Answer Files

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Any help please, i am working ym way through 70 - 270. And i have a great resource i think. Which really well tells me what an answer file is and how to create one, all it seems to forget to do is tell me how to put one into action. Same with UDF

 

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on your 2000/xp cd, look in the support\tools folder. there's a deploy.cab. extract the content. setupmgr.exe will help you create an answer file. there should also be a chm with all the answer file options.

[edit] ah, i misread your question. to put it in action you can call it using the winnt.exe option /u:unattend.txt

 

What you do is create the answer file and save it as winnt.sif (.sif being the extention or file type). Then you put that file onto a floppy disk and when the message to boot from cd-rom pops up (before the blue text based setup) insert the floppy and away it goes!

PS here is my answer file i use for my lab to have a look at! just extract the RAR...

 

Ok, so you both managed to completley confuse me 100%. I have created my answer file that is so easy. Now what do i do with it to make it work. I have a blank HDD you could say what do i do? Will i still need the XP Pro cd or does this depend if i save it all to my PC in a folder? SO lets sa i still need the CD how do i make this answer file work?

 

Insert the floppy just after the system starts to boot from the XP CD, as long as the answer file is called winnt.sif it will work.

More info here...

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/0930ddbf-3636-4b77-81ff-c1a073f38cbb1033.mspx

There are many different ways that answer files can be used, I would suggest that you google "unattended installation" and start researching them.

 

jay, perhaps you could start by telling us which materials you are reading from to start this project. The reason I'm asking is because most study guides (MS Press, Sybex, Syngress, etc) would explain to you what to do with this answer file. Are you doing this after reading some general articles which doesn't explain much? Let us know so we could guide you in the right direction. If you are asking about how to setup something, it would take quite a bit of time to explain all the details, but if you ask what does it do, then we could give you a general idea and give you link to good articles to read up on. Sorry if I may sound like complaining, but many of your earlier questions sounded like you didn't much of a reading before venturing on the installations.

 

wouldn't you use winnt32?

 

not when starting the setup from a bootflop.

 

Zimbo - i thought this stuff automatically installs the serial number, and drivers and stuff? So where are the details? I have only heard about the unattended installations...

 

I use www.vtc.com its ok but not that good. I did see a post on here which had 3 books in it which i should get. I did ask the library and they did say they would order them. But i can't really wait as long as they are going to take.

 

Oh yer and one last thing as well, more and more pc's these days are being built with no floppy drive. Like all of mine were. How do you use an answer file if you dont have a floppy drive?

 

keep in mind that the unattended install using an answer file is an old technology, that was introduced with nt4 to allow admins to easily deploy workstations in the enterprise. microsoft has included the unattend option with all subsequent windows releases, but in effect it has been surpassed by newer deployment technologies, or by third party deployment technologies.
as for machines without a floppy drive that for some reason still need to be deployed using an answer file, you can try booting from usb, or you can create a custom bootable cd.
please note that you will also find that ris still uses answer files.

 

Ok i have had a mess around, and i keep getting told do it with a floppy or don't! Apparently the floppy is the Microsoft way and in order to pass it has to be the Microsoft way. So i have now got VMware and have done it that way. I suppose Answer Files are quite easy when you know how. Anyway it worked fine! Thanks for all your help.

 

hmmm i had that thought too.. so can you say RIS and deployment using Group Policy is the *new* approach?

 

according to microsoft yes. but in the real world things are not really that simple. for instance, deploying software using gpo's is indeed possible, but not very flexible, manageable or scalable in large and complex environments. but there are plenty of options. just like an unattended install has always been one of many options.

 

i actually use my floppy everyday...i change the Windows Code and let it run.. saves me time and in the future if im working in a larger enviroment i think carrying a floppy to do an unattended is harmless... i think it about time MS thought about replacing the floppy with a memory stick?? insert that with the file at setup!

 

the fact that you use a floppy, that is your choice. it is not a microsoft requirement. you can use an answer file on other media. or you can use a different technology.

 

how? i mean have my winnt.sif file on my memory stick and let windows get answers from it?

 

In my PC i have a card reader sort of thing that is where the floppy would be. That reads about 40 different cards. I would expct that is configured to act as my floppy drive so i would one day test my winnt.sif on there and see if it works.