WINDOWS 1002000 PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE KIT [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Deployment and Installation

Windows 2000 Professional provides migration paths for most of the earlier versions of Windows, including Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT Workstation 4.0. The enhancements in the Setup program, as well as the new and improved tools for customizing and automating an installation, make the operating system easier to install on individual computers or deploy to several computers in your organization.

Setup Program

The Windows 2000 Professional Setup program provides enhancements to the installation process compared to previous versions of the operating system. Some of the most important enhancements are the integration of the Plug and Play technology introduced with Windows 95 and Windows 98 and compatibility check options that allow you to verify that your hardware and software is compatible with Windows 2000 Professional before you start the installation process.

Support for Plug and Play Devices

Windows® 2000 now supports Plug and Play technology. Plug and Play automatically guides the interaction of the operating system, basic input/output system (BIOS), devices, and device drivers. Plug and Play is an enhanced implementation that extends the existing Windows NT® 4.0 input/output (I/O) structure to support Plug and Play and power management.

Compatibility Check Options

Windows 2000 Professional Setup comes with a compatibility-mode option that can be used prior to installation to examine hardware and software for known problems that might be encountered during the Setup process. It creates a report to help you determine if any hardware files or upgrade packs are needed to successfully run Windows 2000 Professional. You can print this report or save it as a file for later review.

For more information about Windows 2000 Professional Setup, see "Installing Windows 2000 Professional" in this book.

Custom and Automated Installations

Windows 2000 Professional supports enhanced deployment in the enterprise by giving administrators a variety of tools to automate installation. The process of upgrading from an earlier version of the Windows operating system or applying a service pack has also been streamlined.

By creating automated installation scripts, administrators can eliminate the need to personally visit users to configure their workstations. Traditionally, scripts have been difficult to create and required extensive research and troubleshooting to work properly. Even the most skilled script writers often could not fully automate every aspect of setup because not all setup functionality could be easily scripted. For example, installing sound cards could not be scripted.

Windows 2000 Professional includes support for automated installation scripts, such as the following:

Nearly Every Aspect of Installation Can Be Scripted. The new answer file format in Windows 2000 Professional allows you to customize and automated more components, including modems, sound cards, time zones and other aspects traditionally difficult to script. Windows 2000 Professional also supports several new tools that help administrators to make systems unique, such as setting static IP addresses or using a list of computer names.

Installation Can Be Completed with No User Interaction. Previously it was difficult to completely hide installation options from users—such as the product ID page. Every aspect of Windows 2000 Professional can be installed without user interaction.

Easier to Create Scripts. Using a new graphical tool, called Setup Manager, administrators can more easily create installation scripts. Setup Manager takes care of many traditionally challenging tasks, such as using correct syntax, and eliminates typographical errors, which often cause scripts to not work properly. Setup Manager also allows you to create or import UDF files, which are files used to apply unique settings to desktops, such as computer names and static IP addresses.

Scripts Are More Reliable. The setup process has been improved so that it does not stop installation if a noncritical device (for example, a modem) does not install properly. Windows 2000 Professional also supports better reporting mechanisms so administrators can troubleshoot installations that did not go as planned.

For more information about how to customize and automate Windows 2000 Professional installations, see "Customizing and Automating Installations" in this book.