Unattended XPsp2 prompts Welcome Screen and more

[oldtimer]

Okay I have two issues I am trying to resolve. I looked through Unattended.msfn.org and couldn't find an answer.

I searched through this forum and found 33 pages of threads on Unattended and went through most of them, but stopped after page 12 and didn't find anything. I did notice some other ideas for future though

I searched through Google as well to no answer that I can see to help me.

My first issue is my winnt.sif works to a point. It does the install, my variables do pass through, but I keep getting the Welcome Screen, then the Help Protect Your PC, Internet Options, Who Will Use This Computer, then finally the Thank You screen.

I have looked over my winnt.sif file again and again and can't determine what is causing the problem. I think I am missing something really easy and can't see the trees for the forest.

Here is my winnt.bat file

@rem SetupMgrTag

@echo off

set AnswerFile=.\winnt.sif

set SetupFiles=d:\i386

D:\i386\winnt32 /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile% /makelocalsource

The other issue really fast is the /makelocalsource switch does not seem to work either. It still wants the CD-ROM after first reboot. My understanding is the /makelocalsource switch should copy all my files from my CD to the local harddrive after it partitions it then it reboots, starts the installation and continues installing the files. It then reboots a third time and comes back with the Welcome Screen, Help Protect Your PC, etc....

And my WINNT.SIF file is here:

;SetupMgrTag

[Data]

    AutoPartition=1

    MsDosInitiated="0"

    UnattendedInstall="Yes"

    AutomaticUpdates=No

[unattended]

    UnattendMode=FullUnattended

    OemSkipEula=Yes

    OemPreinstall=Yes

    TargetPath=\WINDOWS

    Repartition=Yes

    UnattendedSwitch="Yes"

    WaitForReboot="Yes"

    DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore

[GuiUnattended]

    AdminPassword="formyeyesonly"

    EncryptedAdminPassword=YES

    OEMSkipRegional=1

    TimeZone=10

    OEMSkipWelcome=1

[userData]

    ProductKey=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

    FullName="Enter Name Here"

    OrgName="I work somewhere"

    ComputerName=mypcname

[Display]

    BitsPerPel=16

    Xresolution=1024

    YResolution=768

    AutoConfirm=1

[TapiLocation]

    CountryCode=1

    AreaCode=406

[branding]

    BrandIEUsingUnattended=Yes

    Home_Page=http://www.google.com

[Proxy]

    Proxy_Enable=0

    Use_Same_Proxy=1

[identification]

    JoinWorkgroup=WORKGROUP

[Networking]

    InstallDefaultComponents=No

[NetAdapters]

    Adapter1=params.Adapter1

[params.Adapter1]

    INFID=*

[NetClients]

    MS_MSClient=params.MS_MSClient

[NetServices]

    MS_SERVER=params.MS_SERVER

    MS_PSched=params.MS_PSched

[NetProtocols]

    MS_TCPIP=params.MS_TCPIP

[params.MS_TCPIP]

    DNS=Yes

    UseDomainNameDevolution=No

    EnableLMHosts=Yes

    AdapterSections=params.MS_TCPIP.Adapter1

[params.MS_TCPIP.Adapter1]

    SpecificTo=Adapter1

    DHCP=Yes

    WINS=No

    NetBIOSOptions=0

[Components]

    freecell=off

    hearts=off

    minesweeper=off

    pinball=off

    solitaire=off

    spider=off

    zonegames=off

[shell]

    DefaultStartPanelOff=No

[iEPopupBlocker]

    BlockPopups=Yes

    FilterLevel=Medium

    ShowInformationBar=Yes

After I manually go through the Welcome Screen to the Finish Screen (like five screens) it comes up fine (alhough I want it to prompt for user and password not the click this icon to login).

The settings I put in my winnt.sif seem to take. For Example: turning off the games, Home page for IE, Protocols, etc.

Can anyone help me set this up properly so that it will finish the install from the local drive and two stop asking for Welcome screen on and just reboots to a logon prompt?

Thanks in advance.

[Takeshi]

It keeps cropping up:

UnattendedSwitch="Yes"

should be

UnattendSwitch = Yes

[oldtimer]

Thanks Takeshi.

I modified and am testing.

[oldtimer]

Takeshi,

That worked. I no longer get prompts for Welcome, How to protect PC, etc. Thanks for catching the typo.

My /makelocalsource switch still does not work. In fact I added a pause statement is the winnt.bat file just to see if it gets to that file. Apparently my winnt.bat file is not being called which would explain why the /makelocalsource switch is not working. Yet it does do everything in my winnt.sif file now.

I again am probably missing something simple. Any ideas, anything I should attach / post to help clear the matter?

My Winnt.bat file is posted above but I added a echo You are in the winnt.bat file and pause statement before the D:\i386\winnt32 .... statement.

Thanks in advance.

[Takeshi]

As far as I'm aware, the winnt.bat file is only used for network install, although I stand corrected if that's not the case.

[Kelder]

My /makelocalsource  switch still does not work.  In fact I added a pause statement is the winnt.bat file just to see if it gets to that file.  Apparently my winnt.bat file is not being called which would explain why the /makelocalsource switch is not working.  Yet it does do everything in my winnt.sif file now.

If you boot from the windows install cd, setup will only look for winnt.sif

The winnt.bat isn't needed for cd install. You can use it to start setup (with extra parameters) when you start from a DOS or win98 bootdisk or a (DOS) network boot disk. Even then, you can just as well type the complete command in the DOS prompt.

The problem with setup from win98/DOS bootdisk is that you cannot install to NTFS partitions...

[oldtimer]

Takeshi: Thanks for the reply through additional testing researching etc you are correct. The winnt.bat never comes into play from a Unattended CD install.

Kelder: I tried the Win98 boot and manually typing in the commands (have to use winnt.exe and it's limited options) and that didn't work either.

Now I tried doing an "upgrade" at one point and I thought I found the solution. I used my unattended install CD and let it install WinXP.

From within WinXP I opened a CMD Prompt and typed the command in manually. WINNT32.exe /makelocalsource /unattend:.\winnt.sif. It started the install process again, copied over the files then rebooted. I then pulled out my cd, during the reboot process as it entered the PXE boot process I was able to image my harddrive. I looked at the image and could see all the necessary files present.

I then let the system continue to boot up and while it looked like it might succeed it went looking for the CD-Rom first. I could manually point it back to the local harddrive $WIN_NT$.~LS\I386 directory.

According to Microsofts website on txtsetup.sif functions it is suppose to look to the local harddrive first for the files it needs then to the CD-Rom, it does not appear to be functioning that way.

I was wondering if I could somehow change the variables in my TXTSETUP.SIF to force it to look to the local harddrive first, but I haven't got a clue on how to modify the file. I did read some of the forum topics that spoke about it, but I didn't grasp it.

Here is a snippit from the txtsetup.sif

[sourceDisksNames]_x = %cdname%,%cdtagfile%,,""

_1 = %cdname%,%cdtagfile%,,""

_2 = %cdname%,%cdtagfile%,,""

I figure I need to change the %cdname% & the %cdtagfile% variables but I do not know what to change them to.

Thanks both of you for the help though.

[oldtimer]

Oh I want to add. I can insert a modified txtsetup.sif into the process AFTER it starts.

Basically I insert the unattended install CD. It starts the install process. At first reboot I stop the process and capture that drive image. I can then replace the txtsetup.sif file within the image and put that impression back on the harddrive. I've done this to fix a different error I had with the OEM directory.

Any help is appreciated.