InstallationNotes

InstallationNotes

If you join a workgroup during Setup, you can always join a domain later. (See Domain earlier in this chapter for how to join a computer to a domain.) For example, if a domain controller isn't available for some reason, install WS2003 as a standalone server that is part of a workgroup (any workgroup will do). When a domain controller becomes available, you can join the domain to become a member server in that domain.

If you create a computer account using Active Directory Users and Computers prior to installing WS2003 on your machine, you need to use the computer name you specified for this account when you are performing the installation, or it will not succeed.

In addition to the installation methods described earlier, administrators of enterprise-level networks can also perform simultaneous installations on multiple servers using push technologies such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS).

If there is no DHCP server available on the network when you install Setup, an IP address is assigned to your machine using Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA). See TCP/IP later in this chapter for more information.

If after installing WS2003 you get a message saying "Failure of dependency service to start," then you may have made a mistake in specifying your networking settings (adapter and protocol). Check also that your computer name is unique to the network.

If you need to do a complete reinstall of WS2003 on a wiped machine using the same computer name as the old installation, be sure to delete and recreate the computer account, first using Active Directory Users and Computers.

Besides being used to create new answer files from scratch, Setup Manager can also be used to modify existing answer files by specifying the file and then walking through all the steps of the wizard, altering your previous selections.

You can also create and edit answer files and UDB files using Notepad or some other simple text editor, but this is not recommended, as any formatting errors may result in Setup failing to complete properly.

When using Sysprep to prepare a computer for cloning, you must ensure that:

Both computers use the same type of mass storage controller (IDE or SCSI).
The hard disk on the target computer is at least as large as that on the master computer.
Drivers for any Plug and Play devices on the target machines are available. (These devices don't have to be the same on both machines, but it helps.)
Both computers have the same BIOS version (recommended).

Many programs have their own installation utilityif so, use this utility instead of Add/Remove Programs to install, uninstall, or add/remove components of the program.

You must be logged on as an Administrator to install or remove optional Windows components.

When you run Add or Remove Programs during a Remote Desktop session as Administrator, it installs program files into the %SystemRoot% path instead of the %homepath% path for the logged-on user. This is done so that any user who logs on may use the installed program.

See Also