Installing Windows Oem Style

[betamax]

This has been a wonder of mine for quite a while. It seems every forum I go to only has some vague or uncertain answer to this question. It doesn't seem like a hard one. This forum appears to be very knowledgable though, so I'll ask here.

I've always wanted to know how the computer vendors (like gateway and dell) do OEM installs of windows. What is common about all of them is that the windows cd is never needed later on(obviously because the source files [i386] have been copied to the hard drive). But it's not that simple. As a normal end user, my best bet for doing a fresh install of windows (XP) is to boot off the install cd and just let it go. The thing is, it never offers me the option of having Setup copy the i386 folder to the harddrive locally and running setup off of that. There is always the boot-disk -> xcopy -> winnt.exe method, but it seems like there should be an easier way. You can copy your i386 folder after installation, but your paths will be messed up and you will always have to indicate that the source files are located at C:\i386. WINNT32.exe has the /makelocalsource switch, but that can only be run from a 32 bit environment (like winpe or something, or if i was installing as an upgrade).

So how is it done? Is there a way to do this during an unattended install? Maybe somewhere in the answer file that tells setup to copy i386 to the drive during the text setup phase? I always see a $OEM$ folder within the i386 folder on preinstalled machines which suggests an unattended install was done. But the guides for doing an unattended install always tell you to have your $OEM$ folder at the same level as the i386, not within the i386 folder. In earlier versions of windows (95,98,ME), the source files were located in C:\windows\options\cabs. Does anyone else here see where I'm coming from?

Thanks in advance.

-betamax

[Takeshi]

Factory PCs commonly use the System Preparation tool (Sysprep) or modifications of it.

My DELL laptop has a 0.99GB I386 folder left behind and I found a cmdlines.bak in $OEM$.

I'm also puzzled why this folder was not deleted whereas Sysprep folder was (as intended).

[un4given1]

You can simply edit SourcePath at the following key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Create a directory, edit this path and place your files there...

[un4given1]

Oh, and WELCOME! Hope you stick around. Later!

[betamax]

Hi! And thanks!

Yes, I forgot to mention I've also just modified the registry to change the source path, but that just seems more like a workaround. I still wonder what process those vendors use. It seems like such a basic option, I don't know why it's not part of the normal install process. What do you guys do?

[edited for typos]

[prathapml]

  But the guides for doing an unattended install always tell you to have your $OEM$ folder at the same level as the i386, not within the i386 folder.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's for the CD install. If you're installing from HD or over the network, then $OEM$ has to be inside the i386.

As for the rest of the questions you may have, I just find it too difficult to detect and reply to. A good idea is to break-down your questions into points, with one question in each numbered point.

[betamax]

1. how do I install windows xp off the HD on a system with a single drive and a single partition?

2. is there a way to tell Setup to copy the i386 folder to the harddrive before installing windows?

3. why does the $OEM$ folder have to be in parallel with the i386 folder for a CD unattended install? what would happen if the $OEM$ folder was inside the i386 folder?

4. how do large PC companies set up their systems?

These are more WinPE oriented. I will repost them on the WinPE forum if you feel that are inappropriate for this one.

5. does /syspart:c: cause the source files to get copied to the HD? If so, what's the difference between /syspart and /makelocalsource?

The main question out of all is this is: how do you get that darn i386 folder copied onto the HD before installing windows without using xcopy from a bootable floppy?

[xous]

1) You mean having the source files on a computer with only 1 hard drive with one partition? This isnt possible, unless you dont want to reformat your drive (could possibly leave alot of junk).

Using a boot disc (no other way with out using alternate windows/documents and settings/Program files directorys.)

Delete everything but your I386 directory (preferibly on the root)

Launch Setup.

You can then install windows without formatting the drive.

--

2) Read This post: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?act=ST&f=70&t=9453

--

4) Most companies relativly similar hardware and install the software once on base machine then mirror the drive onto the other machines using software like Norton Ghost.

[xous]

1) You mean having the source files on a computer with only 1 hard drive with one partition? This isnt possible, unless you dont want to reformat your drive (could possibly leave alot of junk).

Using a boot disc (no other way with out using alternate windows/documents and settings/Program files directorys.)

Delete everything but your I386 directory (preferibly on the root)

Launch Setup.

You can then install windows without formatting the drive.

--

2) Read This post: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?act=ST&f=70&t=9453

--

4) Most companies relativly similar hardware and install the software once on base machine then mirror the drive onto the other machines using software like Norton Ghost.

[prathapml]

1. how do I install windows xp off the HD on a system with a single drive and a single partition?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can do that by simply running the setup from windows mode, or boot up with a DOS disk and start "winnt.exe". But doing this is not good, always go for a clean install.

2. is there a way to tell Setup to copy the i386 folder to the harddrive before installing windows?

Yup. It even offers this option by itself, when you start setup from within windows. Its in "Advanved Options" dialog box in those screens. But if you're doing this from a bootable device other than HDD, then you can copy the files over in DOS mode and then start setup. But this is too slow and not recommended - just install windows and then copy files.

3. why does the $OEM$ folder have to be in parallel with the i386 folder for a CD unattended install?  what would happen if the $OEM$ folder was inside the i386 folder?

Who knows!

That's the way it is, and it doesn't work otherwise, so I never cared to find out.

4. how do large PC companies set up their systems?

The preferred method is to install from scratch over the network, with either PXE-compatible NICs that will boot off the server, or WinPE started which then accesses the install-source files over the network.

Thereafter, you have maintenance and other little things to do all the time, which are done by applying "Group Policies" to OUs (Organizational Units). This demands a real server with domains setup, than a simple peer-to-peer workgroup (as seen in homes).

These are more WinPE oriented.  I will repost them on the WinPE forum if you feel that are inappropriate for this one.

5. does /syspart:c: cause the source files to get copied to the HD?  If so, what's the difference between /syspart and /makelocalsource?

The main question out of all is this is: how do you get that darn i386 folder copied onto the HD before installing windows without using xcopy from a bootable floppy?

Simple answer - don't copy the darn i386 folder to HD before windows gets installed. Do it after install and change install path in registry (as said previously in someone's post).

Hoping this helps.....