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Don Scroggins
Travis Tirey
Aaron Wasson
Local Advanced Unattended install
After our last project, “Local Unattended Install of Windows XP Professional”, we decided to expand on the functionality of the install. The goal was to add device drivers, network connectivity (including file and print services), and critical updates including service packs. The following is the process we followed and the tools we used along the way.
Items needed for this project
Windows XP Pro CD
A computer that is already running Windows XP Professional
CD-Burner and burning software to create a slipstreamed CD
.NET framework v1.1
nLite v0.98.8 beta (or later)
XP Service pack 2 network install & Hot fixes
XP Service pack 2 Deployment tools
Time: +/- 2 hour
You can download the files you need from:
Both .NET framework and nLite
http://nuhi.msfn.org/download.html
XP SP2 http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/winxpsp2.msp
SP2 deployment tools
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=3E90DC91-AC56-4665-949B-BEDA3080E0F6&displaylang=en
Hot Fixes
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=31886
It should be noted that the system you are going to do the unattended install on must support booting from CD-ROM. The system must also adhere to the El-Torinto non-emulation specification. For more information about this standard please see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/167685/EN-US/.
Preparation
There are several steps to take in preparation of making a slipstreamed CD. This section discusses the process of installation for the tools that will be used to do the slipstreaming.
Extracting SP2 Deployment tools
The file containing the SP2 deployment tools is in .zip format. You will need
double click on it to view its contents. At this point you can select “select all” from the
edit menu and then choose extract. You will be prompt for a path to extract to, such
as c:\deploy.
Installing .NET Framework
Installing the .NET framework is a straight forward process. Double click on the
File (dotnetfx.exe) and follow directions on the screen.
NOTE: .NET framework MUST be installed before nLite
Installing nLite
Installing the .NET framework is a straight forward process. Double click on the
File (nlite-0.98.8bi.exe) and follow the directions on the screen.
Creating a directory structure.
To keep things organized, it is necessary to create a directory structure and place files
that will be used in their respective directories. The following is how we chose to set our
up.
Create a directory on C:\ called working. This will be the parent directory and all
the files will go under respective directories under this one. We then created the
following subdirectories.
XP_Source – contains unaltered copy of you Windows XP CD
XP_CD – will contain your modified (slipstreamed) copy
XP_SP2 – contains the Service pack 2 network installation file
XP_Hotfixes – contains any hot fixes you would like to implement
XP_Drivers – contains any 3rd party drivers you need to install
Now you are ready to copy files to their directories. First you will want to copy files from you Windows XP CD to the c:\working\XP_Source CD.
Copy the contents of XP_Source to C:\working\XP_CD.
Copy Service pack 2 file (WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe) to c:\working\XP_SP2
Download the hot fixes into c:\working\XP_Hotfixes
Copy any 3rd party drivers (.inf files) you need installed to c:\working\XP_Drivers.
Slipstreaming using nLite
You are now prepared to use nLite. This program is used to slipstream
All your service packs, hot fixes, and drivers, and create an ISO of the slipstream
so it can be burned to CD and used. While you can also use nLite to create an winnt.sif
answer file, we highly recommend using setupmgr.exe. setupmgr.exe allows more customization
options.
Step 1. Start nLite
When prompted choose your language and select next
On the integration screen put a check next to Service pack, Drivers, hot fixes, and
create a bootable ISO.
Step 2 location of windows installation files
Select browse and find your c:\working\XP_CD directory.
Step 3 Integrate a service pack.
Choose select and locate
c:\working\XP_SP2\WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe.
Wait for integration to complete then select ok, then next.
Step 4 Integrate drivers
Select insert. Find c:\working\XP_Drivers.
Single click on first file then hold down shift key and single click
On last file. This will allow you to select all the files in the folder.
Click ok.
Step 5 Integrate Hot fixes
Select insert. Find c:\working\XP_Hotfixes
Single click on first file then hold down shift key and single click
On last file. This will allow you to select all the files in the folder.
Click ok, then next. When ask select Yes to apply changes.
At this point it will ask you to create a bootable ISO. DO NOT do so at this point.
Select next, then finish. Now you are ready to create the winnt.sif with setupmgr.exe.
Creating the winnt.sif answer file.
Navigate to where you extracted your SP2 deployment tools (ex c:\deploy) and
run setupmgr.exe.
Step 1. Type of answer file
You should now be ask if you want to create a new or modify an existing answer
File. Select “Create new”.
You’ll be doing an “unattended install”
You’re making this file for Windows XP Professional.
“Fully automated” type of install
Distribution share should be “setup from CD”.
Check box next to accept license.
Step 2. Input system specific information
Now you are being presented with a screen that ask for information that is
relevant to your system. Thus you will need to input your specific information.
NOTE: be sure to set colors and screen area. Leaving these at default will stop the
unattended install and ask about display resolution.
We also recommend encrypting the administrator password for security as
the answer file is plain text.
If you aren’t using DHCP you can customize your network settings as well as join
a domain or workgroup.
When you have completed the settings for this screen, you will be ask for a file
name and where to save it. You want to save it to:
c:\working\XP_CD\i386\winnt.sif.
Step 3 Modifying winnt.sif
In the last step you created a basic answer file. To get
it to work properly however you must add several lines to the
[Unattended] section of the file. Specifically you need to add:
Repartition=Yes
Filesystem=NTFS
UnattendSwitch=yes
WaitForReboot=No
The order is relevant so we are posting our [Unattended] section.
[Unattended]
Repartition=Yes
Filesystem=NTFS
UnattendMode=FullUnattended
UnattendSwitch=yes
OemSkipEula=Yes
OemPreinstall=Yes
WaitForReboot=No
TargetPath=\WINDOWS
After you have completed these changes, save the file
Making a bootable ISO using nLite.
Now that you’ve got your answer file created and slipstreaming
complete, you are ready to create a bootable ISO image you will burn to CD.
Start nLite and select your language.
Uncheck checkmarks next to everything except “create a bootable ISO.”
Make sure location of windows installation files is set to c:\working\XP_CD.
click “Make ISO” and select a name and location of where to save the ISO.
When ISO compilation is complete click next and finish.
What to do with an ISO
Now that you have an ISO you have several options. If you have VMWare you can mount the image as a CD and test it. We haven’t tried this option so can’t elaborate or give directions on the procedures. If you’re interested in this option, check out http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=28005
We burn the Image to CD. There are many programs out there to do this but we have chosen to use Alcohol 120%. A free trial of this software can be obtained at:
http://www.alcohol-soft.com/
Burning an ISO with Alcohol is simple. Select “Image burning wizard”, find the file you wish to burn, click next and start. Within a few minutes you will have a Windows XP installation
CD with everything you need to quick restore your system.
More advanced options such as silently installing applications can also be accomplished by placing applications in a folder called $OEM$ and creating scripts. This procedure is beyond the scope of this document but more information can be found at: http://unattended.msfn.org/xp/oemfolders.htm
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