Windows XP Network Installation

I remember reading that Windows XP can be installed over a
network. I was wondering where I can get further
information/instructions?

Also, I remember that part of the installation requires
that the a FAT32 partition be created for the
installation, but the rest of the disk can be NTFS. After
the installation, is it possible to reformat that
partition as NTFS and then re-combine it with the main
NTFS volume? Thanks.

Well, if you want to install XP through the network you will need to
research a little bit. Below are some links that should help and give you
insight into the hardware and software and configurations needed to make a
network install work successfully.

First of all, to do this you will need five things:

Either a 2000 or a 2003 server

a DNS server
a DHCP server
a RIS server

And a XP CD (for creating CD based images)

All three of the roles mention above can reside on the same server however,
I recommend to separate the DHCP and DNS from the RIS if possible. Below is
a link that describes a problem you might run into if you host the DHCP and
RIS on the same server and a fix if you have too:

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...kb;en-us;842608

Here is where you get information on how to set-up a RIS server:

Technical overview:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr...deploy/depopt/r
emoteos.mspx
Installation:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows200...sp?url=/windows
2000/en/server/help/sag_RIS_pro_Install_RIS.htm

By default Windows 2000 RIS doesn't support XP images you will have to read
the following link on how to fix this:
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...kb;en-us;304314


Once you get it installed there are a few ways to roll out images:

RIPREP:
Good for installing third party software into your image and then
syspreping it so that it can be installed on multiple machines

Server stored flat image:
This has its pros and cons. Pros is that you can slipstream (update the
flat image) with Service Packs and hotfixes and still just have one image
and it is a clean base image. Also this image is more likely to have less
issues installing on various HALs. Cons are that it doesn't contain any
third party software. It is just the base image. A work around for this
would be to prestage RIS clients in AD then apply GP to these machines that
would install the necessary software. Sounds a bit complicated BUT makes
life a lot easier, when it is up and running, to remove, add or change
software.


By the way:

If you have Windows server 2003 you can use ADS. It is a bit more
complicated to set-up but gives a bit more freedom in how you deploy:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsser...erview/ads.mspx



Best Regards,
Jody Atkins
Microsoft Online Support Engineer
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
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|
| I remember reading that Windows XP can be installed over a
| network. I was wondering where I can get further
| information/instructions?
|
| Also, I remember that part of the installation requires
| that the a FAT32 partition be created for the
| installation, but the rest of the disk can be NTFS. After
| the installation, is it possible to reformat that
| partition as NTFS and then re-combine it with the main
| NTFS volume? Thanks.
|