Troubleshooting an Unattended Installation

Objective:

Perform and troubleshoot an unattended installation of Windows XP Professional.

An unattended installation is one in which a computer installs Windows XP without a person sitting at the console watching the progress, as covered in Chapter 2. To provide information at the points of the installation process that require user input, a script is used. You can use Setup Manager to create a script, or you can type a script in a text file manually. These text file scripts are called "answer files."

In addition to using answer files, you can also use Sysprep or RIS to create unattended installations. You should choose to perform unattended installations in the following situations:

• You need to install Windows XP on a large number of client computers.

• You want to have users install Windows XP on their own computers.

• You want to have multiple people deploy a standard image across the network.

A standard image of Windows XP Professional reduces costs of both implementation and maintenance. The implementation savings are obvious because you do not need to have a network administrator watch each installation and input information, which takes a lot of time. Ongoing maintenance costs of a standard configuration are less expensive because network administrators are thoroughly familiar with the configuration of the computer they are helping an end-user troubleshoot, saving time and effort.

Because the method of setup for an unattended installation is different from an attended installation, you can expect that some the problems that you encounter are also different. You can encounter many of the same problems that you may have had in an attended installation, such as Stop errors, but you will also have unique problems associated with an unattended method of installation.

Problems with Answer Files

You can use answer files to automate a Windows XP Professional installation, whether the computer is installed from a CD or across a network. Nearly always, answer files are used with network installations. The fact that you can use an answer file with a CD installation can help you troubleshoot a computer that has difficulty connecting to the network.

Exam Alert

Answer files The exam may refer to answer files as a script, a text file, an answer file, or simply unattend.txt. Read the question and understand the context to be sure that the file being described is the same that you expected.

Boot Disks

Because answer files are mainly used with network installations, the first dilemma usually stumbled into is booting to the network and accessing the distribution server files. You can use floppy boot disks, or you can execute the installation from a command line on a computer while it is running a different operating system. The only requirement you have of any existing operating system is that it has access to the network and that you are logged in with a user ID that has permissions to read the i386 folder structure on the distribution server. If you use a boot disk to access the network, you need to have the correct network interface card (NIC) driver for the computer already installed on the floppy disk. When you try to boot a computer with a boot disk that has drivers for one type of NIC while the computer has a different NIC, you will not be able to access the network. Depending on the computer's configuration, you may not even see an error on the screen.

Preparation

When you are conducting a clean installation of Windows XP Professional, you are likely to have better results if you use a boot disk because you can automate preparation tasks such as creating a disk partition and formatting it. If you are upgrading a computer, you should execute the installation only from within the existing operating system. Remember that you should use the Winnt.exe executable when installing from a boot disk. You should use the Winnt32.exe when upgrading an existing operating system.

Switches

Both the Winnt32.exe and Winnt.exe executables use a variety of switches to control how the Setup program runs. Table 4.3 displays the syntax used for Winnt.exe switches, and Table 4.4 displays the syntax used for Winnt32.exe. Some of the errors that you may encounter during an unattended installation are caused by an incorrectly used switch. For example, you may need to copy a special driver for a peripheral device. If you use the /t switch instead of the /rx switch, you will end up using the network path to the driver as a location for temporary Setup files and you will not have the driver copied locally. Likewise, if you use a Winnt32.exe switch with Winnt.exe, you will not have the results that you intended.

Table 4.3. Syntax for Winnt.exe

Switch	Results
/a	Provides accessibility options.
/r:folder	Copies the specified folder and saves it on the newly installed computer.
/rx:folder	Copies the specified folder for use during installation and deletes the folder when Setup is complete.
/s:sourcepath	Tells Winnt.exe where the source files for Windows XP Professional are located.
/t:tempdrive	Tells Winnt.exe on which drive to install and where to put temporary Setup files.
/u:unattend.txt	Uses the Unattend.txt file to perform an unattended installation; the /u switch must be used in conjunction with the /s switch.
/udf:id,UDF_file	Tells Winnt.exe to use the specified ID to look in the UDF file for specific modifications that are applicable to the Unattend.txt file.

Table 4.4. Syntax for Winnt32.exe

Switch	Results
/checkupgradeonly	Determines whether the computer can be upgraded and places the results into the Upgrade.txt (for Windows 98 or Windows Me) or Ntcompat.txt (for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000) file, which can be found in the computer's %systemroot% folder.
/cmd:command	Executes a command that Setup runs after the PC reboots.
/cmdcons	Copies the files necessary for the computer to run the Recovery Console locally.
/copydir:folder	Makes a new folder within the %systemroot% folder on your newly installed computer.
/copysource:folder	Copies a new folder within the %systemroot% and then deletes the folder after Setup is complete.
/debug[level] [:filename]	Creates a debug log at the level you specify. If you use this command without switches, you create a debug log called C:\WINNT32.LOG at debug level 2, which provides you with information about severe errors (level 0), errors (level 1), and warnings (level 2). If you want further information (level 3) or detailed information (level 4), you must specify those levels. You should use this switch for troubleshooting a computer that has errors during installation.
/dudisable	Stops dynamic updates. If you have a corporate image that does not allow dynamic updates, you should use this switch. For troubleshooting, you should use this switch to rule out the possibility that dynamic updates are causing the error to occur.
/dushare:pathname	Specifies a path to the Dynamic Update files on a local network server. You can use this switch with the /prepareinstall switch to update Setup files. Otherwise, use this switch during installation to point the computer to the local network path for dynamic updates.
/duprepare:pathname	Prepares a network share to be used for dynamic updates during installation.
/m:folder	Tells Setup to use newer drivers in a specific folder instead of those that are in the default installation share.
/makelocalsource	Copies all the files necessary to the local hard disk to complete an installation when the computer cannot recognize the CD-ROM drive or the network during setup.
/noreboot	Tells Setup not to reboot after copying files.
/s:sourcepath	Tells Setup where to find the source files for Windows XP. If you want to use multiple servers for source files to speed up the file copy process, you can use the /s switch up to eight times.
/syspart:driveletter	Tells Setup to create and mark active a system partition and to copy Setup startup files to that partition. The hard drive can then be moved to a new computer where Windows XP Setup will begin at the next phase. This switch works only with Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP Professional.
/tempdrive:driveletter	Tells Winnt32.exe on which drive to install and where to put temporary Setup files.
/unattend : [number]:[answerfile]	Specifies the answer file for the unattended installation. If you use the number option, you can specify the number of seconds between the end of file copying and the restart.
/udf:id,uDf_file	Tells Winnt32.exe to use the specified ID to look in the UDF file for specific modifications that are applicable to the answer file.

Answer File Specifications

The answer file that you use is nearly identical in format to the old INI files used in Windows 3.x. It's a straight text file with headings, parameters, and values. If you don't include a heading, a parameter, and a value for a specific item that you want to install a certain way, Windows XP uses the default installation values for that item. Typos, incorrect headings, incorrect parameter names, or incorrect values cause errors or unexpected results during installation. Spelling counts!

For example, you execute the command

 \\sourceserver\sourcefileshare\i386\winnt /u:a.txt

If within the A.txt file you have the following section listed with the express intent of preventing the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) from starting after Windows XP installs, the installation will fail:

 [unattended] UnattendedSwitch=yes

The reason that the installation fails is that you misspelled the parameter. The section should read:

 [unattended] UnattendSwitch=yes

A spelling error in an answer file usually does not cause a Windows XP installation to fail unless the error is specifically related to a driver. Most people use Setup Manager to create an answer file. When Setup Manager creates the file, it does not always customize the features that you want to customize. Therefore, you likely must edit the file directly. The best way to troubleshoot your answer file is to make certain that you save your original answer file created by Setup Manager, and save each subsequent version of the answer file. By doing this, and by testing the answer file with each individual customization as you make them, you will be able to pinpoint the specific problem with the file.

Problems with Sysprep Installations

The System Preparation Tool, or Sysprep, creates a snapshot of a Windows XP Professional workstation, and strips out the unique information for that workstation so that the image can be stamped on another. Sysprep not only can prepare an image of Windows XP Professional, but it can include unusual settings, applications, special application configurations, and even additional files. After preparing the image with Sysprep, you can then use a third-party utility to transfer the image to a target computer. The process is quick and easy to repeat. This is called cloning and it can be either the best thing since sliced bread to your company or your worst nightmare.

The problem with cloning is that software image information is often intertwined with hardware information in odd places. When you attempt to clone a source computer onto a target computer that is not identical to the source, the image might function perfectly well, but it also might have results in a few configuration errors or even fail to start. It depends on what is different between the source and target computers and whether Sysprep strips out that particular information or the target computer has true Plug and Play devices.

One absolute requirement for cloning Windows XP Professional is that the source computer and the target computer(s) must use the same Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL). If the target computer needs a different HAL than what's in the image, your cloned installation will most likely fail with a Stop error or the computer will generate odd errors such as hanging every time you instruct it to shut down.

Exam Alert

Cloning alert Some questions about cloning are included to point out the need to generate cloned images for each different type of computer on the network.

Another issue you might experience with Sysprep is the version of the tool that you are using. Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Service Pack 2 (SP2) include updated deployment tools. When you create a source location that incorporates a service pack, you should also use the version of Sysprep that comes with that same service pack.

Note

Sysprep and domains Sysprep does not work on a computer that is a member of a domain. It works only on a computer that is a member of a workgroup. If you run Sysprep on a computer that has already joined a domain, Sysprep removes it from the domain before preparing the image.

If you try to copy encrypted files using the Encrypting File System (EFS) on an NTFS-formatted partition as part of your Sysprep image, you will fail because the Sysprep process makes encrypted files unreadable. The only way to encrypt the files is to execute the encrypting command after the image has been transferred to the target computer.

Whenever you use Sysprep, you should assure that the computer functions properly. Step by Step 4.2 leads you through some basic computer functions.

Step by Step: 4.2 Checking the Functionality of a Computer After Using Sysprep

1.	Boot the computer and log on as a user.
2.	Access the local hard drive and open a file.
3.	Open all critical applications.
4.	Run chkdsk C: /r to verify that the hard drive has no errors.
5.	Open My Network Places and view the network drives.
6.	Print a file to a network printer.
7.	Send an e-mail.
8.	Look through Event Viewer logs for errors.
9.	Review the Setup Error log.

Use cloning when you have hundreds of computers that have identical hardware and need identical software and operating system configurations. If you have a large number of different hardware configurations and/or software and operating system configurations, you should look to using answer files instead.

Problems with RIS Installations

You can use RIS to install Windows XP Professional on a computer anywhere on your network. The RIS process begins with booting the client computer from a PreBoot eXecution Environment (PXE) network adapter (or a boot disk) and downloading the Windows XP image from a RIS server.

RIS images are not the same as Sysprep images. They must be created with a specific toolRiprep.exe. Not only that, but you have to install and configure a server specifically to become a RIS server. That server must be able to participate in Active Directory, so you must have at least one Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 Active Directory domain. And finally, you must use NICs that support PXE or a PXE-capable BIOS, or create special RIS boot disks for PCI-bus network interface cards that are on the list supported by Remote Boot Floppy generator (Rbfg.exe) to initiate the RIS download.

Because RIS was originally introduced with Windows 2000, there are further considerations based on whether you have a Windows 2000 RIS server or a Windows Server 2003 RIS server. You will run into problems if you attempt to install a Windows XP Professional computer with SP2 via RIS and you do not have the correct service packs for the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 RIS server. For example, a Windows 2000 RIS server with no service packs applied doesn't allow you to create and deploy a Windows XP Professional RIS image until you install the updated RIS tools and apply a service pack to it.

If you are implementing a new RIS server with a new RIS image, you can simplify your efforts by updating both the RIS server and the RIS image with the latest service packs appropriate to the system. If you are creating a new RIS image on an existing RIS server, you should ensure that the RIS server has the correct service pack applied (or a later one) to support your new image.

One of the problems that you may run across is accidentally trying to use a standard network boot disk to install an RIS image. It's easy to forget to use Rbfg.exe to create the RIS boot disk.

Exam Alert

Remote boot floppy generator The only floppy that you can use for RIS is the one created by Rbfg.exe.

RIS can be used only for clean installations. If you want to upgrade in an unattended fashion, you should use the answer file method. In addition, an RIS server must be authorized before it can be used to install new computers.

If you want to install a set of multi-boot computers, or if you want to install the Windows XP Professional operating system on a disk drive other than C:, RIS does not work.