I've found a solution! =) In short, this persistent "blinking cursor"
problem was resolved by ensuring that the number of Cylinders on the install
partition was less than 1024. Read on for the details.
Right before the Windows installation rebooted for the first time after
copying the Windows setup files from the Unattended server to the
destination machine, I noticed a warning message displayed for a very split
second:
WARNING: using suspect partition ... with calculated values ~2000-255-63
instead of 509-254-63
Partition ID does not suggest LBA
Please run FDISK to correct this using LBA to access partition.
This warning message describes cylinder, sector, and head information for
the install partition and is applying the BIOS-detected parameters rather
than the LBA specified ones required. Below are the steps I performed that
got this warning message, and in turn, my "blinking cursor" problem to
disappear:
*Step 1 - Windows FDISK*
1. Use Darik's Boot & Nuke (http://dban.sourceforge.net/) or *dd
if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda* to zero out the installation hard disk. This
is to make sure there's nothing left behind that will conflict with the
following steps. *Don't skip this step*.
2. Create a Windows boot floppy containing the Windows-based FDISK
utility. I had a Windows ME (*shudder*) boot disk kicking about, so this
is what was used in my case.
3. Boot from the Windows boot floppy and select the *Minimal
Boot*option. You will see an A:\ prompt.
4. Type *fdisk* at the A:\ prompt to launch the FDISK utility.
Enable large disk support? N
Select 1) Create DOS partition or Logical DOS drive.
Select 1) Create Primary DOS Partition.
(*verifying drive integrity...)*
Use maximum size available for a Primary DOS Partition and make the
partition active? Y
(*verifying drive integrity...)*
You must restart the system for changes to take effect.
5. Hit the ESC key and remove the boot floppy. Press CTRL + ALT + DEL to
reboot the system.
*Step 2 - GParted
*
1. Boot with a GParted LiveCD.
GParted will show an Unknown filesystem of 2GB with a warning icon
indicating the absence of a filesystem.
2. Right-click on the unknown partition, and from the context menu that
appears, select *Format To --> fat32
*
3. Apply the pending operation.
4. Right-click and use the context menu again to set the flags to *boot,
lba*
5. Close GParted but do not exit the LiveCD quite yet. Let's verify our
work.
6. Double-click the terminal icon on the desktop to bring up a bash
prompt.
$ *fdisk /dev/sda1* (replace sda1 with the correct name for your
partition. eg hda1)
(command) *p* (this will print out the partition table)
Disk /dev/sda1 2145MB
128 heads, 32 sectors/track, 1022 cylinders
Units=cylinders of 4096 * 512 = 2097152 bytes.
The key is that the cylinders are less than 1024!
(command) *q* (to quit)
$ *reboot*
*Step 3 - Proceed with Unattended
*
1. Now you can proceed with the Unattended install, with the following
exceptions. During the Unattended setup, make sure you respond to these
prompts accordingly:
Choose the partitioning scheme *1) Do Nothing
*Format C: drive *Y
*Replace Master Boot Record *Y
*
2. Watch as the partition warning messages disappear and the Unattended
install continue with glee =)
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