I have a WinXP Pro machine networked with another computer [WinXp Pro]. At the moment I do not have any cdr's to burn the Win2k3 ISO.

Would it be possible to set up a network share containing the I386 folder and then access it from the other PC to execute the winnt.exe or winnt32.exe to commence installation of Win2k3 server? I am wondering after the initial installation that the reboot would cause a problem reconnecting to the resources in order to complete installation. Also, another possible concern would be whether the network share would need to be available through anonymous login.

It seems as though this should be simple enough to do, my research has led to insufficient information. Other information points to RIS.

Thanks for any suggestions.

This is entirely possible, but yes, guest access during the build is required unless you have a network boot CD that loads a client (like the Microsoft client) that can auth from DOS-based networking. However, once a drive is mapped in DOS to the share containing i386, it works just like a local install and the installation media only needs to be available during text-mode setup. Once it reboots into GUI setup, all of the files necessary will have been copied locally to the server's hard disk.

When I used to do this a long time ago, I used Bart's network boot disk, although any net boot disk or live boot CD with network support should work.

The i386 folder on the share should be copied locally prior to the reboot.

If you're mapping a drive to the share, you should be able to specify the username and password for the connection.

Merging your two topics. Do NOT double post.