o perform an unattended installation, you first create an answer file a text file that contains answers to the questions that Windows Setup normally prompts you for during an installation.
An answer file also can contain instructions for configuring operating system settings and installing applications without user intervention.
After you configure your answer file, you typically create a distribution share a folder that contains the Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003 installation files, as well as any device drivers or other files that are required to customize the installation.
A distribution share uses a hierarchical folder structure that is similar to the one used on computers running Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP Professional, and is typically stored on a server to which your destination computers can connect and retrieve copies of the files during an unattended installation.
The following key terms are associated with unattended installations of server 2003 :
Setup Manager: A program that creates answer files and distribution shares for unattended installations. Setup Manager (Setupmgr.exe) is included in the Deploy.cab file in the Support folder on the Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003 operating system CDs.
Unattend.txt : The default name of the answer file that you use to automate Windows Setup during an unattended installation. Unattend.txt contains headings and parameters that instruct Setup to perform various configuration tasks.
Winnt.sif : The name you give Unattend.txt when you perform an unattended installation by using the operating system CD instead of a distribution share.
Cmdlines.txt: A configurable text file that you use to customize an unattended installation. Cmdlines.txt contains a list of commands that run synchronously after Setup finishes, but before a computer restarts. Cmdlines.txt can exist on the destination computer’s hard disk or on a floppy disk, and must be specified in the [Unattended] section of Unattend.txt or Winnt.sif.
[GUIRunOnce] : A section in your answer file that is used to customize an unattended installation. The [GUIRunOnce] section contains a list of commands that run synchronously after a destination computer is started for the first time and a user logs on.
Mini-Setup : A wizard that is a subset of Windows Setup. Mini-Setup provides prompts for user-specific information, configures operating system settings, and detects new hardware. You can automate Mini-Setup by using a Sysprep.inf answer file.
File-copy mode : The first of the three stages of Setup, where the Windows program files and any additional files specified are copied to the computer’s hard disk.
Text Mode ; The second of the three stages of Setup, during which Setup determines the basic hardware of the computer (CPU, motherboard, hard disk controllers, file systems, and memory), installs the base operating system necessary to continue, and creates specified folders.
GUI mode : The third of the three stages of Setup, during which Setup configures the computer’s hardware and network settings, prompts you to provide an Administrator password, and allows you to customize the installation.
Source :
http://technet2.microsoft .com/windowsserver/en/library/ 09554f73-c6ac-451b-a4b3-f98362 76107a1033.mspx?mfr=true
Answered by Madhurima
at
1:59 PM on July 14, 2008
