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RIS v's WDS Windows XP Install


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OK here's the scenario.

We currently deploy XP via RIS using a cutom 'universal' RISETUP type build integrated with all updates, driverpacks etc.

We are soon to be forced to "upgrade" to WDS when S2K3 SP2 is applied to our servers.

From all the MS documentation I can find, WDS can only deploy RIPREP XP builds which are hardware dependent. This is why I have spent the last three years developing our current RIS deployment strategy - to avould hardware dependent installs.

I can launch the xp cd setup from within PE, and build the PC quite happily. This however does not allow joining the machine to the correct OU within AD as we currently do via the .osc screens.

Does anyone know how to launch the xp setup from within PE using an unattend.xml file to automate the install and join the domain properly?

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Unfortunetly I don't have an answer to your question as I'm reading up on WDS now (we upgraded over the weekend). Do you think this means our RIS based 'flat' RISETUP images for XP are unusable in WDS except in Legacy or Mixed mode? I saw something in the help file about converting a RISETUP image to a WIM image, but I don't understand how that's helpful because they're two different types of images (RISETUP - flat, cd-based vs. WIM - glorified RIPREP?). It sounds like those that support Win XP get nothing out of WDS unless they want to create/support 12 different images for the different types of PC's we support.

I apologize if this should have been a new thread. I'm going through similar issues with learning WDS and wanted to ask you what your thoughts were on this subject.

Homeskillet

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RIS is hardware dependant, I am not sure what you guys are talking about. Every HAL needs a different image. From what I have read on WDS, it is also HAL dependant except for Vista.

Read RogueSpears pinned topic at the top. RipRep images are HW+HAL dependent but RISETUP based images are not.

"RISETUP images. RISETUP images are the first image type from RIS. Essentially, they are a copy of the CD directory structure (i386 directory) on a file share on the RIS server. RISETUP images offer one main advantage over RIPREP images in RIS: They are not HAL dependent."

Edited by m3_del
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  • 3 weeks later...
OK here's the scenario.

We currently deploy XP via RIS using a cutom 'universal' RISETUP type build integrated with all updates, driverpacks etc.

We are soon to be forced to "upgrade" to WDS when S2K3 SP2 is applied to our servers.

From all the MS documentation I can find, WDS can only deploy RIPREP XP builds which are hardware dependent. This is why I have spent the last three years developing our current RIS deployment strategy - to avould hardware dependent installs.

I can launch the xp cd setup from within PE, and build the PC quite happily. This however does not allow joining the machine to the correct OU within AD as we currently do via the .osc screens.

Does anyone know how to launch the xp setup from within PE using an unattend.xml file to automate the install and join the domain properly?

unattend.xml is only for vista images. For XP, we still have to use the ol' sysprep.inf to automate the install and do the join. You can use WDS to capture an image for a multiprocessor, which should work on most machines.. and change the HAL for the image computer and do another capture for any additional HALs w/out having to recreate the image over and over again.

also.. upgrading RIS to WDS will not mess up your old RIS set up. You will need to add a boot image though (winpe.wim). Installing SP2 on top of your RIS server should automatically set it up in Mixed Mode, which allows you to run either WDS or RIS.

Edited by paper
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  • 2 months later...

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