of the ClickOnce Applications.

$SaRA = Get-ChildItem "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" | ForEach { Get-ItemProperty $_.PSPath } | ? { $_ -match "Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant" } | Select UninstallString

If ($SaRA) {
$SaRA = $SaRA.UninstallString
$SaRA = $SaRA.Trim()

$Wshell = New-Object -ComObject Wscript.Shell;
$Wshell.run($SaRA)
$Wshell.AppActivate('Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant Maintenance')
While (-not $Wshell.AppActivate('Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant Maintenance')) 
{
Start-Sleep -Seconds 1
$Wshell.AppActivate('Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant Maintenance')
}

$Wshell.SendKeys('+{TAB}')
$Wshell.Sendkeys('+{TAB}')
$Wshell.Sendkeys('{DOWN}')
$Wshell.Sendkeys('{TAB}')
$Wshell.Sendkeys('~')
}

Always make sure to test everything in a development environment prior to implementing anything into production. The information in this article is provided “As Is” without warranty of any kind.

Jason Bergner

I am an accomplished Software Engineer at Patch My PC, leveraging more than 18 years of hands-on experience in Configuration Manager administration and application packaging. I am driven by a genuine passion for solving complex problems and consistently strive to discover innovative and effective solutions. Sharing my extensive knowledge of application deployments is a true joy for me, and I am honored to contribute to the community here at Silent Install HQ.

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