Windows in the Enterprise: How to create an automated CD installation of Windows XP with Windows PE

[searchWindowsManageability]

Title: Windows in the Enterprise: Best of MyITForum

September 02, 2004 Published by  TechTarget Windows in the Enterprise: Best of MyITForum SPONSORED BY:  SearchCIO.com Product and Vendor Guide If you would like to research the latest information and vendor listings about systems management including availability, performance, problem management and more, look no further. SearchCIO.com has condensed this information and enables you to research and communicate with vendors all in one easy to browse location, visit today! Click Here How to create an automated CD installation of Windows XP with Windows PE [ by Brian Tucker, Contributor ] Almost every organization will deploy Windows XP at some point. Although there are several ways to standardize the deployment, why not create a CD image with all the installation answers? By following certain deployment techniques, administrators will be able to automatically install Windows XP Professional using a custom Winnt.sif answer file, which is embedded into the CD. The answer file is also customizable, adding greater flexibility. The instructions below will create an ISO image -- a duplicate copy of a complete CD-ROM disk saved in International Standards Organization (ISO)-9660 file format -- that can be configured to work with almost any CD writing software that allows the creation of bootable CDs. How to create a custom answer file Insert the Windows XP Professional CD into your workstation. User Explorer to navigate to the supportTools folder on the Windows XP CD. Right click the Deploy.cab folder and export the files to a new folder on the C:partition. Use Explorer to browse and execute the Setupmgr.exe file in the folder you exported the Deploy.cab files. To create the custom Winnt.sif file and the ISO image, follow the list of steps below. 1. Click Next. 2. Click Next to create a new answer file. 3. Choose the Windows Unattended Installation radio button. Click Next. 4. Choose Windows XP Professional. Click Next. 5. Choose Fully Automated. Click Next. 6. Choose No. Click Next. 7. Accept the agreement. Click Next. 8. Enter the name and organization names. Click Next. 9. Change the colors to 24 bit and the screen area to 800 x 600 (or whatever size you desire). Click Next. 10. Accept the default time zone. Click Next. 11. Enter the product key as required. Click Next. 12. Enter a unique computer name and click add. Click Next. 13. Enter the password you want the local workstation administrator account to have. Do not check mark to encrypt the admin password. If you do, you will be unable to change the password without having to make a new answer file. Click Next. 14. Since all new workstations will be serviced by Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), choose the typical settings by default. Click Next. 15. Enter the domain name and add the user account authorized to add workstations to the domain. Click Next. 16. Enter the country name. Do not add area codes or a dialing prefix. Click Next. 17. Click Next. 18. Do not choose Language Groups. Click Next. 19. Windows 2000 Group Policy will configure all browser settings. Click Next. 20. Click Next. 21. Do not add a network printer at this time. Click Next. 22. Click Next. 23. Click Next. 24. Click OK. The default location is the folder that Setupmgr.exe is in. 25. The Setup Manager completes, but does not clear the screen. Click on the small x at the top right of the window to exit. 26. Rename the Unattend.txt file to ?Winnt.sif.? You must name the file ?Winnt.sif.? Windows XP will not read the file if named something else. 27. Open the Winnt.sif file with Notepad. To see the unattended and data sections of the Winnt.sif, go to http://myitforum.techtarget.com/img/arts/9818sms1.gif. You must modify the lines in your Winnt.sif file to match the unattended and data sections in this document. The lines in the data section are required in order for the installation to read from the Winnt.sif. How to use the answer file 1. Create a new folder on your workstation. Copy all the contents from the Windows XP CD to the new folder. 2. Copy the Winnt.sif file into the Windows XP i386 directory. 3. Copy the contents of the Windows PE disk to the hard drive. 4. Enter the command as shown below. To view the command line and required switches, http://myitforum.techtarget.com/img/arts/9820sms.gif. Note: The command line you type may be different. The program looks for the E: path from which to compile the ISO. The ISO is created in the C: path and given a name of your choice. 5. Once the oscdimg.exe application finishes, use a third-party CD burning application to use the .ISO file you created. This article first appeared in myITforum, the premier online destination for IT professionals responsible for managing their corporations' Microsoft Windows systems. The centerpiece of myITforum.com is a collection of member forums where IT professionals actively exchange technical tips, share their expertise, and download utilities that help them better manage their Windows environments, specifically Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS). It is part of the TechTarget network of Web sites. To register for the site and sign up for the myITforum daily newsletter, click here. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Brian Tucker has been in the IT industry for nine years and specializes in Microsoft Back Office applications. Working with SMS for seven years, Brian is currently involved in a SMS 2003 deployment for a large health-care organization in St. Louis. Brian is available for consulting projects nationwide and can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED] MORE INFO:  >  Windows XP: Automating deployment using Sysprep  >  Using Remote Installation Service to deploy Windows images, part 1  >  Using Remote Installation Service to deploy Windows images, part 2  >  Using Remote Installation Service to deploy Windows Images, part 3 Contact Us Sales For sales inquiries, please contact us at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Editorial For feedback about any of our articles or to send us your article ideas, please contact us at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Free E-Newsletters! Select e-newsletters you would like to receive via e-mail! SearchWin2000: Tips from our experts Not a Member? We'll activate your membership with your subscription. ABOUT THIS E-NEWSLETTER This e-newsletter is published by TechTarget, the most targeted IT media and events company. Copyright 2004 TechTarget. All rights reserved. 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