mmarable

You can use a REG file to do it. Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate] "WUServer"="http://<SUS Server>" "WUStatusServer"="http://<SUS Server>" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU] "NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers"=dword:00000001 "NoAutoUpdate"=dword:00000000 "AUOptions"=dword:00000004 "ScheduledInstallDay"=dword:00000000 "ScheduledInstallTime"=dword:00000004 "UseWUServer"=dword:00000001 "RescheduleWaitTime"=dword:00000005 You'll have to match up the options to those listed in the GPO, I put this together too long ago to remember. If you leav the WUServer blank I believe it will default to Microsoft's site.

This will also happens if you tinker with the TXTSETUP.sif. In there it lists were setup can find the various "disks" and it's specific to each version/flavor of Windows. For example, the TXTSETUP file from Win2003 Enterprise cannot be used in a 2003 Standard CD or it will kick out this exact error. I'm sure the same holds true for WinXP Home vs. Pro. Just in case you were setting up drivers using one version and tried to use that sif file in another.

I think his issue is more with trying to get multiple txtsetup.oem files to work together. You're probably going to have to combine them into 1 single file that will cover all the drivers you're looking to add.

Well, as with all things we'll have to wait until the final product is out. Who know, MS may switch it all back into the I386 folder anyway. I'm no expert, but there may be differences in how TXTSetup is formatted. I've been having the hardest time trying to get the SATA drivers slipstreamed in, but like I said, I'm no expert at all and it's most likely either a problem with the drivers (a beta release themselves) or I'm just plain doing it wrong (most likely).

No, it won't work. The directory structure is different in the 64-bit version compared to the 32-bit. All the files we normally work with (TXTSETUP.SIF, Unattented.txt, etc.) are in a folder called "AMD64" and not "I386".

You're not going to be able to find all of them. If you are really interested in building a disk that can be used on multiple machines using SATA drivers, you're best bet will be to find out what SATA card or cards your friends have and then download them. Trying to find all of them would be impossible.

Wraith, I like that EULA trick.

If you reconsider the IRC requirement I'd gladly test it. I know I've told you that already, but just in case. I understand you're reasons for going with IRC though.

I need help. I'm stumbling around trying to use WinPE to kick off a simple unattended WinXP install. I'm using a set of scripts that likuidkewl posted some time back. My WinPE disk boots, it then creates 1 partition, assigns it "C:", makes it active and then formats it. Next, it starts the XP setup, which copies files to the hard drive and then reboots. ECHO Starting Installation... @echo off set AnswerFile="%CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386\Unattend.txt" set SetupFiles="%CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386" %CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386\winnt32.exe /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile% /syspart:c: After the system boots into XP's setup it goes through the process of loading drivers and then when it would switch over to "Starting Windows" and selecting the partition to install to it prompts me for the Windows CD. If I swap CDs and put in a standard XP CD it goes off just fine. So, it's as though it is trying to load files from the I386 directory off of the root of the CD instead of the I386 under the XP_PRO folder. I got around this once by copying the I386 directory to the C drive and running the install from there. It takes longer, but at least it worked. The problem I ran into here, is that the $OEM$ folders were not copied from the CD to the hard drive. Should the $OEM$ folders still be off of the root of the CD, or should they be at the same level as the I386 installation folder? I figure that once I have the basics worked out then I can get creative. Thanks

Not bad. I like it. I'm ususally wondering how long ago I've built a machine. Nice tidbit.

First, i want to thank everyone for thier examples, ideas and help here. I've managed to get the beginnings of an XP install working with the help. I've run into a problem with the mass storage/RAID drivers in Text Mode setup of XP. I think it's an easy fix, but I'm just not sure where to look now. I have an XP setup that has the drivers for a Promise FastTrak ATA RAID card slipstreamed in (using XPCreate to do the job). Anyway, the WinPE portion works like a charm, but after it reboots into the XP install, setup halts when it cannot find the FastTrak.sys driver. The driver is sitting compressed (.SY_) in the I386 folder of the XP files. I thought that I might just need to copy the uncompressed file there as well, but when I tested this in VirtualPC I fired it up using a basic WinPE disk and found that the compressed driver wasn't in the $WIN_NT$.~BT folder on the hard drive like I thought it would be. Even if I put the uncompressed one in I386, it doesn't look like it's going to be copied over anyway. So, now I'm confused. How can I get the driver to load, if setup didn't copy it to the hard drive? The drivers work when I just use my original unattended CD, so I don't get why it isn't working now. Where am I going wrong?

rismoney, I'd be interested in the info you have. I'm starting to work on a similar setup. We have a server that's going to be shipped overseas and I have to build a disk that the staff out there can just drop it in, boot the box and go have lunch. I need to configure the array, partition the drives, install Win2003, install some apps, and then do some simple copy jobs to populate some file shares for them. I've spent the weekend doing some "crash course" learning of WinPE and I'm getting closer. Thanks

What card are you using in the 360? When setting up an unattended 2003 install I had to add in the drivers for the 5300+ array controllers, otherwise it wouldn't boot. The driver included in Win2003 didn't work with the internal array controller on the 380s I was building. Text mode setup would run, and the files would copy over, but when it rebooted to switch to GUI mode setup, it wouldn't boot. In fact, many times it would blue screen on me.

Okay, I'm going to make my first attempt at using WinPE to do an unattended install of Windows. Here is what I want to accomplish: LIST] [*]Automate disk partitioning [*]Automate disk formatting [*]Automate Win2003 Server install [*]Automate data volume population So, from what I've found so far here is what I've come up with. Automate disk partitioning / formatting I'd have in my STARTNET.CMD file a batch file that would run the commands to partition the disk into volumes. It would also format each parition and assign drive letters to them. Lastly, it would mark drive C as active. Next, Win2003 install: The STARTNET.CMD file would then execute <drive-something>\...\win32.exe /s:... /unattend:.... I'd feed it my unattended answer file (my original WinNT.sif from my unattended CD) and off it goes. I have a lot of data that has to populate an additional hard drive, I'm guessing that it would be best to add that process into the GUIRunOnceEx of the Win2003 setup, or I'd have to put it into STARTNET.CMD before I begin the server install. Am I on the right track so far, or am I way off? Thanks

I'm not sure but I don't think that it will work. When RIS creates the flat image the tool pulls out the OS install files and ignores pretty much everything else. Come to think of it, I'm about positive that it won't work because I remember trying it with a Dell OEM CD a couple of years ago and all it would do is Windows and nothing else. I will tell you that most of the info here will also relate to RIS images as well.

Here's how I used to do it. Create a folder under $OEM$\$Progs and put the Y'Z Toolbar files and any personal icons there. You can edit the YZDock.INI file to set up you dock the way you want. Put a shortcut in $OEM$\$Docs\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and you're all set.

Wait a minute! So, with two simple REG keys I can set the theme on a "per machine" basis? This is the sort of thing I've been looking for. Currently, I have one disk that uses Compname to set the computer's name based on it's MAC address and runs an individual XPLode config. Now, with this I can set the theme specifically on each machine. Thanks for the info Tsunami.

mdes, right but the download link points to http://xpcreate.wiretapped.us/DISTRIB/XPCREATE.EXE, which is the same server as the patch lists. Try it.

I'm getting a "Cannot find server" error when trying to get to the patch lists: http://xpcreate.wiretapped.us/ XPCreate just hangs trying to download it. I thought maybe the new version might be out, so I tried to download XPCreate again and it too (sitting on the same server) isn't there now.

I'm getting a 404 file not found error on the PSD file, but the ec3 file works. <edited not 30 seconds later...> Well you fixed that fast.

What I've done for multiple configurations is to use the compname utility (it's the one mentioned above) to name the computer based on it's MAC address. Since I use XPLode at first login to install my apps, I just have the batch file rename the PC, and import into GUIRunOnceEx the entry to run XPLode using the matching XML file. So, on my disk, I have 4 different XML files for XPLode to use. One for my desktop, one for my laptop, one for my wife's machine and one "generic" in case something bombs with the MAC address. If you're not using XPLode and installing via RunOnce the same would work. Just have your batch file rename your PC and then call "Laptop.cmd" which would import into GUIRunOnceEx those program and such you want for your laptop.

Well, I've been running XPLode without problem with XP-SP2, so we know it works. I've had it run at both the T-13 and at first login. What is happening when it fails? Is it logging anything? Can you execute it manually after Windows is up and running? Have you tried a simple XML file that only creates a new user for example? Most importantly, what version of XPLode are you using?

My guess is going to be no. Since it's called from with the setup routine, you wouldn't be able to change the code so that it calls a random selection, so that options out. Since it's all on a CD/DVD you can't have a script randomly select a file from a series of winntbbu samples and rename it on the fly. If the file is copied to the hard drive during text mode setup, then you may have a shot at getting a random one out there if there was any way to run a batch file before that first reboot. Personally, I just don't think that it's possible.

Don't use $Doc to place anything in a specific user's profile with the exception of All Users. What will happen is the folders and files get copied to the hard drive during text mode setup. Then when the user first logs in, Windows finds that there already exists a user profile with that name ("juser" for example) and since it wasn't created for the user currently logging in, it creates a new set of folders and names it something like "juser.000" (I'm not sure about the exact extension added). I tried it once and got burned by this. There may be a way to work around it, but I didn't bother trying to find it. Maybe there's ar Registy key that associates a given profile folder with a user name. What I did was to do a simple copy of the icon from a folder on the CD to the desktop of the user that I created and call it from GUIRunOnceEx. So, the user logs in, the correct profile is created and the copy job copies the icon(s) to the desktop like I wanted.

I've got to say it sounds like a cool idea. Like SiMoNsAyS said, it's good to see a project evolve over time. I like it because it shows a logical, organized way to develop an unattended CD. Too many times we all try to do everything and once and then get frustrated trying to work out what went wrong when it doesn't work. This should be interesting.