Chapter 2. Automating Windows XP Professional Installation

Objectives

This chapter helps you to prepare for the exam by covering the following Microsoft objectives for the Installing Windows XP Professional section of the Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional exam:

Perform and troubleshoot an unattended installation of Windows XP Professional.

• Install Windows XP Professional by Using Remote Installation Services (RIS)

• Install Windows XP Professional by using the System Preparation Tool.

• Create unattended answer files by using Setup Manager to automate the installation of Windows XP Professional.

• Microsoft includes this objective to ensure that you know how to perform automated, unattended installations of Windows XP Professional. How would you proceed if you were required to install Windows XP on hundreds of computers? What if you had to install thousands of computers? These objectives measure your ability to use RIS and the System Preparation Tool to perform unattended installations of Windows XP Professional on a large number of machines.

Outline

Introduction	66
Performing an Unattended Installation of Windows XP Professional	66
Understanding the Role of Answer Files	67
Using Setup Manager to Create Unattended Answer Files	67
Unattend.txt Answer File Format	68
Sample Unattended Answer File	69
Sample Uniqueness Database File	70
Command-Line Usage and Options	70
Deploying an Unattended Installation	71
Using the Answer Files to Perform an Unattended Installation	77
Installing Windows XP Professional by Using Remote Installation Services (RIS)	78
About RIS	78
Requirements to Use RIS	79
Installing RIS on the Server	80
Creating a Remote Boot Floppy Disk	82
Folders Created on the RIS Server	83
Creating an Image for RIS	83
Answer Files for RIS	85
Deploying via RIS	85
Installing Windows XP Professional by Using the System Preparation Tool (Sysprep)	89
About the System Preparation Tool	90
When to Use Sysprep	90
Creating an Image with Sysprep	92
Deploying an Image with Sysprep	94
Chapter Summary	97
Apply Your Knowledge	98

Study Strategies

This chapter addresses several methods you can use to perform unattended installations of Windows XP Professional. Practical experience in this field is vital to understanding how these methods work and which situations are best suited for each.

• If possible, have two or three computers available that do not contain any data of value for practicing the various exercises.

• Practice installing Windows XP Professional using each of the three methods discussed in this chapter: Use Winnt.exe or Winnt32.exe along with answer files, Sysprep.exe install, and Remote Installation Services.

• Have copies of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and a couple of applications available for installation on the test computers, so that you can observe the behavior of the installations performed by the automated methods. It is also helpful to have a trial version of disk cloning software such as Norton Ghost available.