Chapter 2 Automating the Windows 2000 Installation MICROSOFT EXAM OBJECTIVES COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER  Perform an unattended installation of Windows 2000 Professional.  Install Windows 2000 Professional by using Windows 2000 Server Remote Installation Services (RIS).  Install Windows 2000 Professional by using the System Preparation Tool.  Create unattended answer files by using Setup Manager to automate the installation of Windows 2000 Professional.  Install applications by using Windows Installer packages. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com Y ou can automate the installation of Windows 2000 Profes- sional in several ways: by using Remote Installation Services (RIS), disk imaging, or unattended installation. To help facilitate remote installations, you can also use answer files. Answer files are used with automated instal- lation to provide answers to the questions that are normally asked during the installation process. After you’ve installed Windows 2000 Professional, you can automate the installation of applications by using Windows Installer packages. This chapter begins with an overview of the three main automated deployment options. Next, it details the use of unattended answer files, RIS, and disk images. Finally, you will learn how to automate application instal- lation through the use of Windows Installer packages. Choosing Automated Deployment Options I f you need to install Windows 2000 Professional on multiple comput- ers, you could manually install the operating system on each computer, as described in Chapter 1, “Getting Started with Windows 2000 Professional.” However, automatic deployment will make your job easier, more efficient, and more cost effective. You can use the following options for automated deployment:  Remote installation  Disk imaging (cloning)  Unattended installation The following sections provide an overview of each of these options. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com Choosing Automated Deployment Options 43 An Overview of Remote Installation Remote Installation Services ( RIS ) is a new technology that has been intro- duced with Windows 2000 to allow remote installation of Windows 2000 Professional. An RIS server installs Windows 2000 Professional on RIS clients, as illus- trated in Figure 2.1. The RIS server must have the RIS server software installed and configured. RIS clients are computers that have a Pre-Boot Execution Environment ( PXE ) network card or use an RIS boot disk with a PXE-compatible network card. No other software is required to connect to the RIS server. Remote installation is a good choice for automatic deploy- ment when you need to be able to deploy large numbers of computers and your clients are PXE-compliant. FIGURE 2.1 Remote Installation Services (RIS) uses an RIS server and RIS clients. The RIS server can be configured with either of two types of images:  A CD-based image contains only the Windows 2000 Professional operating system. You can create answer files for CD-based images to respond to the Setup program’s configuration prompts.  A Remote Installation Preparation (RIPrep) image can contain the Windows 2000 operating system and applications. This type of image is based on a preconfigured computer. RIS installation is covered in detail in the “Using Remote Installation Ser- vices” section later in this chapter. RIS Server RIS Client Stores: RIS server software Windows 2000 Professional CD-based or RIPrep image Answer files (optional) Requires a PXE-based boot ROM, an RIS boot disk with a network adapter that supports PXE, or a NetPC computer Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com 44 Chapter 2  Automating the Windows 2000 Installation An Overview of Disk Imaging Disk imaging , or disk duplication, is the process of creating a reference com- puter for the automated deployment. The reference, or source, computer has Windows 2000 Professional installed and is configured with the settings and applications that should be installed on the target computers. Disk imaging is a good choice for automatic deployment when you have the hardware that supports disk imaging and you have a large number of computers with sim- ilar configuration requirements. For example, education centers that rein- stall the same software every week might use this technology. You use the System Preparation Tool ( Sysprep) utility to prepare the disk image, then you remove the drive with the disk image and insert it into a spe- cial piece of hardware, called a disk duplicator, to copy the images. The cop- ied disks are inserted into the target computers. After you add the hard drive that contains the disk image to the target computers, you can complete the installation from those computers. Figure 2.2 illustrates the disk-imaging process. You can also copy disk images by using special third-party software. FIGURE 2.2 Disk imaging uses a reference computer for configuring target computers. Creating disk images is covered in detail in the “Using Disk Images” sec- tion later in this chapter. An Overview of Unattended Installation Unattended installation is a practical method of automatic deployment when you have a large number of clients to install and the computers are not PXE-compliant. With an unattended installation, you use a distribution server to install Windows 2000 Professional on a target computer. The distribution server contains the Windows 2000 Professional operat- ing system files and possibly an answer file to respond to installation config- uration queries. The target computer must be able to connect to the Duplicated disk Windows 2000 Professional computer Source Windows 2000 Professional computer Target Disk Duplicator Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com Using Setup Manager to Create Answer Files 45 distribution server over the network. After the distribution server and target computers are connected, you can initiate the installation process. Figure 2.3 illustrates the unattended installation process. FIGURE 2.3 Unattended installation uses a distribution server and a target computer. The process for unattended installations is covered in Mastering Windows 2000 Server , by Mark Minasi (Sybex, 2000). Using Setup Manager to Create Answer Files A nswer files are automated installation scripts that are used to answer the questions that appear during a normal Windows 2000 Professional instal- lation. You can use answer files with Windows 2000 unattended installations, Sysprep (disk images), or RIS installations. Setting up answer files allows you to easily deploy Windows 2000 Professional to computers that may not be configured in the same manner, with little or no user intervention.  Microsoft Exam Objective Perform an unattended installation of Windows 2000 Professional.  Create unattended answer files by using Setup Manager to auto- mate the installation of Windows 2000 Professional. Stores: Windows 2000 Professional operating system files Answer files (optional) Requires enough software to connect to the distribution server Target Distribution Server Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com 46 Chapter 2  Automating the Windows 2000 Installation You create answer files through the Setup Manager ( SETUPMGR ) utility. There are several advantages to using Setup Manager to create answer files:  You can easily create answer files through a graphical interface, which reduces syntax errors.  The utility simplifies the addition of user-specific or computer-specific configuration information.  With Setup Manager, you can include application setup scripts within the answer file.  The utility creates the distribution folder that will be used for instal- lation files. In order to access the Setup Manager utility, you must extract the Win- dows 2000 Deployment Tools from the Windows 2000 Professional CD. The following sections explain how to access the Setup Manager utility and how to use Setup Manager to create an unattended answer file. Extracting the Windows 2000 Deployment Tools The Windows 2000 Deployment Tools include the Setup Manager utility for creating unattended answer files, as well as the System Preparation Tool utility for creating disk images. The Deployment Tools are stored on the Windows 2000 Professional CD, in the \Support\Tools folder, in the Deploy.cab file. You can extract these files by using the File  Extract command in Windows Explorer. The following steps are used to extract the Windows 2000 Deployment Tools: 1. Log on to your Windows 2000 computer as Administrator. 2. Use Windows Explorer to create a folder named Deployment Tools on the root folder of your C: drive. 3. Insert the Windows 2000 Professional CD. Using Windows Explorer, copy the \Support\Tools\Deploy file (the .cab extension is hidden by default) to the C:\Deployment Tools folder. 4. Double-click the Deploy.cab file to display its contents, as shown in Figure 2.4. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com Using Setup Manager to Create Answer Files 47 FIGURE 2.4 The Deploy.cab file contents 5. In Windows Explorer, select Edit  Select All. Then select File  Extract. 6. The Browse for Folder dialog box appears. Select Local Disk (C:) and then Deployment Tools. Click the OK button to extract the files to the specified folder. 7. Verify that the Deployment Tools were extracted to C:\Deployment Tools. There should be eight items (including the Deploy.cab file). In Exercise 2.1, you will extract the Windows 2000 Deployment Tools. EXERCISE 2.1 Extracting the Windows 2000 Deployment Tools 1. Log on to your Windows 2000 computer as Administrator. 2. Select Start  Programs  Accessories  Windows Explorer. 3. In Windows Explorer, double-click My Computer, and then double- click Local Disk (C:). Select File  New  Folder. Type in Deploy- ment Tools for the folder name. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com 48 Chapter 2  Automating the Windows 2000 Installation Using Setup Manager to Create Unattended Answer Files After you have extracted the Windows 2000 Deployment Tools from the Windows 2000 Professional CD, you can run the Setup Manager utility to create a new answer file, create an answer file that duplicates the current computer’s configuration, or edit answer existing answer files. The following steps describe how to create a new installation script. In this example, the instructions describe how to create an answer file for an RIS installation that provides default answers, uses the default display con- figuration, configures typical network settings, and does not edit any addi- tional options. 1. Select Start  Run and click the Browse button in the Run dialog box. Double-click the Deployment Tools folder, double-click the Setupmgr program, and then click the OK button. 2. The Windows 2000 Setup Manager Wizard starts, as shown in Fig- ure 2.5. Click the Next button. 4. Insert the Windows 2000 Professional CD into your computer (hold down the Shift key if you want to bypass the auto-play feature). 5. In Windows Explorer, double-click the CD drive (the E: drive if you configured your computer as specified in Exercise 1.1), double- click the Support folder, and then double-click the Tools folder. 6. Right-click DEPLOY and select Copy. Double-click the Local Disk (C:), and then double-click the Deployment Tools folder. Right-click and select Paste. 7. Double-click the Deploy.cab file. Select Edit  Select All, and then select File  Extract. 8. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, select Local Disk (C:) and then Deployment Tools. Click the OK button. 9. Check the C:\Deployment Tools folder in Windows Explorer to make sure that it contains the eight items. 10. Close Windows Explorer. EXERCISE 2.1 (continued) Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com Using Setup Manager to Create Answer Files 49 FIGURE 2.5 The Welcome to the Windows 2000 Setup Manager Wizard dialog box 3. The New or Existing Answer File dialog box appears, as shown in Fig- ure 2.6. This dialog box provides choices for creating a new answer file, creating an answer file that duplicates this computer’s configura- tion, or modifying an existing answer file. Select the Create a New Answer file option and click the Next button. FIGURE 2.6 The New or Existing Answer File dialog box Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com 50 Chapter 2  Automating the Windows 2000 Installation 4. The Product to Install dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2.7. You can choose Windows 2000 Unattended Installation, Sysprep Install, or Remote Installation Services. Select Remote Installation Services and click the Next button. FIGURE 2.7 The Product to Install dialog box 5. The User Interaction Level dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2.8. This dialog box offers the following options:  The Provide Defaults option allows you to configure default answers that will be displayed. The user is prompted to review the default answer and can change the answer if desired.  The Fully Automated option uses all of the answers in the answer file and will not prompt the user for any interaction.  The Hide Pages option hides the Wizard page from the user, if you have supplied all of the answers on the Windows Setup Wizard page.  The Read Only option allows the user to see the Setup Wizard dis- play page, but not to make any changes to it (this option is used if the Setup Wizard display page is shown to the user).  The GUI Attended option allows only the text-mode portion of the Windows Setup program to be automated. Select the Provide Defaults option and click the Next button to continue. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com [...]... Perform an unattended installation of Windows 2000 Professional Install Windows 2000 Professional by using the System Preparation Tool Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com 76 Chapter 2 Automating the Windows 2000 Installation In order to create a disk image, you install Windows 2000 Professional on the source computer with the configuration that you want to copy The source computer’s... button FIGURE 2.18 The Windows Components Wizard 5 The Insert Disk dialog box prompts you to insert the Windows 2000 Server CD so that the proper files can be copied Insert the CD and click the OK button 6 After the process is complete, the Competing the Windows Compo- nents Wizard dialog box appears Click the Finish button 7 When you see the System Settings Change dialog box, click the Yes button to... select the Windows installation image Enter a name and text, then click the Next button Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com Using Remote Installation Services (RIS) FIGURE 2.23 The Windows Installation Image Folder Name dialog box FIGURE 2.24 The Friendly Description and Help Text dialog box Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com 65 66 Chapter 2 Automating the Windows 2000. .. Save button Then click the Next button FIGURE 2.15 The Answer File Name dialog box Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com 56 Chapter 2 Automating the Windows 2000 Installation 13 The Completing the Windows 2000 Setup Manager Wizard dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2.16 Click the Finish button FIGURE 2.16 The Completing the Windows 2000 Setup Manager Wizard In Exercise 2.2, you will... (remboot.txt) and click the Save button Then click the Next button 13 When the Completing the Windows 2000 Setup Manager Wizard dialog box appears, click the Finish button Your answer file will be created Using Remote Installation Services (RIS) Y ou can remotely install Windows 2000 Professional through RIS For RIS installation, you need an RIS server that stores the Windows 2000 Professional operating... an unattended installation of Windows 2000 Professional Install Windows 2000 Professional by using Windows 2000 Server Remote Installation Services (RIS) The following are some of the advantages of using RIS for automated installation: You can remotely install Windows 2000 Professional The procedure simplifies server image management by allowing you to access Windows 2000 distribution files and use... box Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com 70 Chapter 2 Automating the Windows 2000 Installation 6 You return to the Users or Groups dialog box Click the Next button 7 The Tasks to Delegate dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2.31 Select the Join a Computer to the Domain check box and click the Next button FIGURE 2.31 The Tasks to Delegate dialog box 8 The Completing the Delegation... detection during the installation process You can quickly recover the operating system in the event of a computer failure Windows 2000 security is retained when you restart the destination computer The following sections describe how to set up the RIS server and the RIS clients, and how to install Windows 2000 Professional through RIS RIS is usually used for remote installation of Windows 2000 Professional... Click the Advanced option and select Optional Components FIGURE 2.17 The Windows 2000 Configure Your Server dialog box Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com Using Remote Installation Services (RIS) 61 3 Click the Start the Windows Components Wizard option 4 The Windows Components Wizard starts, as shown in Figure 2.18 Select the Remote Installation Services option and click the Next... Automating the Windows 2000 Installation The instructions in this section describe how to use a CD-based image To create an RIPrep image, run the Remote Installation Service Setup Wizard on a Windows 2000 Professional computer that has been configured to be used as an image 5 The Installation Source Files Location dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2.22 Specify the location of the Windows 2000 Professional . 2 Automating the Windows 2000 Installation MICROSOFT EXAM OBJECTIVES COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER  Perform an unattended installation of Windows 2000. Install Windows 2000 Professional by using Windows 2000 Server Remote Installation Services (RIS).  Install Windows 2000 Professional by using the System