At 09:00 AM 2/18/01 -0800, you wrote:
>There is a file (don't have its name) which Win98
>will use as a script if it exists.
>
>Anyone have the name/contents of this file?
>
>~~Garry
It's called msbatch.inf but you can use any name you like if you specify
the name. If the setup finds a file named msbatch.inf in the setup
directory it will use it automatically. By using this file, and certain
switches, the setup can be run without any user interaction except perhaps
to remove the floppy disk after the boot seqence is finished.
One could set the setup command in the autoexec.bat file on the floppy disk
pointing to the msbatch.inf file located perhaps also on that floppy, an
example, presuming that cdrom is located as the second drive on the system,
normally d: but now e: because of the ramdrive:
e:\setup /IE /IS /NF /IW a:\msbatch.inf
This assumes the computer is a blank, formatted, win98 capable
machine. The switches mean:
/IE skip the startup disk screen, that is, don't make a boot floppy during
setup
/IS don't run scandisk before starting the installation
/NF Don't stop to prompt the user to remove the boot floppy (user better be
on his toes and do this after the installation begins)
/IW do not display the License Agreement dialog box
The msbatch.inf file should include the license key among other things. By
using the above switches and a properly configured .inf file one can setup
and install a computer just by booting to the right floppy and the only
further interaction is to remove the floppy after it executes setup.
To create the msbatch.inf:
You must have a "model computer" with win98 already installed, that is, a
computer with the same hardware setup as the target computer/s. Install
Microsoft Batch 98 (Batch.exe) by running Setup.exe from the
\Tools\Reskit\Batch directory on the win98 cd.
On the start menu, point to Programs, then click Microsoft Batch 98.
Click "Gather now" on the msBatch98 screen to retrieve registry information
from the model computer. When it's done, the status bar will display
"complete"
Use the system settings to customize the settings (poke around and
experiment to get the setup all customized for you)
Click Save settings to INF to save to the screips.
Use this script in your installation.
An example of using this is to create one from your current installation of
win98 so that if you must reformat and reinstall your system, it will
install it the way you like and automagically in the future.
Also, a cute little flaw in the process: no matter how often you insist
that you DON'T want "online services" included, it WILL shove the crap on
your machine. Tick the box off as much as you like, those stupid things
will keep coming back. Go figger. I just delete the shortcuts and the
folder in the directory tree and get on with my life.
Now that win2k is all the rage in the "hip" computer circles, is this stuff
at least marginally within the reach of this list, or have I just irritated
a LOT of you with this long post? Hope it was interesting.
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