windows xp unattended installation via bartpe fails

[nick_007308]

hi folks,

I'm trying to use bartpe to launch the windows xp pro installation, with an unattended script as well.

after booting into the cd, I used diskpart to make one big partition (full size of the harddisk), set it to active, and formatted it to ntfs.

when I launch the setup by starting winnt32.exe with the parameters /unattended and /syspart with the settings for me, it starts copying the files, and finishes in a few seconds.

the setup closes, and I'm thrown back to the desktop.

after a reboot, the harddisk still doesn't contain the files needed to boot from harddisk and continue the setup.

the way my cd is set up is like this:

[root]

i386 folder [by bartpe]

wxp folder [which contains the entire content of the xp cd]

a few files created by bartpe (win51 or something like that...)

I've been searching on the internet for hours, but I still can't find where the problem comes from.

anybody who knows what I'm doing wrong?

thanks

Nick

Edited August 15, 2007 by nick_007308

[Jazkal]

It would help if you gave the exact command line your using, as well as the unattend.txt file contents (minus the key of course).

[nick_007308]

ok, thanks for the reply

the batch file I use to start the setup is like this:

set AnswerFile="B:\winnt.sif"

set SetupFiles="x:\wxp\I386"

x:\wxp\I386\winnt32.exe /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile%

the cd drive is assigned to the letter X in this case, and B is the ramdisk of bartpe.

my winnt.sif is as follows:

[Data]
AutoPartition="1"
MsDosInitiated="0"
UnattendedInstall="Yes"

[Unattended]
UnattendMode=DefaultHide
FileSystem=*
OemSkipEula=Yes
OemPreinstall=Yes
Repartition=No
WaitForReboot="No"
UnattendSwitch=Yes

[GuiUnattended]
OEMSkipRegional=1
OemSkipWelcome=1
AdminPassword=*
TimeZone=110

[UserData]
FullName="nick"
ComputerName="TEST"
ProductKey=******-*****-*****-*****-*****

[Identification]
JoinWorkgroup="test"

[Networking]
InstallDefaultComponents=Yes

[RegionalSettings]
Language=00000413

but my file is called winnt.sif, instead of unattended.txt, could that be the problem?

thanks in advance

[Jazkal]

Here is my command line, that I use under WinPE:

x:\wxp\I386\winnt32.exe /s:x:\wxp\I386 /syspart:C /tempdrive:C /unattend:B:\winnt.sif /noreboot

I changed it to meet your needs. Try that out and let me know.

[nick_007308]

no luck still the same problem.

the setup starts, it says it's copying the files.

but the strange thing is, it finishes in a few seconds, 15-20 seconds or so.

after that, the setup screen disappears, and the hardisk isn't bootable.

rebooting doesn't bring me to the rest of the setup

what am I doing wrong

thanks a lot for your reply anyways, since you seem to have done this before, you might see the mistake

[zorphnog]

I install mine from a network share, but it should all be the same. Here's what works for me:

Batch file for single partition unattended install:

@echo off
cls
echo.
echo  ===============================================
echo	   Unattended Windows XP Network Install
echo  ===============================================
echo.

echo Preparing disk for installation...
diskpart /s singlepart.txt

echo Preparing boot sector...
bootsect /nt52 c: /force

echo Beginning Windows XP installation...
z:\WinXPwSP2\I386\winnt32.exe /syspart:c: /s:z:\WinXPwSP2\I386 /makelocalsource /unattend:z:\WinXPwSP2\I386\unattend.txt

wpeutil reboot
exit

Diskpart script:

select disk 0
clean
create partition primary noerr
active
format fs=ntfs quick noerr
exit

[nick_007308]

hmm, thanks, that looks nice, and I see you use 2 things I haven't used, which might be the reason for the problem on my pc

/s and the bootsect command.

since my i386 dir for the windows install is not on the root of the cd, that may be the point.

thank you

I'll try it when I get home

[nick_007308]

it seems to work thanks so much

windows is installing right now, it copied all the files without any problem..

now I'll start making a few nice apps to suit my needs for the cd...

I already found diskpartitioner (diskpart gui) which is exactly what I need for the partitions, except the layout, so I'll change that.

there's a windows setup launcher as well, but I'm gonna write one myself I think

again, thanks this helped me a lot