Balkanac

Jawel, As i stated in my previous post... ... (FDISK and make active partition and format as FAT32 the same as original partition where the Winnt32 was executed) then i copy files stated above. ... Thank you for your reaction... Anyone else please Regards Balkanac

Okay: M$ shows us the OS install architecture in the following image... Unattended install architecture of OS (taken form M$) I am doing the following (on a clean FAT32 formatted disk with two partitions): 1.) First run (within WinPE) the following command: <I386DIR>:\WINNT32 /SYSPART:C /TEMPDRIVE:C /MAKELOCALSOURCE /NOREBOOT /U:C:\UNATTEND.TXT The first copy file phase (Initial stage) is done + Intermediate stage Now.... I want to distribute this "ready to install partition" to other machines so i can avoid the first copy phase each time when i deploy the OS. This partition contains (for now) the following: boot.ini $ldr$ ntdetect.com txtsetup.sif $win_nt.~ls $win_nt.~bt unattend.txt If i make a copy of this partition (without rebooting) by using third party imaging tool (like Ghost or Driveimage or any other..) and deploy to destination machines than it works like a charm. Drop the image to first partition of destination disk and reboot the machine. It will continue with second part of textmode-stage installation (Intermediate stage) and run without any problem. but... All these files are 8.3 files (no LFN files at this stage) so i should be able to copy them from CD (or network sahre) by using DOS command XCOPY command. First i take care for creation of destination partition (FDISK and make active partition and format as FAT32 the same as original partition where the Winnt32 was executed) then i copy files stated above. But when i reboot (and hope it will continue with second stage) it says: Invalid system disk. Replace the disk, and then press any key. What do i miss here? How to solve this within MS-DOS command line? Why doesn't the MBR find the $ldr$... Is there someting else i have to do in order to emulate the disk imaging tool. Bootsector, MBR fix or stuff like that? IF anyone can tell me if this is possible...

This thing rocks. great gosh... I'm trying to acomplish something simmilar, but... this is what i want. a short introduction... I have a 16 bit program (internally developed within my company) which takes care of the following (it is executed prior to installation of OS): STEP 1: PARTITION (1 partion 6144 MB) and FORMAT DISK (FAT 32) AND REBOOT STEP 2: - Starts MS-DOS, connects to network share, initiates Mini WIN 3.X from network ( + custom WIN 16 bit app (written in VB4-16 bit as a better replacement for all those legacy DOS batch input solutions you guys are struggling) - Takes input from user (OS selection, machine info, domain, OU, type, network settings, machine roles, additional packages to install after OS installation and other personalised info...) - Builds $OEM$ dir on C:\ drive dynamically with required drivers (net, video, scsi, raid, smartcard, sound and compaq Support tools) - makes replacements on customized unattend.txt (which has an option of OEMfilesdir pointing to C:\$OEM$) and places it on C:\ - generates a configuration file (machine.ini) and places in c:\ which is used as a parameter file for firing installations either with cmdlines.txt or runoncegui options (let's just say a sort of Custom 'XPLODE' product that takes care of everything after OS installation. - finally starts \\networkshare\OSDIR\I386\winnt.exe with dynamically build C:\unattend.txt with /s:\\networkshare\OSDIR\I386\ and continues installation with windows setup screen It works great. Windows 2000 server installation + packages install (90 minutes) Windows 2003 server installation + packages install (120 minutes) in the end i have a fully corporate standardized server installation Now... I would like to apply this gosh's trick as follows ( i think i can save another 10-20 minutes per install and i don't want to use solutions like ADS or DISK IMAGING): Let's just say that the last step of my method (instead of initiating installation from network with winnt.exe /u:<my dynamically generated unattend file.txt> /s:\\networkshare\OSDIR\I386\ i do the following:) Copy all files (which are previosly created with winnt32 /syspart install) from network \\networkshare\OSDIR\GOSHWAY\(C:\$WIN_NT$.~LS and C:\$WIN_NT$.~BT and some files on the root of C: like bootldr etc) to c:\ drive with my application (since they are still 8.3 files i can handle copying within my 16 bit application) and reboot the PC. That means i skip first part of copying files with windows setup (which is slower than copying these mentioned dirs directly to C:\ drive) and let Windows do the rest. and than build $OEM$ dir dynamically with dynamically winnt.sif and in the end reboot. I would say it must work: (i could save 10-20 minutes per installations) But..., what about the bootsector. How to make my C: drive behave like a drive which has already passed the first part of installation and made bootable. I miss a piece of a puzzle here. I need to prepare a c: disk with all these folders and files and make drive bootable (it should be 16 bit dos program)... I tried some of them but it doesn't work for me... Does this make a sense... Can anyone tell me if this is possible? I think the knowledge of bootsectors and MBR is here important (and i do mis that part) Thanks a lot, Balkanac

It sounds great... Maybe also a possibility to automatically prepare files (needed for installation of third party mass storage drivers) with proper customizations. what i mean is, can you automate this also please? can't wait to test... 288344 - HOWTO Unattended Installation of Third Party Mass Storage Drivers in Windows NT and Windows 2000 For the following example to work on Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000, the 3rd party drivers must use the Txtsetup.oem method of installation. You must use a distribution folder. 1. Create a $OEM$ folder under the distribution folder (<Drive:>\i386\$OEM$). 2. Create a folder named TEXTMODE uner the $OEM$ folder (<Drive:>\i386\$OEM$\TEXTMODE). 3. Copy all the driver files to the TEXTMODE folder. This must include the Txtsetup.oem file and at least one driver file (.sys). 4. Use Notepad to edit Txtsetup.oem and remove any reference in the [disks] section to \, floppy drives, and any other paths, replacing these references with a .. Example: [disks] d1 = "Windows 2000 Driver Set v1.00", \w2kdsk1, \win2000\ultra160\ becomes: [disks] d1 = "Windows 2000 Driver Set v1.00", w2kdsk1, . <--- Note the period at the end of the line. 5. Use Notepad to edit the Unattend.txt file and create: [MassStorageDrivers] "string that identifies the controller in the [scsi] section of TXTSETUP.OEM" = "OEM". Example: [MassStorageDrivers] "Adaptec Ultra160 Family PCI SCSI Controller (29160, 39160, etc.)" = "OEM" 6. If you use this Unattend.txt on systems with IDE controllers that start using the in-box drivers, then also add "IDE CD-ROM (ATAPI 1.2)/PCI IDE Controller" = "RETAIL" to the [MassStorageDrivers] section, or you will BSOD with a Inaccessible Boot Device. 7. Create an [OEMBootFiles] section in the unattend.txt file and list the files that you copied into the TEXTMODE folder (step 3). This should include an .inf, .sys, and for Windows 2000 a .cat file. Example: [OEMBootFiles] Driver.Sys Driver.INF Driver.CAT Txtsetup.oem 8. Add a OemPreinstall=Yes to the [unattended] section, or Setup won't recognize the drivers.