InstallationTasks | Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell

InstallationTasks

Install from Product CD

To install or upgrade directly using the WS2003 product CD, first start the Setup program by one of these methods :

Boot the system directly from the product CD if your CD-ROM drive supports this method.
Start Run D:\Setup.exe to start Setup where D : is your CD-ROM drive.
Type D:\I386\Winnt.exe at the command prompt to install or upgrade systems running MS-DOS or 16-bit Windows.
Type D:\I386\Winnt32 .exe at the command prompt to install or upgrade systems running 32-bit Windows.

The advantage of the last two methods is that there are a number of command-line switches that can be used to customize Setup in various ways, as shown in Tables 4-26 and 4-27.

Table 4-26. Switches for winnt.exe

Switch	Description
/a	Enables accessibility options.
/e: command	Specifies a command to be executed when Setup finishes its GUI portion.
/r: folder	Specifies an optional folder that will be installed.
/rx: folder	Specifies an optional folder to be copied .
/s: sourcepath	Specifies where the WS2003 source files are located. Here `sourcepath` can be either a mapped drive path (e.g., `drive:\path` ) or a UNC path (e.g., `\\server\share\` `path` ). By default, the current directory is used.
/t: tempdrive	Specifies the drive to which the temporary installation files will be copied and where WS2003 will be installed. By default, the partition with the most space is used.
/u: answerfile	Used for unattended installation using an answer file. (See Unattended Install in this section for more information.) The `/s` switch must also be used to specify the location of the source files.
/udf: id {, UDBfile }	Specifies the identifier (ID) used by Setup to specify how the uniqueness database (UDB) file will modify the answer file. If you don't specify a UDB file, you will be prompted to insert a disk that contains the $Unique$.udb file. Use this switch with the `/u` switch for unattended installations.

Table 4-27. Switches for winnt32.exe

Switch	Description
/checkupgradeonly	Checks whether your computer can be successfully upgraded (same as selecting Check System Compatibility from the product CD menu).
/copydir: folder	Copies the specified folder from the share point on the distribution server to the %SystemRoot% folder on your machine. For example, you can copy a folder called \ExtraDrivers from the share point to \Winnt\ ExtraDrivers . In an automated installation, these locally copied drivers could then be used during Setup or afterward. You can use multiple instances of this switch to copy multiple folders to your machine.
/copysource: folder	Same as / `copydir` except that when Setup is finished, the copied folder is deleted.
/cmd: command	Specifies a command to be executed after the second reboot of Setup (just before the final phase of Setup occurs).
/cmdcons	Copies additional files to provide the option of loading a Recovery Console for repair and recovery actions once Setup is completed.
/debuglevel: file	Creates a debug log file at the specified level. Using `/debug` alone creates a level 2 (warning) file called C:\Winnt\Winnt32.log . The levels are cumulative in their collected information and can be 0 (severe errors), 1 (errors), 2 (warnings), 3 (information), or 4 (detailed information). This switch is normally used only in consultation with Microsoft support specialists.
/dudisable	Disables the running of Dynamic Update during Setup.
/duprepare: pathname	Prepares an installation share to use with Dynamic Update files previously downloaded from the Windows Update site.
/dushare: pathname	Specifies the share to which you previously downloaded and copied Dynamic Update files and on which you previously ran `/duprepare` .
/emsport: port	Enables or disables Emergency Management Services (EMS) during Setup and after Windows has been installed. Here, `port` can be `com1` , `com2` , `usebiossettings` , or `off` .
/m: folder	Specifies that Setup should look in an alternate location for replacement files to be used instead of the similar ones in the default location.
/makelocalsource	Specifies that the source files should be copied to your hard disk prior to beginning Setup. You can use this switch when installing from a CD so that the CD is free for other use once the files have been copied.
/noreboot	Specifies that Setup should not reboot after the file-copy phase is completed so you can execute additional commands at that point.
/s: sourcepath	Specifies the location of the WS2003 source files. You can specify multiple paths to simultaneously copy files from multiple share points, but if the first server specified is unavailable, then Setup fails.
/syspart: driveletter	Copies the Setup startup files to your hard disk and then marks the drive as active, after which you can install the hard disk in a different computer and continue Setup when you boot the computer. You must also use the `/tempdrive` switch.
/tempdrive: driveletter	Specifies the drive to which the temporary installation files will be copied and where WS2003 will be installed. By default, the partition with the most space is used.
/udf: id {,UDBfile}	Specifies the identifier (ID) used by Setup to specify how the uniqueness database (UDB) file will modify the answer file. If you don't specify a UDB file, you will be prompted to insert a disk that contains the $Unique$.udb file. Use this switch with the `/unattend` switch for unattended installations.
/unattend num : answerfile	Used for unattended installation using an answer file. (See Unattended Install later in this section for more information.) Use `num` to specify the number of seconds between when Setup finishes copying files to the machine and when it reboots to continue Setup. ( `num` works only when upgrading from an earlier version of WS2003.) Use `/unattend` by itself without specifying an answer file to automatically upgrade from NT 3.51/4.0, Windows 95/98, or an earlier version of WS2003. No user intervention is required as all settings are taken from the previous operating system.

After Setup copies a minimal version of WS2003 into memory, the text mode (blue screen) portion of Setup commences. Here, you specify:

The partition on which WS2003 will be installed (typically, C :)
The filesystem with which the partition should be formatted (typically, NTFS)
The directory where the operating-system files will be installed (typically, C:\Windows )

You can also press F8 at the appropriate point to load device drivers for SCSI or RAID drives if these are needed.

When the text mode portion of Setup is completed, operating-system files are copied from the CD to your hard disk, after which your machine reboots and the GUI mode portion of Setup (the Setup Wizard) then commences. First, you specify the following general information:

Regional settings for your geographical location
Your name and organization
The licensing mode you have chosen
The name of your computer
A password for the local Administrator account
Any optional WS2003 components you may want to install
The date and time

Note that if you plan to promote your server to a domain controller, it is important that you set the correct date and time and that these settings agree for all domain controllers on your network. This is because the date and time settings are used for timestamping directory-replication messages for Active Directory. If these settings are wrong, then replication errors may occur, potentially corrupting the directory and leading to serious problems.

Next, the Setup Wizard guides you through configuring different networking components for your machine. At this stage:

Network adapters are detected and configured.
Networking components are installed. In a Typical installation, the following components are installed by default:
Client for Microsoft Networks
File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks
TCP/IP protocol
An IP address is obtained from a DHCP server if one is available on the network (or you can manually specify an IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway for your machine).
You are prompted to join either a workgroup or a domain.

Finally, the various WS2003 networking and optional components you have specified are now installed, the configuration settings you specified are applied, temporary files created during Setup are deleted, and the computer reboots one final time to finish Setup.

Install from Network Distribution Point

To install or upgrade WS2003 over the network from a distribution server, start Setup by using your network-client software to connect to the shared folder on your distribution server. This shared folder contains the WS2003 source filesthat is, the contents of the \I386 folder on the WS2003 product CD. For example, if your target machine is already running NT 4.0 or Windows 95/98, you can simply browse Network Neighborhood to locate the shared folder on your distribution server and then double-click on the file Winnt32.exe to run the Setup program, or you can type D:\I386\winnt32.exe from the command prompt. The Setup program first copies the needed \I386 files from the distribution server to a temporary folder called $Winnt$.~ls on your computer. After the files are copied, the machine reboots and the text mode portion of Setup begins. From here on, you use the same steps as you would when installing from a CD.

Unattended Install

To install or upgrade using the unattended installation method, first use Setup Manager to create an answer file. You can find Setup Manager ( Setupmgr.exe ) on your product CD in \SUPPORT\TOOLS\Deploy.cab ; just start it and follow the wizard to specify how your answer file should respond to prompts during Setup. There are several dozen steps to follow in the wizard, depending on the choices you make along the way. By default, the resulting answer file is called unattend.txt , and it is saved in the folder where Setupmgr.exe is located. Setup Manager also creates a batch file, unattend.bat , in the same directory. This batch file demonstrates the use of the /u switch with Winnt.exe and the /unattend switch with Winnt32.exe for performing automated installations. You can then customize this batch file for use in your WS2003 deployment. Finally, if you specified more than one computer name using the wizard, Setup Manager generates the necessary UDB files and saves them in the same directory. Note that Setup Manager is a powerful tool that can be used for much more than just preparing for automated installations using answer files. For more information on how to use it, double-click on deptool.chm in your C:\SUPPORT\TOOLS folder.

Then use the answer file and the installation files (either on the product CD or on a distribution server) to perform an unattended installation of WS2003. On MS-DOS or Windows for Workgroups machines, open a command prompt and type:

  winnt /u  :    answerfile     /s  :    sourcepath     /t  :    targetdrive

On Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, or 2000 machines, use:

  winnt32 /unattend  :    answerfile     /s  :    sourcepath     {/syspart  :    targetdrive    }  {/tempdrive  :    targetdrive    }

You can also use Setup Manager to create a winnt.sif file as your answer file. Copy the winnt.sif file to a floppy disk, insert the WS2003 CD, and power on the system. Immediately after the system starts to boot off the CD, you can insert the floppy and perform an unattended installation.

Disk Imaging

The following steps are involved in deploying WS2003 using disk-imaging software. However, since WS2003 doesn't include disk-imaging software, you must purchase a third-party disk-imaging product to perform the deployment. As a result, the steps may differ depending on the instructions included with the software you purchase.

Install the System Preparation Tool ( Sysprep.exe ) from the WS2003 Resource Kit or from the \SUPPORT\TOOLS folder on the WS2003 CD.
Install and configure WS2003 on the computer whose configuration you will use to clone a master disk image. Typically, you do this on a test computer, not a production server. Also, install any applications you want on your servers, but make sure that your disk-imaging tool supports cloning of these applications. (There can be problems cloning some applications that use security identifiers [SIDs] or some similar security mechanism to ensure the uniqueness on the network of their associated services.)
Run Sysprep.exe on your master computer. This utility prepares the hard disk on the master computer for cloning by deleting the SIDs and any other user- or computer-specific information from the machine.
If you want to perform unattended installations using disk imaging, you can run Setup to create a Sysprep.inf file, which is the equivalent of an answer file for performing automated installations using disk imaging (optional). Start the Setup Manager Wizard and proceed as follows :

Create an answer file Sysprep Install WS2003 Yes, fully automate the installation specify answers for various prompts displayed during Setup

The result of running the wizard is the creation of the file Sysprep.inf , which is used by the disk-imaging software to control the installation steps. Sysprep.inf is saved by default in a new directory called \Sysprep , which also contains the Sysprep.exe utility, a batch file, and other files and folders used in disk-imaging installations.
Now reboot your master computer and run your third-party disk-imaging software on the computer to create a master disk image. Save the disk image you create in a shared folder on a file server to prepare for network installation using disk imaging. You can also save the image on a CD if you want to be able to archive images more easily.
Finally, copy the image from the share point on the file server to the target computers that you want to clone the image to, and restart these computers to start the cloning process. This step may vary depending on the disk-imaging software being used. Sysprep is used during cloning to create new unique SIDs for each target computer the image is cloned onto. Sysprep also creates a "mini-Setup" program for the target computer, which runs the first time the target computer is booted . The mini-Setup takes only about 5 minutes instead of the 45 to 60 minutes of regular Setup, and the only prompts are for accepting the EULA, specifying the user and company, specifying the workgroup or domain, specifying regional settings and TAPI location, and specifying networking protocols and services to be used. (But if you are using a Sysprep.inf file, then this mini-Setup is bypassed entirely.) Once installation is complete, the \Sysprep folder is typically deleted from the target computers.

For more information on using Sysprep , double-click on the deptool.chm file in your C:\SUPPORT\TOOLS folder, or see the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit .

Upgrade from NT

The Setup procedure is almost the same as for performing a fresh installation of WS2003, as described earlier in this topic.

Upgrade a Standalone Server

There are no special issues involved here.

Upgrade a Member Server

There are no special issues involved here.

Upgrade a Domain Controller

The Setup Wizard prompts you for whether you want to create:

A new domain or a child domain of an existing domain. Choose New Domain for your first primary domain controller (PDC) since a PDC actually defines a domain. For the other PDCs, the choice you make depends on the domain model you want to create.
A new forest or a domain tree within an existing forest. Choose New Forest for your first PDC. For the other PDCs, the choice you make depends on the domain model you want to create.

Setup prompts you for where you want to locate your SYSVOL directory and your Active Directory data and log file (must be an NTFS partition). Make sure you choose a partition with enough free spacewhen the SAM database on an NT domain controller is upgraded to Active Directory, it may occupy as much as 10 times the disk space as the original SAM database.

For backward-compatibility reasons, upgraded domain controllers are in WS2003 interim domain functional level by default. This means that:

WS2003 member servers and XP desktop machines see the upgraded domain controller as a WS2003 domain controller.
NT servers and workstations see it as an NT PDC.

Install Optional Windows Components

Control Panel Add or Remove Programs Add/Remove Windows Components select category Details select components

Categories that have grayed-out checkboxes have some but not all components already installed.

Install Third-Party Applications

Control Panel Add or Remove Programs Add New Programs {CD or Floppy Windows Update}

Check Windows Update for the latest enhancements and fixes for your server. You can also use the new Automatic Updates feature to download and install updates automatically; see Automatic Updates earlier in this chapter.

Run the Program Compatibility Wizard

Start All Programs Accessories Program Compatibility Wizard select program select a compatibility mode for testing purposes select display settings for testing select user account privileges test settings try another mode if required send results of test to Microsoft

Manually Configure Compatibility Settings

Right-click on application or shortcut Properties Compatibility select mode select display settings select user account privileges