Unattended Setup

  • Thread starter Thread starter David Morrisey
  • Start date Start date
D

David Morrisey

I want to install WinXP from CD (retail full) using the
unattended setup procedure. I have created an unattend
text file. I want to install on the primary master, disk
0, single partition, drive C:, by first formatting the
drive using the NTFS file system. I have other drives in
the machine, in case I need to put the answer file or a
batch file on another drive. How do I initiate setup? If
I boot from the CD, how does setup know I want to use the
unattended setup? I have also created a batch file. Do I
put the CD in the drive, then run the batch file? It
seems like I could put the batch file and the answer file
on the D: drive, and run the batch file with the CD in
the drive. Does the setup program then format
automatically?

Should I make a new CD (a copy of my XP CD) with my
unattend file on it? If I use my XP CD as is, where
should the unattend file be? On floppy? On drive D:? The
documentation has some conflicting information: According
to the deploy.chm file, the unattend file should have
a .txt extension when using a CD for setup, and an .sif
file is only used when using the Remote Instalation
Services. Elsewhere (in the ref.chm file), it says "For a
CD based setup, the answer file must be named Winnt.sif."

It is not clear which of the file extensions I am
supposed to use. I would like to know in advance rather
than trying a bunch of times, so if anyone has any
experience with the difference in file names/extensions,
please let me know. Also, if anyone has any advice on
where to put the answer file, I would appreciate it.

Also, has anyone used a batch file that runs
automatically when the computer boots from the CD? I
would like to be able to simply put a CD in and not do
anything else. Can I burn a new CD with a replacement
autorun.inf file that starts a batch file?

Thanks,

DM
 
If you name the file winnt.sif and place it on a floppy, it will be picked
up by setup and used.

Try this first. Once you get to grips with it, you can experiment with
different unattended setup methods like custom bootable CDs.

See www.willowhayes.co.uk and www.bink.nu/xpbootcd for more details. With
these, the winnt.sif file gets placed in i386.

Regards

Oli
 
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