Installing Windows Servers

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This page provides a concise but yet deep step-by-step instructions to automate installation of Microsoft Windows 2008, 2003, 2000, with links to other tips, tricks, and tweaks.

Minimum Configurations

For a standard server:

• Pentium 133 with ACPI system BIOS available after Jan. 1999.
• 256 MB RAM
• 2 GB HD (1.2 GB free) (Windows will not install if there is less than 850 MB).

Winnt32.exe checks for free space before copying
[DiskSpaceRequirements] are in Dosnet.inf

• CDROM or DVD, keyboard, mouse
• Pagefile

  Note: "RAM disk" is NOT an installation procedure.

  Windows 2000 Pro's stated requirement is 650MB disk space, but more is needed for temporary files and setup files.

Microsoft's Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit Supplement One was once online has lots of well-illustrated reading!

Cramsession's notes for Microsoft's Windows 2000 Server and Professional exams are excellent because they include convenient links to Microsoft's Knowledge Base.

The Windows2000 FAQ at LabMice.com

Follow these 10 steps when setting up a new PC

Upgrading

Strategies

• The Directory Services client software on Windows 9x and Windows NT 4.0 Workstation computers provides some of the advantages of Windows 2000 Active Directory.
• A great reason to upgrade from NT4 to Windows 2000 and Active Directory is not having to maintain two-way trust relationships between domains, which can be time-consuming for a large international network.
• A clean install is much more reliable approach, so don't upgrade production servers.
• Microsoft's separate SMS (System Management Services) product automates installation and upgrades of applications.
• To migrate from NT4, you can upgrade in-place or restructure for Active Directory features.

  Caveats

• Windows 2000 Server can only be converted from NT4 and NT 3.51, not NT4 Enterprise Server nor NT 3.1 nor Windows 9x.
• Dual boot is not supported for Windows NT4 and Windows 2000 on the same (C:) partition disk storage unit.
• Windows 2000 Professional does NOT support RAID-5 volumes.
• Some manufacturers may provide migration DLLs.
• To convert from FAT16 to FAT32, you must reformat the partition.
• A reinstall is necessary to upgrade Windows 2000 Server to Windows 2000 Advanced Server.
• Unlike NT4, a reinstall is NOT required to promote a member server to a domain controller.
  dcpromo

Precautionary Steps

1. Use Microsoft's Readiness Analyzer to identify known software and hardware incompatibilities. (Where x: is the Windows 2000 installation CD-ROM):
   x:/Winnt32.exe /checkupgradeonly
   Run on Windows 9x, this generates file %windir%\UPGRADE.TXT. Run on Windows NT, this generates file %systemroot%\WINNT32.LOG. This is not a substitute for application functionality testing.
2. Upgrade network client computers before upgrading domain controllers.
3. Have at least one BDC in each domain. This prevents the domain from being orphaned if you lose a PDC during upgrade.
4. Immediately before performing the upgrade, take clients offline and synchronize the BDC's.
5. Take one BDC on the domain off-line to preserve the SAM database.
6. Conduct a full backup, then test restore from backups on a machine to make sure that you can.
7. Create an Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) before and after upgrades to more quickly recover the system partition.
8. Start with the forest root, which is automatically the first domain controller installed.
9. In a dual-boot system, first install the OLDEST OS (Windows 98) in the C:\ drive, then NEWEST OS (Windows 2000).

Win98 to Win2K Upgrade at The Tech Guide

Microsoft sites:

Windows 2000 upgrade site.

Windows 2000 Pro Deployment Guide describes use of SMS for installation.

Harware Compatibility List (HCL)

Software Compatibility List

For experienced NT4 pros taking the Accelerated 70-240 exam, Microsoft offers Course 1560 - Updating Support Skills from Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 to Microsoft Windows 2000

Webcasts:

Dual Boot Considerations with Windows 2000

Migrating Windows 95 and Windows 98 to Windows 2000

Migrating to Windows 2000

Preparations (of Ingredients)

What to do before sitting down in front of the server:

Machine Names

How many servers and what are the names of the servers? A medium sized shop would typically have:
• An internal file server inside the DMZ to handle intranet traffic. Conversion from NT4 would involve at least a PDC and BDC's.
• An external web server outside the DMZ to handle customer activity.

Most organizations use a pattern to naming servers consistently. Using real country and city names may cause confusion later. Because Windows creates one pool of alias from both computer names and user names, use different naming schemes for computer and user names. Otherwise, you may get this message from the Service Control Manager on boot-up:

The Messenger service terminated with service-specific error 2270

Static IP Addresses

What is the IP address of your DHCP, Gateway, WINS, Exchange and other servers? Servers must have static IP addresses, not dynamic addresses issued by DHCP.

To list descriptions of TCP/IP /adapters on a machine (and whether each is DHCP Enabled), run this from the Resource Kit:

Cscript "listadapters.vbs"

Domain Names

What is the existing internal and external domain name?

NWLink

Installing a NetWare requires Frame type (default 802.3), Network Number, and Internal Network Number.

Static DNS Root Name and Addresses

The first domain controller is also called the "root" server. This role cannot be dynamically transferred to another machine.

Therefore, a DNS server, gateway server, and/or proxy (accelleration) server must be installed before member servers. Before a server is promoted to be a domain controller, the DNS server must exist or it will install DNS services on the server.

Backup device/media

Rather than installing on top of the existing drive, I prefer completely removing the existing drive and installing a new hard drive. This makes for instant fall-back. The price for a hard drive and the time savings is almost equivalent to a backup media.

Backing up data

International Settings and Localized Versions

All versions of Windows 2000 provide multilingual editing, viewing, and printing capability. To enable the Multilingual Editing and Viewing feature of the English Version to allow users to edit, view, and print information in more than 60 languages, check the "Language Settings For The System" box. To support Greek language system settings, the Greek language group must be installed from the installation CD-ROM. This requires a restart.

For Native Language Support (NLS), install an edition of a Translated Version from separate CD's.

The MultiLanguage Version of Windows 2000 Professional allows the user to dynamically switch among the user interface language. Predefined language schemes define locale information. elect any installed language. However, all 16-bit code, bitmaps, registry keys, values, folders, and filenames are not localized. To install language setting files, use the Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version Setup utility:

MUISETUP.EXE

Special Keyboards

Special keyboards are available for some languages (such as French).

Microsoft Keyboard Tricks

Microsoft on BIOS Compatibility and Windows 2000 (Microsoft's Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer is no longer available.)

To prepare for the 51 questions in the 120 minutes Microsoft MCP/MCSE/MCDBA Exam 70-215 - Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server, Microsoft offers Course 2152 - Implementing Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional and Server

Certify Express's Links to exam resources

Techmaster's Windows 2000 Dumps

ITForum on Windows 2000

Russ Cooper's Windows NT/2000 magazine

ActiveWin offers up-to-date content such as bug fixes in the next Service Pack.

Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

• Q250297 How to Prepare to Upgrade Windows 95 or Windows 98
• Q249334 Troubleshooting DVD Problems in Windows 2000
• Q259741 Black Screen with No Cursor During Upgrade from Windows 95/98
• Q252725 Upgrading to Windows 2000 Causes Invalid Page Fault in Kernel32
• Q240672 Setup Does Not Check for INT-13 Extensions
• Q238835 Err Msg: Internal Setup Data Structures Are Corrupted
• Q254986 How to Troubleshoot Unknown Devices Listed in Device Manager
• Q243996 How to Enable Verbose Logging in Windows 2000 GUI-Mode Setup
• Q252500 Ntbackup.exe May Cause 100 Percent CPU Utilization

  Install Windows 2008 Step-by-Step

  Dan DiNicolo's article on Installing Windows 2000 Professional

Drivers

The three types of drivers are:
• vendor-supplied device drivers.
• generic device drivers for modems and disk drives; and
• standard Plug and Play device drivers for PC Cards, such as Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) version 5. x drivers for network adapters and miniport drivers for Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) cards; To support Plug and Play capability, Windows 2000 creates a unique device ID called the Card Information Structure (CIS) before installs a driver to support the PC card.

Windows 2000 supports CardBus 32-bit PC Card controllers for high-bandwidth I/O operations such as video image playback. Within the Add/Remove Hardware Wizard, PC Card cards and slots are listed within the PCMCIA Adapters category because that's their legacy.

CHKUPGRD.EXE can no longer be downloaded from Microsoft???

Memory

To see how much memory a machine has installed, right-click “My Computer” and select Properties. Here's a translation table:

Store	Properties
128 MB	130,548 KB RAM
256 MB	261,684 KB RAM

To display properties of objProc objects in WBEMClass "Win32_Processor", run this from the Resource Kit:

Cscript "processor.vbs"

Name                = Intel Celeron processor
Current Voltage     = 33
Device ID           = CPU0
cpu Status          = 1
Data Width          = 32
Current Clock Speed = 499
L2 Cache Size       = 128
Level               = 6
Ext(ernal) Clock    = 83

To display properties of objMBOI objects in WBEMClass "Win32_MotherboardDevice", run this from the Resource Kit:

Cscript "motherboard.vbs"

Name = Motherboard
Device ID = Motherboard
Primary Bus Type = PCI
Secondary Bus Type = ISA

To display properties of objCache objects in WBEMClass "Win32_CacheMemory", the Size and Error Correction type used by your Cache, run this from the Resource Kit:

Cscript "Cacheinfo.vbs"

Name               = Cache Memory
Error Correct Type = Unknown
Location           = Internal
Max Cache Size     = 32

Name               = Cache Memory
Error Correct Type = Unknown
Location           = External
Max Cache Size     = 2048

CDROM Drives

To display properties of objInst objects in WBEMClass "Win32_CDRomDrive", information about your CDROM drives, run this from the Resource Kit:
Cscript "cdromdrives.vbs"

Manufacturer:               (Standard CD-ROM drives)
Description:                CD-ROM Drive
Drive:                      G:
Status:                     OK
Media Loaded:               No
Volume Name:
Volume Serial Number:
Maximum Component Length:
Device ID:                  IDE\CDROMPIONEER_CD-ROM_DR ... 
PNP Device ID:
SCSI Target Id:             0
Drive Integrity:            
Config Manager Error Code:  0
Config Manager User Config: False
Creation Class Name:        Win32_CDROMDrive

To display properties of objIRQ objects in WBEMClass "Win32_IRQResource", run this from the Resource Kit:

Cscript "IRQRes.vbs"

Name = IRQ9
IRQ Number = 9
Hardware = True

Hard Disks

Unlike NT4, which required a pre-existing FAT partition, Windows 2000 can be installed onto unformatted hard disks.

To display properties of objInst objects in WBEMClass "Win32_DiskDrive", run this from the Resource Kit:

Cscript "drives.vbs"

Description:        QUANTUM FIREBALLP LM20.5:   Disk drive
Status:             OK
Media Loaded:       Yes
Partitions:         2
System Name:        WILSON
Manufacturer:       (Standard disk drives) QUANTUM 
Model:              FIREBALLP LM20.5
Size:               20,546,749,440
Total Cylinders:    2,498
Total Heads    :    255
Total Sectors:      40,130,370
Total Tracks:       636,990
Sectors Per Track:  63
Tracks Per Cylinder:255
Bytes Per Sector:   512
Name:               \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE0
Creation Class Name:Win32_DiskDrive

To display properties from a query of WBEMClass "Win32_LogicalDisk", the capacity of drives, run this from the Resource Kit:

Cscript "listspace.vbs"

DeviceID          Size
  A:         1,457,664  bytes
  C:    10,273,341,440  bytes
  D:     3,076,218,880  bytes
  E:    10,263,298,048  bytes
  F:     7,150,190,592  bytes
  G:       630,411,264  bytes
  H:     not available 

To display properties of objects in WBEMClass "Win32_LogicalDisk", the free space available on drives, run this from the Resource Kit:

Cscript "listfreespace.vbs"

DeviceID     FreeSpace
  A:         1,270,272  bytes
  C:     2,695,028,736  bytes
  D:     2,660,216,832  bytes
  E:     2,571,280,384  bytes
  F:     1,809,567,744  bytes
  G:     not available 
  H:     not available 

My extensive notes on Hard Disks

Dan DiNicolo's article on Managing Disks - Part 1 and Part 2

Web server SSL Certificate

If you're setting up a secure web server, you'll need a 128-bit certificate from VeriSign, GlobalSign, or Thawte to process https traffic. Verisign's SGC (Server Gated Cryptography) certificate upgrades 56 bit browsers to 128 bit.

Cookie Encryption Certificate

If you store data in cookie files on user machines, they need to be encrypted before storage and decrypted on retrieval. Software which implements this feature uses an Entrust encryption certificate.

Personal Email Encryption S/MIME Certificate

If you want to send secure email on a new workstation, you need to export the certificate from your old machine to a backup medium, then import it in your new machine. First, have an encrypted emailed to you so you can use it to install your recipient's public key. This only works with Outlook and does NOT work with Hotmail.

Thawte Guides to Securing ...
Your Web Site For Business and
Your Microsoft IIS Web Server with a Thawte Digital Certificate

Microsoft's "Where to Get Your Digital ID"

BIOS Settings

There are several BIOS manufacturers on the market. Each of them offer a different BIOS configuration program. If you have an AMD BIOS, press Del right after you power-up your machine.

To display internal info about the BIOS on your machine, run this from the Resource Kit:

Cscript "Checkbios.vbs"

Set BIOS USB settings

USB CD-ROM may be used for installation. USB devices must be enabled in the BIOS for Windows to list them in Device Manager.

Enable BIOS Plug-and-Play

To avoid installation problems on Gateway and some other OEM computers, press F8 or Del immediately after power-up to enable the BIOS to detect plug-and-play settings.

Set BIOS Boot Sequence

For fastest boot-up, my favorite is "C:, CDROM, A:". This is the fastest.

To Display Bus Name, Num, Type, for each Device ID for your local machine, run this from the Resource Kit:

Cscript "Bus.vbs"

Introduction to Microsoft Windows 98 Safe Mode and Clean Boot Troubleshooting, June 14, 2000

From Activewin's excellent Step-by-Step Guides:
Software Installation and Maintenance
Installing a Windows 2000 Server as a Domain Controller
Installing a Windows 2000 Professional Workstation and Connecting it to a Domain

Alternatives for Automating Installations

• Bootable Diskettes is the most labor intensive approach. (MsDosInitiated="1". Other methods are specified with MsDosInitiated ="0")

• Boot-up from a hard drive containing an existing OS (to upgrade using a copy of the I386 folder)
• Boot-up from Network if you have a DNS server specially configured and images prepared on another machine.
• Boot-up from CD This should be done only if you have created a bootable CD after slipstreaming the latest Service Pack.
• SMS
• RIS (Remote Installation Service)
• Disk Image restore (using Norton Ghost, Powerquest, or best yet, $49 Acronis True Image)

There are two versions of the Windows 2000 setup program:
WINNT.EXE for upgrading from Windows 9x
WINNT32.EXE.

To install on dissimilar hardware, use the /Syspart parameter to WINNT32.EXE. It specifies the file copy phase of setup to be performed not on computers targeted for installation, but to a physical secondary drive's primary partition with no OS installed on the reference computer. The /tempdrive parameter specifies where $WIN_NT$.~LS.

Automated Deployment Options: An Overview

Syspart and sysprep can be used together.

I386, Slipstreaming, and Hotfixes

The files used to install Windows is in the I386 folder on install CDs from Microsoft.

Before use, this folder needs to be Slipstreamed with the lastest Service Pack — SP3 (124 MB file w2ksp3.exe) — Microsoft's Windows 2000 Downloads site.

To slipstream a Service Pack into the I386 folder:

UPDATE -s:distribution_folder

The distribution_folder in most shops is a share to a folder on a machine containing Windows 2000 source files. This machine should be protected to avoid propagating viruses. If multiple languages are managed, I386 may be subfolders under "EN-US" and others.

Slipstreaming updates a Layout.inf file which points to the correct location of system and setup files, such as the service pack distribution location. Also maintained are files dosnet.inf, txtsetup.sif, and a new driver.cab file.

Hotfix (Security Update) files are copied into the I386 folders.

Unlike NT4, Windows 2000 does not require reinstall of Service Packs after a new service (such as RAS) is installed.

Slipstreaming SP2 into Win2K

Installing Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 Hotfixes

Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack Installation and Deployment Guide

Microsoft's Corporate Windows Update site offers a search for specific Windows and WHQL hardware drivers.

The Service Pack Manager 2000.

The Windows XP Update Service uses Network (not LAN) connections to a Microsoft website. It uses port standard TCP 80 outbound but TCP ports 4700-4799 inbound on the negotiated return.

Manual Diskette Installation

Make Boot-up Diskettes

If your CD is NOT bootable, create a set of 4 boot-up diskettes on another computer Use one of the two programs on the MAKEBOOT folder within the setup CD of any Windows 2000 product. Where x: is the CD drive:
c:> x:
x:> cd \bootdisk
x:> makebt32 a:

Disk #1 is bootable and contains CD drivers.

You will get the following message if you use setup diskettes created with makeboot.exe instead of makebt32.exe on a machine with Windows 9x OS already installed:

File \ntkrnlmp.exe could not be loaded
The error code is 7

Bootup diskettes for Windows (especially Millenium) version

Windows 2000, The Setup Process (Overview) by David Morgan

Windows 2000: Current Setup Issues by Robert Smith

Install Windows 2000 Support Tools

Windows 2000 Support Tools in Support.cab are installed by running either the Setup.exe or Windows Installer 2000rkst.msi from the \Support\Tools folder of the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit CD.

This does not extract files in Deploy.cab, which include:

• Setupmgr.exe to create simple answer files.
• setupmgrx.dll
• sysprep.exe
• setupcl.exe
• Unattend.doc
• deptool.chm

Setupmgr.exe does not specify optional components nor create txtsetup.oem files. Subfolders in the destination folder have to be created manually.

Automated Installation

Download this Visio 2000 file.

Installation of Windows 2000 can be automated at three levels of complexity (A,B,&C below):

A.
If you want to install Windows 2000 from scratch (not upgrading) and have a bootable CDROM:

1. change the BIOS to boot first to CDROM, then the C: drive;
2. get Setupmgr.exe and use it to create an Unattend.txt file;
3. Use a text editor to add calls to create Environemtn strings, shares, etc.
4. Copy the Unattend.txt file as WINNT.INF on a diskette. An unattended setup from a bootable CD expects a file named WINNT.SIF on the root of the floppy disk. This file contains information from the unattend.txt file.
5. Shortly after booting up the machine, press Enter when you see

   Press Enter to boot from CDROM ...

6. Insert the floppy containing the WINNT.INF file
7. When you get to the “You have successfully completed Windows 2000 setup” manually install Service Packs and applications.

B.
To totally automate Windows 2000 Server install, including service packs and apps:

1. Set the BIOS to boot first to floppy, then C: drive;
2. Create a Cmdlines.txt file containing run commands to install service pack and tools ;
3. Define keystroke scripts for use by Microsoft's ScriptIt tool.
4. Create a Windows 98 bootable floppy disk
5. Create a Windows Install CD ROOT folder. Under it create an UENGLISH (or another language) folder. Under that create folders ADV_SRV, PRO, and SERVER, depending on the edition desired.
6. Copy the Windows 2000 install CD onto the ROOT folder
7. Remove the Read-only attribute from files now on the hard drive
8. SlipStream onto the distribution share the latest Windows Service Pack (w2ksp2.exe)
9. Create an Unattend.txt file in the I386 folder;
10. Optionally ... Bypass the Windows 2000 Serial Check: In folder I386 file setupp.ini, replace the 3 X's at the end of key Pid= with “270”.
11. Under I386, create the $OEM$ folder and populate it with folders and files containing application installers.
12. Make a distribution sharepoint from the modified I386 folder or create a bootable CD
13. Insert that CD in the CDROM drive of the machine to be initiated;
14. On each machine to be installed, bootup from a floppy or open a Command Console
15. Invoke WINNT32.EXE This is automatic if the Unattend.bat file is called from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the boot-up floppy disk.
16. Use this on Systems Management Server (SMS) to install multiple systems.

C.
If you want to install many Windows 2000 Pro (not Server) machines with similar hardware, perform “Cloning” from snapshot images of entire partitions created using Symantec Norton Ghost or PowerDrive's DriveImage.

• Copy the unattend.txt file as Sysprep.ini in the Sysprep folder.
• Get and run Netset.exe [Q268781] to restore TCP/IP settings destroyed by Sysprep [Q271369]

The book I most admire on installing Windows 2000:

$35 Windows 2000 Deployment and Desktop Management by Jeffrey Ferris. New Riders, April 2000. 408 pages
The author's site has reviews, downloads, and corrections.
Chapter 5: Microsoft Remote Installation Services White Paper
Chapter 4: Answer Files and the Setup Manager Wizard.

Jeff's articles at InformIT include a download of several workarounds.

Bootable and Autorun CD-ROMs

Windows 2000 CD's are bootable! However, some older CD readers are not bootable, and some older computer BIOS do not support the El Torito format for Bootable CD-ROM (no emulation mode).

Windows 2000 boots a CD if it sees files BOOTCAT.BIN and BOOTIMG.BIN on the root folder.

Windows XP also require the xpboot.bin bootsector file on the root. Get it here or extract it from a bootable CD using the ISObuster utility

To get an application installation to automatically install on its own, the CD needs to contain autorun.exe and autorun.inf files in the drive's root.

A sample autorun.inf file specifies the exe file to open and where icon image can be found. (in an exe or a separate .ico file). [AutoRun] open=autorun.exe icon=autorun.exe,0 [AutoRun.Mips] open=autorun.exe [AutoRun.Alpha] open=autorun.exe [AutoRun.Ppc] open=autorun.exe

Most people use Intel machines, so the Mips and Alpha sections are not necessary.

If you do slipstreaming, you may want to burn your own CD.

Creating a bootable CD [Q167685]

Make a Windows 2000 CD Bootable

tech-hints.com presents workarounds for bootfix and CD burning gotchas.

Bart Lagerweij's way to create Bootable CD-ROMS allows for multiple boot images selected from a menu at boot time. His technique is to compile files into a single .ISO (9660) file.

Compaq's Smart Start Mark Simpson's downloaded from here

Nero is the most popular CD-ROM buring utility.

Bryan Berns's WINCDMAN creates slip=streaming CDs using utilities and Windows Command Extensions.

Files from the Resource Kit

The executable and sample files for automating installations are available from several sources:
• Extracted using Windows Explorer from Deploy.cab in the Windows 2000 Server installation CD folder Support\Tools\ folder
• Downloaded from the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit Deployment Tools
• Copied from MSDN CD folder ENGLISH\W2KRESKIT\

Setup Manager Tool (Setupmgr.exe)

Use the Setup Manager instead of Notepad or Wordpad to create a list of computer names to be installed. Such a file is usually on a diskette for use on different machines.

There is a slight difference between Sysmgr and Windows 2000:

From System Manager:

WINNTX Invocation

The Setup Manager Wizard creates an unattend.bat file.
set AnswerFile=.\unattend.txt
set SetupFiles=F:\i386

F:\i386\winnt32 /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile% /noreboot /tempdrive:D

When installing with DOS, use winnt switch /u instead of /unattend and /udf.

.

Unattend.txt by Setup Stage

After the machine boots up and invokes WINNT or WINNT32, Windows 2000 server Setup goes through several stages:
1. Pre-Text (Setup Loader) mode
• SCSI Drivers: If your SCSI devices doesn't offer direct support, press F6 at the initial text-mode setup phase and load the SCSI driver from the manufacturer.
2. Text mode Specify new or upgrade. Accept the licensing agreement. Select an installation partition.
3. GUI phase Enter the product key. Enter user and organization name. Specify regional settings and a password. This includes:
   • Networking: Networking settings and components are detected, installed, and configured along with workgroup and domain membership information.
   • Final Setup: Start menu programs are installed, components are registered, and temporary setup files are removed.

Microsoft's Windows® 2000 Guide to Unattended Setup (unattend.doc file) extracted from the Resource Kit DEPLOY.CAB provides Answer File Parameters and samples.

Appendix C of the Windows Deployment Guide contains sample answer files.

1. Pre-Text (Setup Loader) mode

During the Pre-Copy phase, all the files needed for the installation are copied to temporary folders on the local hard drive.

Manual Step	Unattend.txt [section headers], keys, and values
These settings allow Windows setup to run without prompting for user inputs: WINNT32 /Unattend:A:\Winnt.sif The answer file must be named Winnt.sif and be placed on a floppy disk inserted into the floppy drive as soon as the computer boots from the CD-ROM drive. (Don't wait for a prompt. None will be issued.)	[Data] MsDosInitiated="0" UnattendedInstall="Yes" AutoPartition=1
GUI User Interaction Level sets UnattendMode = =Hide pages does not show pages with default values =ReadOnly prevents presets from being altered by the installer. =Provide defaults allow users to view and modify answer entries. =Fully automated =GUI attended requires the installer to answer every question.	[Unattended] UnattendMode=FullUnattended OemSkipEula=Yes TargetPath=\WINNT
	OemSkipEula=Yes TargetPath=\WINNT
Yes results in the contents of $OEM$ folder in the distribution folder to be copied to a temporary folder on each new computer's hard disk, such as the Cmdlines.txt file containing script code to install applications.	OemPreinstall=No
The default DriverSigningPolicy is Warn. Block if you're sure all drivers are signed. Set to Ignore at your peril.	DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore
During Setup, an existing FAT32 file system can be automatically converted to NTFS. WARNING: Even if you select just one partition before selecting "NTFS", you will end up formatting the entire drive and all partitions on that physical drive.	FileSystem = ConvertNTFS

2. Text mode

During the Text Mode phase, you are prompted for the information necessary to complete the installation.

Manual Step	Unattend.txt [section headers], keys, and values
Licensing Agreement Unlike Windows NT, you don't have to scroll through before pressing F8.	--
User Identification Settings Your choices for Regional Language settings, User Name, Company are stored in the Registry. These settings are overidden for machine "C1" by this entry in the .udf Differences file :	[UserData] Fullname= "Your User Name" Orgname=org Computername= "COMPUTER_NAME1" Productid= [Identification] JoinWorkgroup JoinDomain=home DomainAdmin DomainAdminPassword [RegionalSettings] Locale
Licensing Mode The "Per Server. Number of Concurrent Connections" default is 5. Select "Per Server" licensing unless users will logon to several servers at the same time. Change to "Per Seat" can only occur once.	[LicenseFilePrintData] AutoMode=PerServer AutoUsers=5
If No, Internet Explorer is configured set by values in the Branding .ins file created by Microsoft's Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK). This file is at the root of the \$OEM$ folder of the distribution share point.	[Branding] BrandIEUsingUnattended=Yes ; IEBrandingFile="IEBrandingFile.ins"
VGA Modes	[Display] BitsPerPel=16 Xresolution=1024 YResolution=768 Vrefresh=85

3. During Setup GUI Phase:

Manual Step	Unattend.txt [section headers], keys, and values
Computer Name and Administrator Password The Administrator Password is stored in encrypted form. Unlike Windows NT, Windows 2000 passwords are case sensitive. Asterisk (*), sets the password to NULL. TimeZone for Win2000 is a number rather than the NT4 text such as "(GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)". OemSkipWelcome is only recognized by Win2000 Pro.	[GuiUnattended] Admin AdminPassword=* AutoLogon=Yes AutoLogonCount=1 TimeZone=4 OemSkipWelcome=1 OEMSkipRegional=1
Dial-Up Networking	[TapiLocation] CountryCode=1 Dialing=Tone AreaCode=310 LongDistanceAccess="9"
"Networking Settings"	[Networking] InstallDefaultComponents=Yes [Proxy] Proxy_Enable=1 Use_Same_Proxy=1 HTTP_Proxy_Server=  proxie.x.com:80 Proxy_Override=*.x.com; <local>
"Windows 2000 Components" You can add more components after initial installation in Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs.	[Components] InstallDefaultComponents="Yes" [NetOptionalComponents] NETMONTOOLS = 1
Same as WINNT32 command-line switch /cmd or WINNT command-line switch of /e.	[SetupParams]
These lines specify commands that run the first time a user logs on.	[GuiRunOnce] Command0="rundll32 printui.dll, PrintUIEntry /in /n \\home\printer1"
"Performing Final Tasks" Commands in the Cmdlines.txt within the $OEM$ folder are run at the end. Example: start /wait \\server\app1\setup.exe exit	.

In GUI mode, after Date and Time Settings, if you've selected Terminal Services in the previous step, a panel will appear for you to select Remote Administration Mode or Applications Server Mode.

If you've selected "Message Queue", you will need to click "Finish" installation after you press Ctrl-Alt_Del to sign on. In other words, you're not really Finished when you press Finish.

Uniqueness Database File (UDF)

The UDF overrides specifications in the unattend.txt answer UDB file.

Answer files for DCPROMO should contain literal paths rather than variables such as %SystemRoot%.

In the [UniqueIds] section, specify the section name.

The UDF file is invoked ???

If only a single item is specified in the [UniqueIds] section, ???

[UniqueIds]
    C1=UserData,TCParamSection
    C2=UserData,TCParamSection

[C1:UserData]
    Computername="XX-C1"
[C1:TCParamSection]
    IPAddress = 128.253.63.131

[C2:UserData]
    Computername="XX-C2"
[C2:TCParamSection]
    IPAddress = 128.253.63.132

Cloning with Sysprep.exe

The Sysprep utility requires target machines to use the same HAL (hardware abstraction layer) and hard disk drivers as the reference machine. If the reference machine is APM, the target computer cannot be ACPI Also, if the reference machine has a four-way multi-processor, the target computer must have that same CPU type.

Plug and play devices (network cards, modems, video adapters, and sound cards) do not have to be the same.

Don't use Sysprep.exe from the Original CD

Sysprep is pre-installed with Vista. But version 1.0 of Sysprep.exe in the CD should be replaced with version 5.0.2195.2020 in Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 [KB Q260910].

Sysprep.exe requires support setupmgx.dll

Setupcl.exe

Sysprep switches

Sample Sysprep unattend.XML for Windows 2008 Vista and XP using the WAIK (Automated Installation Kit) which contains a Windows System Image Manager. This replaces Sysprep.ini for Windows 2000.

When specifying "en-US" for system Locale, UILanguage, UILanguageFallback, and UserLocale, specify InputLocale of "0409:00000409".

• C:\windows\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /oobe /generalize /unattend:c:\temp\unattend.xml

-quiet, -nosidgen, -pnp, and snf -reboot

Cloning Windows 2000 and Using Sysprep by Kevin Goddard
• Q259144: Computer May Hang After Using Sysprep on ACPI-Enabled Computer
• Q216937: Windows 2000 System Preparation Tool and Answer File Usage
• Q240126: Best Practices for Using Sysprep with NTFS Volumes
• Q216680: How to Identify an Installation Created with the Sysprep Tool
• Q216915: Using the System Preparation Tool on Dissimilar Computers
• Q238955: How to Use Cmdlines.txt File During Sysprep.exe Setup Wizard