Overview of Unattended Installation

Unattended installations are commonly used to perform bulk installations with minimal user intervention. Unattended installations are particularly useful if you are:

Upgrading a Windows operating system to Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition; Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition; or Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition operating systems.

Performing automated installations on computers that have heterogeneous hardware configurations.

Performing automated installations on specific types of servers, such as domain controllers, remote access servers, and servers that run Certificate Services or the Cluster service.

Configuring a wide range of operating system settings during an automated installation without using batch files and scripts.

In addition to these deployment solutions, unattended installa 13113e413n tion is a useful method of creating master installations for image-based and RIS installations.

As a deployment solution, unattended installation requires substantial up-front planning and design. This chapter is designed to help IT professionals in medium and large organizations plan and design an unattended installa 13113e413n tion. It is assumed that you have already read "Choosing an Automated Installation Method" in this book. It is also assumed that you have designed the client and server configurations that you want to deploy in your organization. This includes designing the configuration of all networking, directory services, and security components. You will use this client and server design information throughout this chapter to customize your unattended installation. When you finish the planning and design work described in this chapter, you will be ready to perform an unattended installation.

Unattended Installation Design Process

Planning and designing an unattended installation involves a design team and a deployment team. The design team is responsible for assessing your current environment, deciding whether
to upgrade or to perform clean installations, and designing the overall deployment process, including the distribution mechanism, preinstallation tasks, and automated installation and
post-installation tasks. The deployment team is responsible for implementing all design decisions, including creating answer files, distribution shares, and startup media. The steps
in this decision-making process are shown in Figure 2. .

Figure 2.    Designing Unattended Installations

Unattended Installation Fundamentals

To perform an unattended installation, you first create an answer file - a text file that contains answers to the questions that Windows Setup normally prompts you for during an installation. An answer file also can contain instructions for configuring operating system settings and installing applications without user intervention. After you configure your answer file, you typically create a distribution share - a folder that contains the Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003 installation files, as well as any device drivers or other files that are required to customize the installation. A distribution share uses a hierarchical folder structure
that is similar to the one used on computers running Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP Professional, and is typically stored on a server to which your destination computers can connect and retrieve copies of the files during an unattended installation.

After you have created an answer file and a distribution share, you are ready to start an unattended installation on a destination computer. To do this, you must run one of two Windows Setup programs: Winnt.exe or Winnt32.exe. Winnt.exe runs on 16-bit operating systems, including Microsoft MS-DOS , Microsoft Windows 3.1, and Microsoft Windows for Workgroups operating systems. Winnt32.exe is used on 32-bit operating systems, including Microsoft Windows  95, Microsoft Windows  98, Microsoft Windows  Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows NT , Microsoft Windows  2000, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. Usually, you start the destination computer with a floppy disk that has been formatted as an MS-DOS startup disk, an operating system CD, or the existing operating system that is on the computer's hard disk. Depending on the operating system that is running on the destination computer, you then run either Winnt.exe or Winnt32.exe.

When you run Winnt.exe or Winnt32.exe to perform an unattended installation, you specify various command-line parameters. For example, you specify the name of the answer file you want Setup to use, and the location of the distribution share that contains the installation files. You also can specify various options, including whether to use Dynamic Update, whether to install Emergency Management Services, or whether to install the Recovery Console. Setup then runs and carries out all of the instructions specified in the answer file.

New in Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional

Several answer file headings and entries are new for Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional. In addition, some headings and entries have been modified, and some headings
and entries found in earlier versions of Windows no longer apply to Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional. For more information about answer file changes, see "Changes in Answer Files" in Microsoft Windows Corporate Deployment Tools User's Guide (Deploy.chm). Deploy.chm is included in the Deploy.cab file in the Support folder on the Windows Server 2003 operating system CD.

Unattended Installation Terms and Definitions

The following key terms are associated with unattended installa 13113e413n tions.

A program that creates answer files and distribution shares for unattended installations. Setup Manager (Setupmgr.exe) is included in the Deploy.cab file in the Support folder on the Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003 operating system CDs.

The default name of the answer file that you use to automate Windows Setup during an unattended installation. Unattend.txt contains headings and parameters that instruct Setup to perform various configuration tasks.

The name you give Unattend.txt when you perform an unattended installation by using the operating system CD instead of a distribution share.

A configurable text file that you use to customize an unattended installation. Cmdlines.txt contains a list of commands that run synchronously after Setup finishes, but before a computer restarts. Cmdlines.txt can exist on the destination computer's hard disk or on a floppy disk, and must be specified in the [Unattended] section of Unattend.txt or Winnt.sif.

A section in your answer file that is used to customize an unattended installation. The [GUIRunOnce] section contains a list of commands that run synchronously after a destination computer is started for the first time and a user logs on.

A wizard that is a subset of Windows Setup. Mini-Setup provides prompts for user-specific information, configures operating system settings, and detects new hardware. You can automate Mini-Setup by using a Sysprep.inf answer file.

The first of the three stages of Setup, where the Windows program files and
any additional files specified are copied to the computer's hard disk.

The second of the three stages of Setup, during which Setup determines the basic hardware of the computer (CPU, motherboard, hard disk controllers, file systems, and memory), installs the base operating system necessary to continue, and creates specified folders.

The third of the three stages of Setup, during which Setup configures the computer's hardware and network settings, prompts you to provide an Administrator password, and allows you to customize the installation.