08-XP Unattended Installation.pdf

XP Unattended Installation by MAZHAR IQBAL BUTT.1


Unattended installation of Windows XP is

a hands-free method of installing

Windows XP and convenient for system

administrators, original equipment

manufacturers (OEMs), value-added

resellers (VARs), users who install

Windows XP on many computers or who

frequently install Windows XP on the

same computer.


It is step by step Setup with all of

the information that the “End User”

is prompted to provide during a

typical Windows setup in a scripted

file called the answer file. The

answer file basically fills in the text

portion of the setup and can even

setup options.


Answer FilesAn unattended answer file is simply atext formatted file and its role is toprovide the setup process with the datait needs to complete the installation ofWindows XP Professional without havinga user type in the information.An answer file is made up of a number ofheadings, and under each heading arepairs of parameters and their assignedvalues.


REQUIREMENTS

1.At least one computer - One that has aWindows XP Operating System alreadyin place.

2.Windows XP CD - To retrieve the toolsyou are going to need.

3.One formatted floppy disk or otherStorage media - This is where we willput the finished answer file.


Put in Windows XP CD.

If autorun is enabled it shouldpop up the “Welcome toMicrosoft Windows XP”. In thiswindow you should see a set ofoptions. Here you want to select“Perform additional tasks”.

If autorun is disabled, you cansimply open “My Computer”.Then you will need to right clickon the drive you have yourWindows XP CD in and in thedrop down menu click on“Explore”.

This will allow you to view thecontents of the CD.


In the next set of optionsyou want select

“Browse this CD”.

You should now see thecontents of the CD.

Now openthe “Support” folderand thenthe “Tools” folder.


make a new folder on your desktop andextract the contents of A compressed filecalled “DEPLOY.CAB” to that folder.

We want “setupmgr.exe”.


Welcome to the Windows Setup Manager

This Wizard is going to take us through the optionsof creating the answer file.

Just click next here.


Create or Modifythe Answer File

Since this is firstanswer file, select“Create a new answerfile” and click next.

Once you havecreated an answer filesuccessfully, you canedit it with the SetupManager by selecting“Modify an existinganswer file” andproviding a path to it.


Types of answer files

Windows Unattended Installation - It uses setup scripts to

answer installation questions and to automate the Setup process.

This simplifies the installation of the operating system.

Sysprep Install (System Preparation Tool) - Disk imaging,

which is also known as cloning. This is a timesaving way to install

Windows XP on multiple computers that use identical or similar

hardware configurations.

Remote Installation Services (RIS) - Enables you to perform a

clean installation of Windows XP Professional on multiple

computers throughout a network. You can simultaneously deploy

the operating system on multiple clients from one or more remote

locations.


Choose the “Windows Unattended Installation” option


Windows PlatformVersion of Windows XP are you going to install(For Example, “Windows XP Professional”).


User Interaction during Windows Setup:

Fully automated - This option will not prompt you for any

information.

Provide defaults - This option will fill in the info you supply but

you will be able to change it if you choose to.

Hide Pages - This option does pretty much the same thing as the

fully automated with the exception of letting you see the Setup

Wizard.

Read only - This option does pretty much the same thing as the

“Provide defaults” option with the exception that you would not be

able to change any of the settings.

GUI Attended - This option only allows the text portion of the

Setup to be automated.


“Fully automated” option


Distribution Folder

Select “No” because wewill be installing from aCD.

(This has different furtherOptions).

If you wanted to installfrom a network share,you would choose tocreate a distributionfolder.

The distribution folderoption gives you theflexibility to add otherfiles as well, such asdrivers not found on theWindows XP CD.


License Agreement

We obviously can notforget about the LicenseAgreement.

We have to check thisnow because we will notbe seeing it during theinstall.


Customize Software

Now it’s time to input yourpersonal information.


Display Settings

Everyone is different when choosing displaysettings (which most commonly used). SelectWindows Default if not sure.


Time ZoneIn which Time Zone you are living.


Product Key

Put Product Key here.

Saving it to the answer file will automatically put it infor you.


Computer Names

If you plan to use your name as a user on thiscomputer it can’t be the same as the name here. Youcan also have the setup automatically generate thename by ticking the box at the bottom. If you plan touse the exact same setup on multiple computers thenyou would add their names here as well.

If you’re willing to accept computer names that followno pattern, you can allow Setup to create eachcomputer’s name on the fly by appending seeminglyrandom letters and numbers to the first few letters ofyour organization’s name.


When you enter multiple names during the setup process, SetupManager automatically generates the Uniqueness Database File(UDF) that is required to add those unique names to eachcomputer during setup.

If the administrator imports names from a text file, SetupManager converts each name to a Uniqueness Database File. Theadministrator can also set an option to generate unique computernames.


Administrator Password

If you don’t want someone to look at your answer fileto figure out what it is tic the Encrypt password box.

You can also specify the number of times it allows thecomputer to auto logon as the Administrator.

I choose “1” because there are certain settings Ichange that can only be done by being logged on as“Administrator”.

A user with administrative rights is not the same.

*Note - Automatic Logon does not work if the localadministrator password is encrypted in the answer file.



Networking Components

By default the Setup Manager includes the Microsoft NetworksClient, File and Printer Sharing, and TCP/IP. If you rather set thisup later, leave it at the typical settings.


TCP/IP Settings

To configure TCP/IPproperties in answer file, youmust create a unique answerfile for each computer youare setting up on yournetwork.


Workgroups and Domains

Add the name of the workgroup or server domainyour computer is going to be on if any.


Dial-Up Settings

To set up dialing options, do so here.


Regional Settings

By default this is set to English (United States).


Language Support

If you need Language support, do so here and clicknext.


Browser and Shell Settings

There are three choices, will use Default InternetExplorer settings is the only one we can use because theother two require a distribution folder to be made.

We chose to install from the CD instead.


Installation Folder


Install Printers


Run Once

The Run Once section set up the command to add the printer.


Additional Commands

This is an advanced feature. It allows you to havesetup install things that you would normally want toinstall right after Windows XP.

If you desire to venture into it and what it can do foryou, Creating a Combination Installation is an exampleof one way to use this.

This would require you to choose different options inthe setup manager than we did here. For this articlewe are going to leave it blank.

Now click Finish.



Save the Answer File

Now put in your formatted floppy disk into your A drive. Where itsays “Location and file name”, type in A:\winnt.sif.

It should look just like the image below. Since we are using theCD Boot method, we must name the answer file winnt.sif.

Click OK.


Setup Manager Complete

You have now created your first answer file. Here it is telling youthat it has created two files for you.

winnt.sif - This is the answer file

winnt.bat - You will also need this batch file on the floppy. Ittells the answer file where to find the files needed for WindowsSetup.


Execution of Unattended SetupNow Right click on your winnt.bat file and in the menuclick edit. This is a batch file. A batch file is a filecontaining instructions that are executed one after theother. Notice that in the batch file it tells you that itmay need to be modified. The batch file here says:

1. The answer file is winnt.sif2. Setup files are located on E:\ (My CD-ROM

Drive) in the I386 folder.3. Tells Setup to begin using winnt32 with a script

to tell it to use the unattended method.If you use this answer file on another computer youmay have to change the drive letter to whatever theCD-ROM is set at.E:\i386\winnt32 /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile%


FAST

TRACK

SOLUTIONS


Clean Installation of Windows XPProfessional

Windows XP will work best with at least a300 MHz Pentium II processor and128MB of RAM to operate, as well as1.5GB of available space.

A clean installation of Windows XPProfessional will take between 60 and 90minutes, depending on the hardware.


Performing an Upgrade to Windows XPProfessional

The following operating systems are supportedfor an upgrade installation:Windows98,Windows NT 4.0,Windows 2000Professional, and Windows XP HomeEdition.Windows 3.x,Windows 95,Windows NT3.1, 3.5, 3.51, and Windows for Workstationsare not supported for an update, so a cleaninstall will be required for these systems.

Use the Dynamic Update feature during thesetup process for update setup files fromMicrosoft’s Web site.


Network Installation of Windows XPProfessional

The network installation of Windows XPProfessional works just like the CD installation,and the installation steps will parallel those ofthe clean or upgrade installation.

The simplest way to prepare for a networkinstallation of Windows XP Professional is tocreate a network share and copy the i386folder from the Windows XP Professional CD tothe share.


Automating the Windows XP ProfessionalSetup

The Winnt.exe and Winnt32.exe programs areused to run setup from DOS and Windowscommand prompts, respectively.

A network distribution point is required for theautomated setup.The distribution point is anetwork share that includes the contents ofthe /i386 folder, as well as a number ofoptional subfolders that can contain additionalfiles needed for the setup process.


An unattended answer file is simply aformatted text file to provide the setupprocess with the data it needs to complete theinstallation of Windows XP Professional withouthaving a user type in the information.

The Sysprep tool prepares a computer disk tobe imaged and copied to another disk. It isresponsible for assigning a new SID to thetarget computer once the new image has beenapplied. Use a Sysprep answer file, calledSysprep.inf, to provide answers to thequestions posed by the mini-setup afterdeploying a Sysprep image.

Documents

08-XP Unattended Installation.pdf