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by Jason Zandri
www.2000trainers.com
Welcome to
this week’s installment of Learn Windows XP Professional in
15 minutes a week, the third in this series. This article
covers two additional installation methods of Windows XP
Professional, over the network installations and automated
installations using Windows Setup Manager.
Jason Zandri’s latest article in the Learning Windows XP Professional in 15 Minutes a Week series covers two additional installation methods of Windows XP Professional, over the network installations and automated installations using Windows Setup Manager.
I was
originally going to add sections for Upgrading from older
operating systems to Windows XP Professional and performing
RIS installations, but I have decided to defer those for the
next article, as I want to detail the network setup for a
RIS installation as well, and I would like another week to
finalize all the data I want to include.
Installing Windows XP
Professional over the Network
Before you
can begin a network installation of Windows XP Professional,
you need to copy the Windows XP Professional installation
files to a server, normally a file or distribution server,
and share out the directory so that people who need to
perform an over the network installation can attach to the
share. (These people will also need the proper level of
Folder and NTFS permissions to attach to the share.)
The
distribution server share will need to contain the
installation files from the I386 folder on the Windows XP
Professional CD-ROM.
From the target system, you connect to this shared directory
and then run the Setup program.
The target
system needs to be prepared ahead of time in order to be
successful with an over the network installation. First, you
need to create a FAT or FAT32 partition on the target
computer of at least 1.5 GB of disk space and format it
ahead of time, and you also need to either boot from a client
diskette that includes a network client that enables the
target computer to connect to the distribution server or
install the client directly to the local system hard drive
with some sort of system installed, such as formatting the
hard drive with a Windows 9x boot disk with the “s” switch.
(FORMAT
/S Copies system files to the formatted disk
to make a boot disk. This also works on a local hard drive.)
The
preferred method is to boot from a client diskette that
includes a network client that enables the target computer
to connect to the distribution server.
As we
continue from here, we will assume we are using the
preferred methods of installation. As variables come up, I
will mention them as a side note.
The Setup
program copies the installation files to the target
computer, which is why you need to create a FAT or FAT32
partition on the target computer of at least 1.5 GB of disk
space and format it ahead of time.
You begin
from the target computer by booting from a floppy disk that
includes a network client that can be used to connect to the
distribution server. Once the network client on the target
computer is started, you connect to the shared folder on the
distribution server that contains the Windows XP
Professional installation files and Run WINNT.EXE to start
the Setup program.
[NOTES
FROM THE FIELD] – WINNT.EXE is used for an installation
using MS-DOS or Windows 3.0 or later versions on the source
system. WINNT32.EXE is run for an installation using
Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Me,
Windows NT 4, or Windows 2000 Professional.
Running WINNT.EXE from the shared folder does creates the $Win_nt$.~ls
temporary folder on the target computer, and the Windows XP
Professional installation files are copied from the shared
folder on the distribution server to the $Win_nt$.~ls folder
on the target computer. Once all of the files are copied to
the target system, setup will reboot the local computer and
begin installing the Windows XP Professional operating
system.
[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] – WINNT.EXE and WINNT32.EXE can be modified by
using switches. I have outlined the available switches
below.
Modifying the Setup Process Using WINNT.EXE
switches
|
|
|
|
/a |
Enables accessibility options. |
|
/r[:folder] |
Specifies an optional folder to be copied and saved. The folder remains after Setup is finished. |
|
/rx[:folder] |
Specifies the optional folder to be copied. The folder is deleted after Setup is finished. |
|
/s[:sourcepath] |
Specifies the source location of Windows XP Professional files. This must be a full path x:[path] or servershare[path]. The default is the current folder location |
|
/t[:tempdrive] |
Specifies a drive to contain temporary setup files and directs the Setup program to install Windows XP Professional on that drive. If you do not specify a drive, Setup attempts to locate the drive with the most available space by default. |
|
/u[:script_file] |
Performs an unattended installation. (Requires the /s switch.) The answer file provides answers to some or all of the prompts that the end user normally responds to during Setup. |
|
/udf:id[,UDF_file] |
Indicates an identifier (id) that Setup uses to specify how a Uniqueness Database File (UDF) modifies an answer file. The /udf parameter overrides values in the answer file, and the identifier determines which values in the UDF file are used. If you do not specify a UDF_file, Setup prompts you to insert a disk that contains the $UNIQUE$.UDB file. |
Modifying the Setup Process Using
WINNT.EXE32 switches
|
|
|
|
/checkupgradeonly |
Checks your computer for upgrade compatibility for Windows XP Professional.
|
|
/cmd:command_line |
Specifies a specific command that Setup is to run. This command is run after the computer restarts and after Setup collects the necessary configuration information. |
|
/cmdcons |
Copies to the hard disk the files for the Recovery Console, which is used for repair and recovery as a Startup option after the Windows XP Professional installation has been completed. |
|
/copydir:foldername |
Creates an additional folder within the %systemroot% folder, which contains the Windows XP Professional system files. You can use the /copydir switch to create as many additional folders within the %systemroot% folder as you want. |
|
/copysource:foldername |
Creates an additional folder within the %systemroot% folder. Setup deletes folders created with /copysource after installation is complete. |
|
/debug[level] [:file_name] |
Creates a debug log at the specified level. By default, the debug log file is C:WINNT32.LOG and the default level is 2. Includes the following levels:
Each |
|
/dudisable |
Prevents Dynamic Update from running. Without Dynamic Updates, Setup runs only with the original Setup files. This option disables Dynamic Update even if you use an answer file and specify Dynamic Update options in that file. |
|
/dushare: pathname |
Specifies a share on which you previously downloaded Dynamic Update files from the Windows Update Web site. When run from your installation share and used with /prepareinstall, it prepares the updated files for use in network-based client installations. When used without /prepareinstall and run on a client, it specifies that the client installation will use the updated files on the share specified in pathname. |
|
/duprepare: pathname |
Prepares an installation share for use with Dynamic Update files that you downloaded from the Windows Update Web site. You can use this share for installing Windows XP Professional for multiple clients and it can only be used with /dushare). |
|
/m:foldername |
Instructs Setup to copy replacement files from an alternate location. Directs Setup to look in the alternate location first and, if files are present, to use them instead of the files from the default location. |
|
/makelocalsource |
Instructs Setup to copy all installation source files to the local hard disk. Use this switch when installing from a CD-ROM to provide installation files when the CD-ROM is not available later in the installation. |
|
/noreboot |
Prevents Setup from restarting the computer after completing the file-copy phase. |
|
/s:sourcepath |
Specifies the source location of Windows XP Professional installation files. To simultaneously copy files from multiple paths, use a separate /s switch for each source path. If you type multiple /s switches, the first location specified must be available or the installation will fail. You can use a maximum of eight /s switches. |
|
/syspart:[drive_letter] |
Copies Setup startup files to a hard disk and marks the drive as active. You can then install the drive in another computer. When you start that computer, Setup starts at the next phase. Using /syspart requires the /tempdrive switch. You can use syspart on computers running Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, or Windows 2000 Server. You cannot use it on computers running Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me. |
|
/tempdrive:drive_letter |
Places temporary files on the specified drive and installs Windows XP Professional on that drive. |
|
/unattend [number]: [answer_file] |
Performs an unattended installation. The answer file provides your custom specifications to Setup. If you don’t specify an answer file, all user settings are taken from the previous installation. You can specify the number of seconds between the time that Setup finishes copying the files and when it restarts with [number]. You can specify the number of seconds only on computers running Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4, or Windows 2000 that are upgrading to a newer version of Windows XP Professional. |
|
/udf:id[,udb_file] |
Indicates an identifier (id) that Setup uses to specify how a UDF modifies an answer file. The UDF file overrides values in the answer file, and the identifier determines which values in the UDF file are used. If you do not specify a UDF file, Setup prompts you to insert a disk that contains the $UNIQUE$.UDF file. |
For the most part, an over the
network installation of Windows XP Professional from this
point forward is almost perfectly identical to
installing Windows
XP Professional from a CD-ROM to a clean hard disk. For more
information, you can take a look at my article from last week.
