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Overview of Customizing and Automating Installations
In large organizations which support hundreds or even thousands of desktop computers, it is expensive and inefficient to install the operating system manually on each computer, and to answer every question Setup asks. In this environment, it is often necessary to automate the installation process. Different software and hardware configurations and varying user needs also make it necessary to customize installations.An automated installation involves running Setup with minimal or no user interaction. Questions asked when Setup is running, are answered by an answer file. An answer file or script file is a text file with a specific format that contains predefined settings and information used by Setup. It can also contain optional information or instructions for running programs and applications. A custom installation is a modification of a standard Windows 2000 Professional installation that supports specific hardware and software configurations and meets specific user needs. To customize an installation, modify the answer file to provide Setup with specific answers and instructions and add specific custom files, applications, and programs to the distribution folder.
Customization and Automation Process
The process for customizing and automating a Windows 2000 Professional installation includes the following steps:
PlanGather the data you need to choose the appropriate tool for installing the operating system in your organization. As you plan for the installation, determine types of users and their needs; conduct an inventory of existing clients and assess your network infrastructure. PrepareGather all necessary information, verify that you have the software and hardware that you need, create a distribution folder, and create an answer file. CustomizeAdd devices, drivers, applications, Help files, support information, and other components of your choice. DeployDeploy the operating system in an automated fashion using the tool you chose in step 1.
Each of these steps is described in detail in this chapter. Figure 5.1 illustrates the entire process.
Figure 5.1 Generic Method for Automating and Customizing Installations
What's New
Windows 2000 Professional introduces many new features that simplify the process of customizing and automating an installation. It also includes enhancements to existing features in other versions of Windows, making it easier, more efficient, and less expensive to customize, automate, and deploy an installation of the operating system. Some of the most important features and benefits of Windows 2000 Professional include the following:Setup Manager, for more efficient creation of answer files. Setup Manager is a wizard that guides you through the process of creating a custom answer file. You can use it to set many of the answer file parameters that customize and automate an installation. Using this tool also minimizes data-entry errors that are more likely to happen when using a text editor to create the answer file.Greater choice of tools and methods. Windows 2000 Professional provides customization and automation tools and methods. Choose from either an improved version of the traditional unattended installation method or from new imaging tools, such as Remote Installation Services (RIS) and the System Preparation Tool (Sysprep). Your choice depends on the specific needs of users in your organization, your computer configurations and models, your existing network infrastructure, and the number of computers participating in the customization and automation process.Easier to customize components. With Windows 2000 Professional you can customize nearly all installation components, including installing modems, installing sound cards, presetting passwords, presetting time zones, detecting display options, and automatically converting file allocation table (FAT16/FAT32) file systems to NTFS. You can also automate computer-specific information, such as setting static IP addresses or using a list of computer names.Automatic application installation. Windows 2000 Professional enables you to conveniently install applications during the automation process.Flexibility in your choice of hardware. You can install devices on computers running Windows 2000 Professional that do not have built-in support in the operating system.Audit capability. Windows 2000 Professional allows you audit and test installations.
Methods and Tools for Customizing and Automating Installations
The primary methods and tools available for automating and customizing Windows 2000 Professional installations are the following.Unattended installations using Winnt.exe and Winnt32.exe. Unattended installations allow administrators to completely or partially automate installation of Windows 2000 Professional on multiple computers, requiring minimal user input.Disk duplication using Sysprep.exe. Disk duplication, or imaging, is a method for duplicating a configuration to multiple destination computers. The destination computers might be part of a network or nonnetworked. Sysprep works on computers that have similar hardware configurations with identical hardware controllers and hardware abstraction layers (HALs) as the source computer. Remote Installations using Remote Installation Services. Remote installation allows you to perform clean installations of Windows 2000 Professional on clients that are part of a Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server–based network and that are properly configured to support RIS. With this technology, clients use a RIS server to start remotely and to install Windows 2000 Professional and applications.Electronic distribution using Systems Management Server or third-party software management software. Microsoft® Systems Management Server version 2.0 provides tools that allows administrators to centrally deploy and manage Windows 2000 Professional.
Feature Comparison with Previous Versions of Windows
Depending on whether you are upgrading from Windows 95, Windows 98, or Microsoft® Windows NT® Workstation version 4.0, you might be familiar with the customization and automation tools available in Windows 2000 Professional.
Windows 95
Use Table 5.1 to compare the customization tools used for Windows 95 with those prescribed for Windows 2000 Professional.Table 5.1 Comparison of Customization Tools for Windows 95 and Windows 2000 Professional
| Windows 95 | Windows 2000 Professional |
|---|---|
| Use NetSetup to create answer files. | Use Setup Manager to create answer files. |
| You can perform unattended installations but no support is provided for: Third-party drivers.Multiple network adapters.Microsoft® Internet Explorer and Proxy services. Selection of components (Notepad). | You can perform unattended installations with added support allowing the following: Plug and Play drivers can be added to the distribution folder for automation. Multiple network adapters can be configured. Internet Explorer and proxy services with answer files or IEAK.ins files can be configured. Support is also provided for selection of components. |
| Create an answer file in Msbatch.inf format by using NetSetup. | Create an answer file in Unattend.txt format by using Setup Manager or a text editor, such as Notepad. |
| Use Msbatch.inf to customize system settings, force Setup options, and copy additional files. | Use answer files in Unattended.txt format to customize system settings, force Setup options, and copy additional files. |
| Use NetSetup to prepare a network server to run Setup.exe on client computers. | Use Setup Manager to create a distribution folder and copy the Windows 2000 Professional installation files and optional components. – Or –Use Remote Installation Services (RIS).– Or –Use Systems Management Server (SMS). |
| Add device drivers by using a trial and error process. | Add device drivers by using the distribution folder and answer files. |
| Use Automate.inf to create answer files that include the Windows 95 Accessibility Options. | Accessibility options are installed by default. |
| Use Netdet.ini to detect components on NetWare networks. | Use the [NetProtocols], [params.MS_NWIPX], and related sections in the answer file to detect components on NetWare networks. |
| Use Wrkgrp.ini to specify a list of workgroups that users can join. | Use the [Identification] section in the answer file to specify a list of workgroups that users can join. |
| Use System policies and user profiles to customize the desktop contents and restrict users' abilities to change configurations. | Use Group Policy to customize the desktop contents and restrict users' abilities to change configurations. |
Windows 98
Use Table 5.2 to compare the customization tools used for Windows 98 with those prescribed for Windows 2000 Professional.Table 5.2 Comparison of Customization Methods for Windows 98 and Windows 2000 Professional
| Windows 98 | Windows 2000 Professional |
|---|---|
| Use Microsoft Batch 98 to create Setup scripts. | Use Setup Manager to create answer files. |
| You can perform unattended installations but no support is provided for: Third-party drivers.Multiple network adapters.Microsoft® Internet Explorer and Proxy services. Selection of components (Notepad). | You can perform unattended installations with added support allowing the following: Plug and Play drivers can be added to the distribution folder for automation. Multiple network adapters can be configured. Internet Explorer and proxy services with answer files or IEAK.ins files can be configured. Support is also provided for selection of components. |
| Use Msbatch.inf to customize system settings, force Setup options, and copy additional files. | Use answer files in Unattended.txt format to customize system settings, force Setup options, and copy additional files. |
| To install the operating system over the network, use a simple drag-and-drop solution: copy the Windows 98 CAB files to an installation point on a network server. | To install the operating system over the network, use Setup Manager to create a distribution folder and copy the Windows 2000 Professional installation files and optional components to that central installation point. – Or –Use Remote Installation Services (RIS).– Or –Use Systems Management Server. |
| Use INF Installer (Infinst.exe) to add device drivers. | Use the distribution folder, the [MassStorageDrivers] and [OEMBootFiles] sections in the answer file, and Txtsetup.oem file to add device drivers. |
| Use Preptool to duplicate (image) custom Windows 98 installations. | Use Sysprep to duplicate (image) custom Windows 2000 Professional installations. |
| Use Microsoft Batch 98 to generate a script with the Windows 98 accessibility options. | Accessibility options are installed by default. |
| Use Netdet.ini to detect components on NetWare networks. | Use the [NetProtocols], [params.MS_NWIPX], and related sections in the answer file to detect components on NetWare networks. |
| Use Wrkgrp.ini to specify a list of workgroups that users can join. | Use the [Identification] section in the answer file to specify a list of workgroups that users can join. |
| Use System policies and user profiles to customize the desktop contents and restrict users' abilities to change configurations. | Use Group Policy to customize the desktop contents and restrict users' abilities to change configurations. |
| Use Apps.inf to automate upgrades from Windows 95 to Windows 98. | Use Setup in unattended mode or Systems Management Server to automate upgrades from Windows 98 to Windows 2000 Professional. |
Windows NT Workstation 4.0
If you are upgrading from Windows NT Workstation 4.0, refer to Table 5.3 to compare the customization methods you used to the methods available in Windows 2000 Professional.Table 5.3 Comparison of Customization Methods for Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows 2000 Professional
| Windows NT Workstation 4.0 | Windows 2000 Professional |
|---|---|
| Use Setup Manager to create Setup scripts. | Use the improved version of Setup Manager to create answer files. |
| You can perform unattended installations but no support is provided for: Third-party drivers.Multiple network adapters.Microsoft® Internet Explorer and Proxy services. Selection of components (Notepad). | You can perform unattended installations with added support allowing the following: Plug and Play drivers can be added to the distribution folder for automation. Multiple network adapters can be configured. Internet Explorer and proxy services with answer files or IEAK.ins files can be configured. Support is also provided for selection of components. |
| Sysprep.exe is used to replicate model computer configurations to destination computers with exactly the same hardware. There is no support for regional options. Sysprep.exe is available only with a signed license.There is no support for configuring network and domain components. | Enhanced Sysprep.exe is used to replicate model computer configurations to destination computers with diverse hardware. The hardware controller and HAL must still be identical on the destination computers. Sysprep.exe can be used for networked computers.Support is provided for regional options and multiple languages.Sysprep.exe is integrated with the operating system; no license is required. |
