Boot menu with regular / unattended install

[Lucius Snow]

Hello all,

I wish to create a XP+SP2 CD with a boot menu that prompts for :

1- Regular install

2- Unattended install

On the structure of my current CD (which is only unattended), i have unattend.txt on the root and winnt.sif and winnt32.sif in \i386. The contents of the 3 files is the same. it's also OEM since i integrated drivers and applications.

Can anybody give me a link to a tutorial or explain me how to make that ?

Thank you

[prathapml]

Please have a look at the guides section on MSFN.

BTW, here's the guide you want - guide.

If you want to make a better-looking, and easier to use multi-boot menu, use EasyBoot:

home

easyboot forums - the easyboot forums will help you in making the menu

[Lucius Snow]

Thank you

I managed to create the multiboot. However i've got a little problem with the regular installation. It starts correctly, but at the end, my BATCH files (for installing applications and registering stuff in the registry) get executed although it shouldn't. They are inserted in my cmdlines.txt (situated in \$OEM$). Should i create a winnt.sif in \PRO1 (dedicated to the regular installation) that specifies OemPreinstall=No ? If so, would i need more command lines to insert to get this regular installation ? I have lot of examples for an unattended one but not for a regular one.

Another question about the unattended installation (i couldn't test it yet) : do i have to change all my paths ?

From winnt.sif :

[unattended]

OemFilesPath="..\$OEM$"

OemPnPDriversPath="Drivers....

If yes, what to put for OemFilesPath ?

Cheers.

P.S : Please see my directory in attachment

[Lucius Snow]

I just tried to make this regular installation with the following winnt.sif :

;SetupMgrTag

[Data]AutoPartition=0

MsDosInitiated="0"

UnattendedInstall="Yes"

[unattended]

Unattendmode = DefaultHide

OemPreinstall = NO

DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore

[Display]

BitsPerPel = 16

XResolution = 800

YResolution = 600

VRefresh = 70

[identification]

JoinWorkgroup = Workgroup

[userData]

ProductKey=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Let's say it's not really regular but semi-automatic. However, it doesn't integrate the applications, drivers and registry input which are in the automatic one.

I noticed that at the end of the copy files during the first step of the installation, the OEM files from my subdirectories Apps, Drivers and Logs didn't get copied. But what were directly in $OEM$ which are my BATCH files and cmdlines.reg & cmdlines.txt were copied because this registry input got registered. Same for the BATCH that ran since it tried to install the apps. That's then i got the error message from this BATCH not find the files.

All i want is to get rid of all that process that only concerns the automatic installation. Please help, it's been hours i've been looking for a solution

[prathapml]

Even if you haven't enabled "OEMPre-install" in winnt.sif, your $OEM$\cmdlines.txt will ALWAYS be parsed. Now that can be a good thing or bad depending on what you are trying to do. As for now, your best solution is to make yet another set of winxp install on the CD, without a $OEM$\cmdlines.txt file.