Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit 2003
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2005
Pages: 338
Pages: 338
After you decide how to use Windows XP Professional in your organization and how best to manage your users and computers, you need to prepare your installations. The following questions can help you make important decisions affecting the installation process:
Are you going to upgrade computers or perform clean installations?
Which installation method is appropriate for you to use?
Do you plan to install multiple operating systems on individual computers?
Your answers to the preceding questions are largely determined by your business goals and your current configuration. For example, if you plan to install Windows XP Professional to gain enhancements unavailable in current Windows 2000 Professional installations, upgrading might be the preferred strategy. However, if your desktop computers run Windows 95, you must do a clean installation of Windows XP Professional. If you have an Active Directory environment in place, you can use RIS to standardize the installations across your desktops, customize and control the installation process, and determine the media on which to distribute the installation.
For more information about installing Windows XP Professional, see Supporting Installations and Automating and Customizing Installations in this book. For more detailed information about client and sever installations, see the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit Deployment Planning Guide.
Windows XP Professional provides upgrade paths from Windows 2000 Professional, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, and Windows Me. If you are using Windows 95, Windows 3.x, or another operating system you need to choose a clean install.
During an upgrade, existing user settings are retained, as well as installed applications. If you perform a clean installation, the operating system files are installed in a new folder, and you must reinstall all of your applications and reset user preferences, such as desktop and application settings.
You need to choose a clean installation of Windows XP Professional in the following cases:
No operating system is installed on the computer.
The installed operating system does not support an upgrade to Windows XP Professional.
The computer has more than one partition and needs to support a multiple-boot configuration that uses Windows XP Professional and the current operating system.
A clean installation is preferred.
The most basic advantage of a clean installation is that all of your systems can begin with the same configuration. All applications, files, and settings are reset. You can use a single disk image or answer file to make sure that all of the desktops in your organization are standardized. In this way, you can avoid many of the support problems that are caused by irregular configurations.
| Note | Installing multiple operating systems on the same partition is not supported and can prevent one or both operating systems from working properly. For more information about installing multiple operating systems on a single computer, see Supporting Installations in this book. |
Upgrading from Windows 98 or Windows Me to Windows XP Professional might require some additional planning because of differences in the registry structure and the setup process. For more information about software compatibility issues, see Application Compatibility in this chapter. If problems arise, you can choose to uninstall Windows XP Professional and revert to the previous installation. For more information about uninstalling Windows XP Professional, see Supporting Installations in this book.
Windows 2000 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0 provide the easiest upgrade path to Windows XP Professional because they share a common operating system structure and core features, such as support file systems, security concepts, device driver requirements, and registry structure.
If you upgrade or install Windows XP Professional on a Windows NT Workstation 4.0 based computer that uses NTFS, the installation process automatically upgrades the file system to Windows XP Professional NTFS. If you install or upgrade to Windows XP Professional and the current file system is FAT, you are asked if you want to upgrade to the NTFS file system.
| Note | You cannot upgrade computers that run Windows NT Workstation 3.51 to Windows XP Professional. You must do a clean installation of Windows XP Professional. |
The User Sate Migration Tool allows you to save and restore users settings and files to minimize the time required to configure users computers after installing Windows XP Professional. You can use USMT when performing clean installations, migrating from computers running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. You can run USMT from the Windows XP Professional installation CD.
You can only restore these settings on computers running Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition. You cannot use USMT to migrate to Windows XP 64-Bit Edition.
By default, USMT saves the majority of user interface settings such as desktop color schemes and wallpaper, network connectivity settings such as e-mail servers and proxy servers, and some files associated with Microsoft Office. You can customize the .INF files the tool uses to save only the settings you want to migrate to Windows XP Professional.
You can install Windows XP Professional on client computers in various ways. The installation method you choose is based on several factors, including:
Whether you upgrade from an existing operating system or perform clean installations.
How many computers will be in the deployment.
Whether you want to allow users to install the operating system themselves, or if you want to perform unattended installations.
How much customization is required for your installations.
What hardware is available and how the various types differ.
Whether you are using Active Directory.
Table 1-8 describes the installation methods available for Windows XP Professional and some of the considerations for each method.
| Method and Requirements | From CD ROM | Unattended Setup | SysPrep | Remote Operating System Installation | SMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upgrade or clean install | Upgrade or clean install | Upgrade or clean install | Clean install only | Clean install only | Upgrade only |
| Required hardware | CD ROM drive on each computer | A network boot disk if using a remote distribution share, or a CD ROM drive and a floppy disk drive | All desktop computers need similar hardware configurations | PXE-enabled desktop computers | A fast connection to the SMS site |
| Server requirements | Does not require a server | Does not require a server | Does not require a server | Requires Windows 2000 Server with Active Directory | Requires a Windows server with SMS running an SMS site |
| Considerations for modifying project | No changes can be made | Requires updating Unattend.txt | Requires updating and reimaging the master installation | Requires modifying the answer file | Requires creating an advertising package |
For information about running Setup, see Supporting Installations in this book.
For more information about the relative advantages and when to use each of the installation methods, see Automating and Customizing Installations in this book.
You can install multiple operating systems on a computer so that the user can choose the operating system to use each time the user starts the computer. You can also specify an operating system as the default that starts when the user makes no selection.
| Warning | If you install Windows XP Professional and any other operating system on a computer, you must install Windows XP Professional on a separate partition. Installing Windows XP Professional on a separate partition ensures that it will not overwrite files used by the other operating system. |
Installing multiple operating systems on a computer has some drawbacks, however. Each operating system uses disk space, and compatibility issues (especially between file systems) can be complex. Also, you cannot use dynamic disks with certain operating systems. Only Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional can access a dynamic disk.
Converting a basic disk to a dynamic disk that contains multiple installations of Windows XP Professional or Windows 2000 can cause startup problems. For more information about dynamic disks, see Disk Management in this book.
| Note | To ensure that you can always start the computer, despite driver or disk problems, consider the disaster-recovery features available in Windows XP Professional. Safe Mode allows Windows XP Professional to restart with default settings and the minimum number of drivers. The computer will start even if a new driver causes a problem. With this and other disaster-recovery features, you do not need more than one operating system as a safeguard against system problems. For more information about disaster recovery, see Troubleshooting Concepts and Strategies in this book. |
When you perform a clean installation of Windows XP Professional (not an upgrade), by default the installation is put on a partition on which no other operating system is located. You can specify a different partition when you run Setup.
Before setting up a computer that has more than one operating system, review the following restrictions.
For computers on which you want to install MS DOS and Windows XP Professional:
Install MS DOS first. Otherwise important files needed to start Windows XP Professional can be overwritten.
Install each operating system on its own partition, and then install the applications used with each operating system on the same partition. If you intend to run an application on both operating systems, install it on both partitions.
Format the system partition as FAT.
For computers on which you want to install Windows 95 and Windows XP Professional:
Install Windows 95 first. Otherwise important files needed to start Windows XP Professional can be overwritten.
Install each operating system on its own partition, and then install the applications used with each operating system on the same partition. If you intend to run an application on both operating systems, install it on both partitions.
Format the system partition as FAT. (For Windows 95 OSR2, the primary partition must be formatted as FAT or FAT32.)
Compressed DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volumes are not available while you run Windows XP Professional. It is not necessary to uncompress DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volumes that you access only from Windows 95.
For computers on which you want to install Windows 98 or Windows Me and Windows XP Professional:
Install each operating system on its own partition, and then install the applications used with each operating system on the same partition. If you intend to run an application on both operating systems, install it on both partitions.
Format the system partition as FAT or FAT32.
Compressed DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volumes are not available while you run Windows XP Professional. It is not necessary to uncompress DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volumes that you access only from Windows 98.
For computers on which you want to install Windows NT 4.0 and Windows XP Professional:
Make sure that Windows NT 4.0 has been updated with the latest service pack.
Install each operating system on its own partition, and then install the applications used with each operating system on the same partition. If you intend to run an on both operating systems, install it on both partitions.
Using NTFS as the only file system on a computer that contains both Windows XP Professional and Windows NT is not recommended.
Do not install Windows XP Professional on a compressed volume unless the volume was compressed by using the NTFS compression feature.
If the computer is part of a domain, use a unique computer name for each installation.
For computers on which you want to install Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional, or multiple Windows XP Professional partitions:
Install each operating system on its own partition, and then install the applications used with each operating system on the same partition. If you intend to run an application on both operating systems, install it on both partitions.
On a computer on which you install multiple Windows XP Professional partitions, you can install any product in the Windows XP product family. For example, you can install Windows XP Professional on one partition and Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition on another.
| Note | Because Windows XP Home Edition does not support dynamic disks, you must use basic disks on computers that multiple-boot Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition. |
If the computer participates in a domain, use a different computer name for each installation. Because a unique security identifier (SID) is used for each installation of Windows XP Professional on a domain, the computer name for each installation must be unique, even for multiple installations on the same computer.
If you use Encrypting File System (EFS), ensure that encrypted files are available from each of the installations.
For Windows-based computers, the available file systems are NTFS, FAT, and FAT32. For more information, see File Systems in this chapter and File Systems in this book.
The version of NTFS included in Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional has new features that are not available for Windows NT. You might have full access to files that use new features only when the computer is started by using Windows 2000 or Windows XP Professional. For example, a file that uses the new encryption feature is not readable when the computer is started with Windows NT 4.0, which was released before the encryption feature existed.
To set up a computer that has an NTFS partition, to run Windows NT and Windows XP Professional you must use Windows NT 4.0 with the latest released Service Pack. Using the latest Service Pack maximizes compatibility between Windows NT 4.0 and the NTFS enhancements in Windows XP Professional. Specifically, Service Pack 4 and later Service Packs provide this compatibility in file systems. Even the most recent service pack, however, does not provide access to files using later features in NTFS.
Using NTFS as the only file system on a computer that contains both Windows XP Professional and Windows NT is not recommended. On these computers, a FAT partition ensures that the computer has access to needed files when it is started with Windows NT 4.0.
If you set up a computer with Windows NT Workstation 3.51 or earlier on a FAT partition, and Windows XP Professional on an NTFS partition, the NTFS partition is not visible while you run Windows NT Workstation 3.51.
If you configure a computer so that it contains Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional, or contains multiple Windows XP Professional partitions, you must take certain steps to use EFS so that encrypted files are readable between the different installations. Use either of the following approaches:
Ensure that all the installations are in the same domain and that the user has a roaming profile.
Export the user s file encryption certificate and associated private key from one installation and import it into the other installations.
For more information about using EFS, see Encrypting File System in this book.
Dynamic Update is a feature in Windows XP Professional Setup that works with Windows Update to download critical fixes and drivers needed for the setup process. This feature updates the required Setup files to improve the process of getting started with Windows XP Professional. Dynamic Update also downloads device drivers from the Windows Update site that are not included on the Windows XP Professional operating system CD, which ensures that devices attached to the computer work. Updates to existing drivers are not downloaded during Dynamic Update, but you can obtain them by connecting to Windows Update after setup is complete.
Dynamic Update downloads the following types of files.
Dynamic Update replaces files from the Windows XP Professional operating system CD that require critical fixes or updates. Files that are replaced also include DLLs that Setup requires. No new files are downloaded only replacements for existing files.
Dynamic Update downloads new drivers for devices that are connected to the computer and are required to run Setup. Only drivers that are not included on the operating system CD are downloaded.
For Dynamic Update to run during Setup, the computer needs an Internet connection (or access to a network share containing updates downloaded from the corporate catalog on the Windows Update Web site) and Internet Explorer 4.01 or later. If either of these requirements is not met, Dynamic Update does not connect to Windows Update or download the required files.
The user is asked if Setup should look for updates. If the user selects Yes, Dynamic Update connects to the Windows Update and searches for new drivers and critical fixes. In unattended installations, Dynamic Update is enabled by default but can be disabled by setting the following key in the answer file:
DUDisable = yes
Winnt32.exe checks for required disk space, memory, and other Setup requirements. If these requirements are not met, neither the setup process nor the Dynamic Update step proceeds. If the computer meets the setup requirements, Winnt32 checks the size of the Dynamic Update download to determine if there is enough space to download the file.
If you plan to roll out Windows XP Professional to a large number of computers, you might not want multiple users connecting to the Microsoft Windows Update Web site to download critical fixes and device drivers. Using Dynamic Update, you can download the needed files from the Windows Update Corporate site and place them on a share within your network where client computers can connect during setup. This saves bandwidth and gives you more control over what files are copied to each computer. This process also lets you choose device drivers to include during the Dynamic Update phase of setup.
| Note | Dynamic Update might download different sets of files at different times, depending on the currently available fixes. |
To download the Dynamic Update package, see the Windows Update link on the Web Resources Page at http://windows.microsoft.com/windows/reskit/webresources The download is an executable file. Run this file to expand the Dynamic Update CAB files into the shared network folder. Prepare the shared folder by running Winnt32 with the /DUPrepare:[pathtonetworkshare] parameter.
You can point to the network share containing the Dynamic Update files by running Winnt32.exe together with the /DUShare parameter or by specifying the location of the share in your answer file. For more information about downloading the Dynamic Update package, preparing the downloaded files for Dynamic Update, and installing the downloaded update files during unattended setup, see Automating and Customizing Installations in this book.
Windows Product Activation (WPA) deters piracy by requiring your Windows XP Professional installation to be activated. Product Activation is based on requiring each unique installation to have a unique product key.
WPA ties your Product Key and Product ID to your computer by creating an installation ID. The installation ID is made up of your Product Identification (PID) and a PC identifier, called a hardware ID, or HWID. The installation ID is sent to a Microsoft license clearinghouse, which verifies whether Microsoft manufactured that PID and that the PID has not been used to install the operating system on more hardware than is defined by the product s End-User License Agreement (EULA). For Windows XP Professional, the EULA states that you can install on one computer. If this check fails, activation of Windows XP Professional fails. If this check passes, your computer receives a confirmation ID that activates your computer. After Windows is activated, you never need to perform Product Activation again, unless you significantly overhaul the hardware in your computer. You must activate your installation within 30 days after installing Windows XP Professional.
If the Product Key is used to install Windows on a second computer, the activation fails. Additionally, if WPA detects that the current installation of Windows is running on a different computer than it was originally activated on, you must activate it again. In this way, WPA prevents casual copying of Windows.
| Note | WPA is not required under volume-licensing agreements. |
For unattended installations that are not performed using volume-licensing media, a separate answer file, including a unique Product Key, must be created for each computer on which Windows XP Professional is installed.
| Warning | Because Product Keys cannot be determined from within the system, it is recommended that you create a database that lists each computer and the Product Key that corresponds to its installation. |