install from other partition, NO network

[trisax]

Hello there,

install from CD & network are well documented,

what about another partition on the HDD? B)

I tried few solutions wih winnt.exe from DOS disket,

but never achieved to have $oem$ folders copied to the drive,

* $OEM$ inside i386,

* $OEM$ next to i386,

* mentionned path in unattend.txt: OemFilesPath=.\I386\$OEM$

* winnt /s:... /u:... /r:path to drivers folder

I'd like to use the same CD on any machine, just preparing the drivers folder on the next partition, plus I can update the drivers without burning a new CD.

Thanks in advance,

I'm surprised not to find anything on the net, first one to try?

Edited October 4, 2005 by trisax

[gunsmokingman]

Place This In The XPCD Folder, Save As StartXP_HDInstall.cmd

Green Text Set the location to install XP to.

For more information

Open A Cmd Promt in XPCD\I386

type Winnt32.exe /? this will bring up a help page for the Winnt32.exe

echo off

start i386\winnt32.exe /noreboot /tempdrive:D: /unattend:winnt.sif

[trisax]

Thanks for the quick answer, this way should work, but not exactly what I expect.

I'm sure you'll understand the point, I can quietly upgrade my install files along time, all is ready when I need a system reinstall, without burning anything!

My RunOnceEx.cmd, batchs, install files ... etc are on the D:\ drive aswell, but this part is OK, no problem.

my post was not clear

install files (i386,$OEM$) & unattend.txt are on D:\

D:

unattend.txt

|- i386

|- $oem$

I have in unattend.txt:

[unattended]

OemPreinstall=Yes

OemFilesPath="..\$OEM$"

I boot from a DOS disket,

I format C:,

I load smartdrv.exe

I launch D:\I386\winnt /s:I386 /t:C /u:unattend.txt

this works OK but the $OEM$ folder is never copied !!!!

I also tried the R switch with winnt.exe, but won't work either

D:\I386\winnt /s:I386 /t:C /u:unattend.txt /r:$OEM$ ==> nothing

D:\I386\winnt /s:I386 /t:C /u:unattend.txt /r:.\$OEM$ ==> nothing

D:\I386\winnt /s:I386 /t:C /u:unattend.txt /r:D:\$OEM$ ==>copy error

Anyone can explain to me the /R switch for winnt.exe?

only thing I found is: "/r:folder Specifies that a folder is created during setup. The folder remains after Setup finishes. "

Well, what syntax for the path?

I finally got it with absolute path and quotes:

OemFilesPath="D:\$OEM$"

But,

since it's a DOS mode copy, folders are renamed in 8.3 !!!

Conclusion so far:

Looks like GunsmokingMan method will be the one,

the other advantage is dynamic update,

but with winnt32, how do I launch the setup the next time? in order to get the right boot I have to redo the process for each reinstall, It copies the same files each time.

Any other idea welcome.

Thanks MSFN, great time savings!!!

Edited October 5, 2005 by trisax