HELP - "Please Insert CD" during UA, somtimes!

[Stringrazor]

This is driving me nuts. I'm trying to script a custom XP Pro unattended install & customization procedure. When I run the tasks "manually" (by manually I mean outside of a batch file), everything goes smoothly but once I try to let the prodedure fly on it's own from booting a DOS diskette w/custom CD in the drive, I get this strange error during the 2nd phase of text setup (after the 1st reboot and just after the F2, F6 prompts, and "SETUP IS STARTING WINDOWS" msg). It stops and asks for the Windows CD. Once, after F3 (quit) and a few reboots (I have forgotten exactly what I did) I was able to get it to continue but I can't even duplicate that now. Of course I need the procedure to finish unattended but right now I'll accept a "lightly attended solution". Since 2 CDs are needed (for Winx & apps) I was initially copying the I386 dir from the 1st CD to hard drive and then starting winnt from the hard drive. I've tried putting I386 in the 2nd CD and running winnt from the CD but I get the same results (worked ok when I rena it outside of a batch file but stops asking for the CD under batch control).

When I try my procedure with a stock WinXP Pro CD, it reboots at that stage but then stops text install with a prompt showing the list of existing partitions. My procedure does create a FAT32 partition and leave half the disk unpartitioned (hidden partition for PowerQuest PowerRestore will be created later). I had everything working when I stepped through the procedure so the concept should be OK but something is wrong here. Any ideas? I gotta finish this procedure and release it this week!

[Alanoll]

it could be your missing the ident files. In the root of your installation, the folder obover I386 i think, you need the WIN51 WIN51IP (if professional, not sure of the home) and WIN51.SP1 if you have ServicePack1 slipstreamed into the source. I blieve there are a few others, but make sure they're there. They're maybe a byte or two, or even blank.

[XtremeMaC]

home has IC instead of win51IP...

[Stringrazor]

It's not the WIN51 files. I put those on the CD and still get the same results. Any other suggestions?

Just noticed it's asking specifically for:

"Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 CD", SP1 was slipped into the source (not by me). Why setup pass this point some times but not others?

[Alanoll]

perhaps there are errors on the disk?

are you using a CD or emulating? If emulating, recreate the image. if CD reburn.

[big_gie]

I onced had errors trying to install xp. Setup was asking me to insert the xp cd because it wasnt able to find the file ASMS (i know its a folder, but that was the message...)

After remaking the cd, checking it, testing it, the cd wasnt the source of the problem... It was my CD-ROM drive, wich had some dust and couldn read the cd...

[XtremeMaC]

it can't be asms it specificly says that it cannot find asms..

so it must be something else...

[Stringrazor]

I have traced the problem to the WINNT answer file. I don't know yet which statement is causing the problem but I have just created one that works using a sample that came was on the pre-installed system. I was able to repeat the error when not under batch control (a red herring it seems) and still need to run my automated process from start to EOJ. It looks like I can stop banging my head against this particular wall, though.

Thinking on this a bit, it's possible that I coded a statement to install an component that's not in the source. That shouldn't normally be possible but the WinXP source is not from CD. It's from the hidden restore partition on a new IBM PC (I'm re-imaging the same machine with my own process so don't send the FBI..lol). I suppose it's possible that IBM's OEM source left something out and that's why it was asking for a CD during install. I can't imagine what they left out but as soon as I have time to look into to it more, I'll try to figure it out and post back exactly what caused the problem. Right now, I've got more pressing work to do though.

Thanks to all who attempted to help me out.

[XtremeMaC]

well post us the winnt.sif file..

[Stringrazor]

Used a file from another process that was working. The % parms should have gotten replaced before WINNT was run (maybe they weren't and THAT caused the problem?). Most of the extraneous stuff is commened out. I should have removed them but was concentrating on other parts of the proc and planned to clean it up before release.

[Unattended]
Unattendmode = FullUnattended
OemPreinstall = YES
UnattendSwitch = YES
;NoWaitAfterTextMode = 1
;NoWaitAfterGUIMode = 1
TargetPath = *
OemPnPDriversPath = "drv\00chipst;drv\01nic;drv\02video;drv\03audio;drv\04mouse;drv\05mon\crt;drv\05mon\flat;drv\06pcimdm;drv\07usrmdm;"
FileSystem = LeaveAlone
ExtendOEMPartition = 0
OemSkipEula = yes
WaitForReboot=NO
DriverSigningPolicy = Ignore


[UserData]
FullName = "%CNAME%"
OrgName = "%DEALERNAME%"
ComputerName = "%CNAME%"
ProductKey = "key removed for posting..."

[GuiUnattended]
OemSkipWelcome = 1
OEMSkipRegional = 1
TimeZone = 004
; Sets the Admin Password to NULL
AdminPassword = *
; Turn AutoLogon on
AutoLogon = Yes
AutoLogonCount = 2

[Display]
BitsPerPel = 32
XResolution = 1024
YResolution = 768
; VRefresh = 70


[Networking]
; When set to YES, setup will install default networking components. The components to be set are
; TCP/IP, File and Print Sharing, and the Client for Microsoft Networks.
; InstallDefaultComponents = No

[Identification]
JoinWorkgroup="workgroup"
;JoinWorkgroup="WORKGROUP"
;JoinDomain="%LPRO_NTDOMAIN%"
;DomainAdmin=
;DomainAdminPassword=

[Components]
msmsgs=off
;This option tells Setup not to install Windows Messenger 4.6
msnexplr=off
;This option tells Setup not to install MSN Explorer 7.
zonegames=off
;This option tells Setup not to install the MSN Zone Games

[Shell]
;CustomDefaultThemeFile = "%WinDir%\Resources\Themes\MyTheme.theme"
;This option sets the default theme that windows will use, this can be a custom theme or another default theme included with Windows XP. This will mean that XP will not boot up using the default Luna theme, but with a theme you set in this option.
DefaultStartPanelOff = Yes
;This tells Windows XP to use the Classic Start Menu, and displays the My Computer, My Documents icons as well as others on the Windows Desktop. If set to No, then the default Windows XP Start Menu is used.
DefaultThemesOff = Yes
;This tells Windows XP to use the Classic Theme. Note: This option overrides CustomDefaultThemeFile option when set to Yes.

[GuiRunOnce]
"c:\copyau.bat"

[NetAdapters]
; Adapter1=params.adapter1

[params.adapter1]
; INFID=*

[NetClients]
; MS_MSClient=params.MS_MSClient

[params.MS_MSClient]

[NetServices]
; MS_Server=params.MS_Server

[params.MS_Server]

[NetProtocols]
; MS_TCPIP=params.MS_TCPIP

[params.MS_TCPIP]
;AdapterSections=params.mstcpip.all

[params.mstcpip.all]
; SpecificTo=Adapter1
; DHCP=yes

[XtremeMaC]

OemPnPDriversPath = "drv\00chipst;drv\01nic;drv\02video;drv\03audio;drv\04mouse;drv\05mon\crt;drv\05mon\flat;drv\06pcimdm;drv\07usrmdm;"

it(semi colon at the end) causes a problem first of all

work in progress.....

[Stringrazor]

Looks like these were the offending statements:

[Components]
msmsgs=off
;This option tells Setup not to install Windows Messenger 4.6
msnexplr=off
;This option tells Setup not to install MSN Explorer 7.
zonegames=off
;This option tells Setup not to install the MSN Zone Games

Odd, especially when I'm fairly sure these statements did work in an answer file at least once (though by now I'm not sure of much...).

[Alanoll]

those shouldn't cause a problem....atleast they don't on mine.

If you're really inclined on removing them, you could use jdoebeck's batches. But yeah....wierd.

[Stringrazor]

Stranger still, I cleaned out the commented lines and reactivated those statements and the install went smoothly. I just love MS stuff...

[Stringrazor]

UPDATE:

Looks like the Winnt answer file has nothing to do with the problem after all. I'm working with an new series of IBM PCs (M50 - 8189-G1U) which come with a "Hidden Protected Area" (HPA) area on the hard drive that survives FDISK/Format. I believe when XP reboots the first time from it's own boot rec (after starting the process from a Win95 DOS boot), it is intermittently sensing the HPA as another partition, possibly causing the I386 source drive as specified to Winnt (under Dos95) to change. That would explain the "insert CD" msg which should probably say something more accurate like "insert WinXP source media that was specified to Winnt". I ran the exact same install procedure on a previous generation IBM system (M41 8307) which doesn't ship with an HPA on the drive and there were no problems at all.

-------------------

The HPA was another red herring. Got enough to start canning by now. There is another difference beween the problematic install and problem-free platforms. The new platform uses an SATA drive whil the older one has a standard IDE drive. The saga continues....