How do you perform an unattended installation on Windows XP?

Answer 1

The three methods of performing an unattended installation of Windows XP are: · Network based (with an answer file) · RIS based (with either an answer file or from an image) · CD ROM based (with an answer file) The answer file contains the settings you are prompted for during an attended installation. The default name for the answer file is unattend.txt but this can be changed as required. This means that several different answer files can be created, allowing for tailored installations for different user types or groups. On a network installation the answer file will be stored in the i386 folder. The command line input is: winnt.exe /u:unattend.txt For an unattended CD ROM installation the answer file should be renamed to winnt.sif (being careful to ensure the file extension is changed, rather than just renaming a .txt file) and placed on a floppy disk inserted into the computer. Answer files can be created using the setupmgrutility. RIS stands for Remote Installation Services. This is used to deploy a clean installation onto a target computer. The target computer needs to establish a network connection to a Windows 2000 or a Windows Server 2003 RIS server. This requires that the target computer has a PXE (Pre Execution Environment) compliant network adapter. If the network adapter is not PXE compliant, most major manufacturers devices can still be used is the target computer boots from a RIS Boot Floppy Disk. The target computer should be configured to use the network as its first boot device. If this cannot be done (i.e. BIOS not allowing this as an option) admin can create a RIS boot floppy disk using the rbfg.exe command located on the RIS server. There are two types of custom RIS installation: A clean installation with answer files that were automatically created during the installation of RIS. An image-based installation in conjunction with the RIS server. The image contains the operating an also any necessary applications. This saves time installing applications on individual computers. Custom images can be created for different user types and groups. PXE will located the RIS server and prompt the user of the target computer to press F12 to connect. The user then enters his domain username and password.