Autodesk 2026 apps do not install during OSD

[richardhughesQZ2BT]

Hello,

Autodesk 2026 apps no longer install using Installer.exe during SCCM OSD Task Sequence, despite 2025 apps working flawlessly. The same command line works outside of OSD or after reboot, but fails mid-TS silently. We've confirmed even the 2025 Installer.exe cannot run 2026 packages successfully in OSD, indicating an architectural change or broken silent/offline compatibility. Is Autodesk aware of this change?

Regards,

Richard

[joaquim.moral]

Hi @richardhughe,
Thanks for participating in the Community!

Can you please share a little more information about your issue, such as a screenshot or a recording? What is your OS and version?

Thanks!

[richardhughesQZ2BT]

Hi Joaquim,

Thanks for your reply.

This issue occurs during SCCM OSD Task Sequences, specifically during the post-OS phase while the system is running under the SYSTEM account context with no logged-in user.

To clarify:

• Autodesk 2025 applications installed successfully during OSD using Installer.exe with the following command line: Installer.exe -i deploy --offline_mode -q Collection.xml

• The same structure and command line fails silently when used with Autodesk 2026 packages during OSD.

• We’ve tested this across Windows 10 22H2 and Windows 11 24H2 Task Sequence in both MDT-integrated and standalone SCCM environments.

We have also:

• Mounted the WIM directly (we compress the install package into a WIM file) in OSD and called Install.cmd inside the mounted structure (same method used successfully for 2025).

• Verified that Installer.exe 2026 launches, but hangs or exits with code 4 inside the Task Sequence.

• Attempted to inject environment variables (APPDATA, LOCALAPPDATA, USERPROFILE, etc.) to simulate a user shell — no success.

• Tried launching explorer.exe or GUI fallback methods (ServiceUI.exe attached to TSProgressUI.exe) to simulate HWND presence - no effect.

• Tried copying the packaged version of Autodesk 20206 products locally to the device inside the OSD environment and manually running the install batch file.

• Tried patching and launching the MSI directly (after removing NOT RunningFromSetup from the LaunchCondition table) — the MSI still fails inside OSD, despite installing fine post-OS with explorer.exe running.

• Also tested using the 2025 version of Installer.exe to run 2026 packages - this also hangs during OSD, confirming it's not just the 2026 binary.

All methods consistently fail unless the installation is deferred until after the task sequence completes, when the system has a full user shell or interactive session. At that point, the exact same Installer.exe command works flawlessly.

Interestingly, AutoCAD 2026 and 3ds Max 2026 appear to install successfully during OSD if we use the setup.exe provided by the “Install Download” option on the Autodesk website, and include that in the deployment package. However, this workaround does not seem to work with other applications - particularly Inventor Professional 2026.0.1, which continues to fail mid-TS using either Installer.exe or the extracted MSI.

This strongly suggests a significant change in how Installer.exe (or ODIS) behaves in 2026 deployments, requiring shell APIs or a session environment not available under SYSTEM during OSD.

We’d appreciate clarification on whether this is an intentional architectural change in Autodesk 2026 deployments - and if so, whether there are plans to restore OSD compatibility for enterprise deployment pipelines that rely on task sequence-based automation.

I would be happy to provide logs but no logs appear to be getting generated, other than one line "Deployment started...".

Regards,
Richard

[Simon_Weel]

There's a switch missing:

Installer.exe -i deploy --offline_mode -q -o Collection.xml

I noticed a silent install fails completely when a single part isn't installed correctly. If you use --ui_mode basic it will present you a window about the problematic part which with a bit of luck can be 'repaired' on the fly. Don't know if you can use that with SCCM...

[richardhughesQZ2BT]

Hi Simon,

Thank you for getting back to me, really appreciate that. Unfortunately, I did have the -o switch in there originally, but later removed it as part of testing. Either with or without, the installer.exe runs in the background with other processes like downloadmanager.exe, etc. but nothing ever appears in C:\Program Files, the Autodesk folder isn't even created. The only things I see appear is ODIS related stuff inside the C:\ProgramData directory. That appears when the install is started from the batch file.

I tried manually installing ODIS whilst inside OSD and that installed successfully without any problems. I then tried running the install batch file again but like usual, Installer.exe runs in the background as if it's hung and nothing happens. No log output of any errors, nothing in Program Files.

Quite stuck with this, not sure where to go from here when I can't find any log files to troubleshoot. Nothing is recorded in the Windows event logs either.

Cheers,

Richard

[Simon_Weel]

 but nothing ever appears in C:\Program Files, the Autodesk folder isn't even created.

Ah, yes, I posted about this a while back. I experience the same thing; the installer starts and nothing happens. Except the fake progress indicator counting up to 98% and then stalling for eternity. I haven't figured out what's wrong at that point. The log files indicate a process is waiting for a handle pipe that isn't there. In the end, I created a second script that's kicked off by the installer script. It waits for 5 minutes and then checks if there's a folder or files created. If not, kill all the install processes and restart the installation. This can take a LONG time for everything to get installed.

Another user pointed out a 'solution' by hitting the Cancel button (--ui_mode basic) and then click 'No' for the question if you really want to stop the installer. That somehow triggers the installer to actually start installing stuff.

The people at Autodesk wanted to investigate the problem in a remote access session, but I already spent way too much time tackling this problem. I supplied them with all the logs collected with the log collector, so my thought was that should be sufficient to figure out what's causing this idle state. Apparently not....

[schluet99]

I am experiencing the same issue with all of my Autodesk 2026 application batch files.   Worked fine in 2025 and earlier versions.   Would like to get this working in my task sequence again.   Hopefully Autodesk can come up with a solution.

[lokajita.saravananQM9YN]

Hi richardhughesQZ2BT,

Thank you for the detailed summary and additional information.

There has been a change in how the Autodesk 2026 Installer.exe behaves during deployment. Beginning with the 2026 release, the Autodesk deployment framework (ODIS) has adopted a more interactive approach, requiring a user session or shell environment to function correctly. This includes dependency on certain shell-related APIs and environment variables that are not present in SYSTEM-context installations typical of SCCM OSD Task Sequences.

As a result, deploying 2026 products using Installer.exe During the post-OS phase, under SYSTEM context is no longer supported. This change is by design, and currently, there is no documented workaround or flag to override this behavior within ODIS. Recommendations going forward:

• We recommend scheduling the Autodesk 2026 installations after the OSD task sequence has completed, ideally during first logon or through a post-OS deployment tool that runs in user context.
• For scenarios requiring zero-touch automation, consider using startup scripts via GPO or scheduled tasks triggered at first boot with Run only when user is logged on enabled.
• While setup.exe The “Install Download” method may still work for some products (e.g., AutoCAD, 3ds Max), this path is not officially supported for all products, like Inventor, and inconsistencies are expected.

[richardhughesQZ2BT]

Many thanks for your reply.

Our organisation has now spent many, many hours troubleshooting the issue over the last week and a half trying to work out if some other factor was at play or not.

As an educational institution who deploys the latest versions of many Autodesk products to our classrooms over the summer period, the inability to deploy this with zero-touch silently greatly increases the time and resources needed for us to get this out in our estate of around 3000 windows devices. By not having these in the OSD task sequence, we now have to set aside an additional sweep of these machines. Additionally, as it is the summer, our machines are not in use by customers so by having to have a logged in user, we have to manually have an individual log into all those machines where we have a limited number of human resources.

The first time we'd expect all these machines to be powered on and used again will be our first day of Inductions where we'd expect all 3000 machines to be used and by default, that software would deploy at 9am on a Monday morning. This, as you would imagine would place strain on our network and domain/SCCM infrastructure and would require splitting that workload across a longer time span (at a time where customers might be looking for this). We don't want to indicate that any performance related issues are down to Autodesk software.

Whilst you've indicated that a workaround might work for some of the products, we'd ask that you review supporting deployments that we can fully automate once more.

Many thanks for your consideration of this and hopefully this is something that Autodesk and the team working around packaging and deployment can reconsider.

Regards,

Richard

[Simon_Weel]

@lokajita.saravananQM9YN : It doesn't show a date, so I wonder - is the information on this page still relevant / correct? Installation Help | Using Microsoft Configuration Manager to deploy and manage Autodesk products | A...

[schluet99]

Not being able to include Autodesk 2026 applications in our task sequences is really frustrating.   We have started imaging our technology computers/laptops and to have to go back and touch everyone of these devices again to install Autodesk applications is time consuming and unproductive.   I am not sure of the reason to change the installer.exe, but I am sure many of us would appreciate if Autodesk could come up with a solution to allow us to include this in our task sequences as we have always done.  Is there any plans on Autodesk's part to consider this request? I see your work arounds, or suggestions in reply to Richard, but each one of those is time consuming and will require additional work on our end to install and confirm installation.   Please let us know if something can be done to again allow us to utilize the task sequence when deploying Autodesk 2026 applications.   Thank you.

[lokajita.saravananQM9YN]

Hello @richardhughesQZ2BT ,

Thanks so much for your detailed reply.

I completely understand how challenging this situation is, especially during the summer when your team is working hard to prepare all the machines for the new academic year. I can see how not being able to silently deploy the software creates extra work, especially with such a large number of devices and limited staff on hand.

You've explained the impact well, and I will share your feedback with our internal teams who handle packaging and deployment. I agree that being able to fully automate this process would make a big difference, but there are many factors to consider as well, and your input helps us understand the real challenges faced by institutions like yours.

While I can’t promise immediate changes, I can assure you that as Autodesk, we will certainly assist our customers to the best of our ability and address our customers' concerns

Thanks again for sharing your concerns so clearly, and please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help. Please feel free to mark the "Accept Solution" if you believe your issue has been resolved.

Regards, 

Lokajita Saravanan

[lokajita.saravananQM9YN]

Hello @Simon_Weel,

You're right on the part that there isn’t a visible date on that page. However, to the best of my knowledge, it's a dynamic page that gets updated as needed.

However, the information provided there is current and still relevant for deploying and managing Autodesk products using Microsoft Configuration Manager.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any specific concerns or questions about the content—I’ll be happy to help!

Best regards,
Lokajita Saravanan

[lokajita.saravananQM9YN]

Hello @schluet99,

While I can’t promise immediate changes, I can assure you that as Autodesk, we will certainly assist our customers to the best of our ability and address our customers' concerns

[chank]

I have a question: Did you create your command line script for SCCM based on the deployment batch file? It should look something like this:

"<deployment directory>\image\Installer.exe" -i deploy --offline_mode --ui_mode basic -o "<deployment directory>\image\Collection.xml" --installer_version "2.15.0.546"

[schluet99]

I used the batch file that autodesk deployment created for me.

rem ========== Install the deployment silently ==========
\\directory\image\Installer.exe" -i deploy --offline_mode -q -o "\\directory\image\Collection.xml" --installer_version "2.15.0.546"

[mwittsto]

This happened a few years ago and Autodesk Support had to fix the installs -- this appears to ONLY be happening with Revit 2026, all versions.  The install works if you choose the install out of the SCCM Software Center but will NOT install on a required push that uses the SYSTEM account.  Please look back a few years ago and see what you did to fix....

[mwittsto]

These recommendations don't make ANY sense, please investigate why all of your 2026 apps work fine in SCCM but Revit.  We don't give our students the ability to install apps on our student lab systems.  

[richardhughesQZ2BT]

Hello,

I think there is more than one problem here. Others report that some of the 2026 apps work fine in SCCM, but they haven't mentioned if this is post-deployment via Software Centre or deployed during OSD in the SYSTEM context. For me, none of the 2026 apps install during OSD in the SYSTEM context but install fine via post-deployment.

Every year, we have the same problems with Autodesk packages not installing under the SYSTEM context and we either have to find a way to "botch" it to make it work or wait for Autodesk to update the installers. This is incredibly frustrating and it seems like Autodesk are now using AI for creating responses to this thread, as the responses show as 100% AI generated text when tested? This really questions my trust on the accuracy of what is actually being said in this thread from Autodesk employees...

Richard

[Simon_Weel]

This really questions my trust on the accuracy of what is actually being said in this thread from Autodesk employees...

Don't worry - the contribution of Autodesk employees in these forums is scarce 🙂

The validity of AI-generated answers is indeed questionable. And it will only get worse, since the AI answer of company x is fed into the AI of company y, so you get some sort of feedback loop where AI is training AI....

Back to the topic at hand - compared to the 'old' installer, the ODIS installer is lacking in features, reliability and usability. Autodesk is promising enhancements for years now, but I won't hold my breath for those to materialize....

Talking about AI, this is what it says when I query about the ODIS road map:

Autodesk's On-Demand Install Service (ODIS) roadmap focuses on improving the installation and deployment experience for Autodesk products. It aims to streamline the process, ensuring access to the latest product versions and enabling a connected workflow within the Autodesk ecosystem. 

Key aspects of the ODIS roadmap include:

• Integration with Deployment Workflows:

  ODIS is being integrated into deployment images to simplify the process for system administrators. 
• Improved Installation and Updates:

  ODIS replaces the classic installer, providing a new installation experience that includes faster downloads and installs. 
• Connection to Autodesk Ecosystem:

  ODIS facilitates interaction with cloud services, mobile apps, and other desktop software, supporting a connected workflow. 
• Security and Compatibility:

  ODIS helps ensure proper updates and product compatibility, while also addressing security vulnerabilities. 
• Removal of Autodesk Access:

  Version 2 of ODIS, released in February 2024, separates Autodesk Access from ODIS in deployment images. 

Specific actions related to ODIS:

• Updating ODIS:

  Users may need to update ODIS to the latest version to resolve installation issues or ensure compatibility. 
• Silent Installation:

  ODIS can be installed silently using the command line, which is helpful for deployments. 
• Uninstallation:

  ODIS can be uninstalled and reinstalled to address issues or when updating to a new version. 
• Troubleshooting:

  Specific troubleshooting steps, such as using RemoveODIS.exe, are available for resolving installation problems. 

In essence, ODIS is a core component of Autodesk's strategy to modernize its installation and deployment processes, enhance the user experience, and maintain a secure and connected platform for its products.