Unattended installations provide greater consistency and reduce errors upon deployment.
Methods you can use for unattended installation are scripting through answer files, using RIS, and cloning with Sysprep along with a third-party cloning tool.
Setup Manager is a utility that creates answer files.
Sysprep is a utility that automates installation.
RIS is a server-based system for remotely installing computers.
Unattend.txt is the default name given to an answer file used to script an unattended installation.
A uniqueness database file (.udf) is a text file that can further create unique installations. To script an installation that can be customized based on unique user information, you need both a .udf file and an answer file, which is typically named Unattend.txt.
Syntax matters in the script files. Misspelled or misplaced terms cause errors and failures during installation.
The command in DOS is winnt, and the switches are all single letters. When using an answer file to install from a DOS command prompt, use the winnt /u:answerfilename /udf:ID[,uniqueness.udf] /s:\\server\share\i386 command.
The command in 32-bit operating systems is winnt32, and the switches can be words. When using an answer file to install from within a 32-bit operating system, use the winnt32 /unattend:answerfilename /udf:ID[,uniqueness.udf] /s:\\server\share\i386 command.
An answer file can install the operating system without user interaction, can be used to provide default answers that a user can change, or can be used to provide answers that the user sees but cannot change.
If you want to perform an unattended installation using a local CD-ROM drive, you must copy your answer file to a floppy disk and rename it Winnt.sif.
RIS services in Windows 2000 can install only desktop operating systems. RIS services in Windows Server 2003 can install both desktop and server operating systems.
RIS does not support installing Windows XP Home Editiononly Windows XP Professional.
RIS requires either a floppy disk created with the Remote Boot Floppy Generator (Rbfg.exe) or a network adapter that is compliant with the Pre-boot eXecution Environment (PXE).
RIS requires Domain Name System (DNS), DHCP, and Active Directory. If any of these three are missing or not functioning correctly, RIS does not work.
Risetup.exe installs RIS, and requires the hard disk partition to be formatted with NTFS.
Riprep.exe is the command that prepares a remote installation image.
The RIS standard answer file name is Ristndrd.sif.
Setup Manager creates an RIS answer file named Remboot.sif.
Sysprep and RIS execute only clean installs. They do not upgrade older operating systems.
Do not use Sysprep to deploy an image on other computers that require a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) that's incompatible with the imaged HAL.