Why Do You Customize Your Install?

[Wicked187]

I have not used Windows Server 2003 yet, so RIS is probably different, but in Windows 2000 Server, you could not add NIC drivers, as stated by M$ themselves... the boot diskette just would not allow for it, and if you cannot get the diskette to boot up, then you cannot connect to the TFTP server, and you cannot install your image.

As for having SID problems and such with Ghost... you just use Sysprep, it removes the SID and lets you script the Mini-setup that occurs afterwards, which includes joining the domain. My problem was with disimilar hardware.

Personally, I have moved past RIS, it just doesn't really offer what is needed. Microsoft themselves have stated that they do not intend for it to be around much longer anyway. They are pushing WinPE. But, I regress, I have not used Windows Server 2003, so there is a lot I am missing, for sure.

[un4given1]

but in Windows 2000 Server, you could not add NIC drivers, as stated by M$ themselves... the boot diskette just would not allow for it

Nowhere does Microsoft state that drivers can be added to the boot disk. They CAN NOT be added to the boot disk. They can however be added to the RIS server. The idea of RIS is not to have to use a boot disk. As long as the PC is PXE compatable (which 99% of PCs in the last 5 years are) you can boot to the network. Windows 2000 Server DOES allow you to add network drivers. I only recently got the Windows Server 2003 box and I did it that way on 2000 for over a year.

Microsoft themselves have stated that they do not intend for it to be around much longer anyway.

I would like to see the source of this information. Regardless if they switch to WinPE it could still use a RIS environment. I doubt they will do away with RIS.

[webmedic]

not really you aren't missing anything at all and you may want to look at this.

http://unattended.sourceforge.net/

I think you will be pleasantly suprised.

[un4given1]

Using RIS, just try to add support for a new network card to the boot disk

The whole idea of RIS is not to have a boot disk, as I said before.

What most people do not know is that RIS is not only for installing an OS. You can create tools on the RIS CIW that allow you to boot to the network from any location and use these tools. You tools could be a utility that allows you to view the NTFS partition or maybe a virus scanner or a password utility. I am not trying to get into a "Anything Windows can do, Linux can do cheaper" discussion, all I am trying to do is point out the facts. I use RIS every day. I do all of the administration of the RIS server. That page you put up webmedic has a lot of myth on it. It's one man's opinion of a product he probably has a semi-understanding of, but has never used to the scale of which I do.

[blinkdt]

Yeah, un4given1, I read that info awhile back, long before stumbling across MSFN to be sure. Your comments on RIS have really got me sparkin' here. I'm an elementary school computer instructor working with a small number of machines in a computer lab.

We (me and a bunch of sixth graders) just loaded up a screaming lil' server box (housed in a Lian Li 6010 aquarium case, no less) with a 180-day eval copy of Windows Server 2003 and I do dearly love it. I've used Windows 2000 Advanced Server for Web, FTP, and simple shares, but I've never dabbled with the real guts, like Active Directory. I'm currently using Ghost to quickly deploy different configurations, but its usefulness is limited. It's time to take it to the next level.

I can see the day when my home-grown expertise--derived solely through Web sites like this one and advice from good friends in the IT biz--turns me into an undocumented network administrator. I don't want to leave the kids and the classroom, but I've got to find a way to supplement my income. Maybe network law offices on the side? At THEIR prices!

Am I an IT pro? No way. Am I a home user? Hmmm.... Something more, me thinks.

[un4given1]

blinkdt: if you ever have any questions please let me know. I would be more than happy to help you out.

I recently installed Windows XP Recovery Console on a RIS server. I am now moving on to see if I can do it with Bart's PE builder. Wish me luck!

[baliktad]

I felt a little limited by the poll options. I think I got turned on to unattended installs during the Summer of 1998 when I found a little tool on the Windows 98 CD that would allow me to create a batch setup file. I think it appealed to me because I champion using the computer to automate tedious tasks. I always thought the computer should adapt and work for me. Well the antithesis of that is that silly product key requirement during install. I would always end up losing the key or mistyping it or fumbling around for 5 minutes when I knew it should have been installing! When I figured out I could type this once into a text file and never type it again, I was hooked.

Later I got into Windows 2000 unattended setups. winnt.sif was a whole new thing for me - it wasn't msbatch.inf and it seemed a lot harder to deal with. I eventually got the hang of it and started exploring more of the customization options. I especially hated the "Documents and Settings" paradigm and wielded the power of the unattended setup to only ever use \Profiles instead. Soon unattended setup became a way to ensure a clean standard setup with minimal work.

I didn't get a copy of Windows XP and a good computer to play with until earlier this year, but that was when I really started to spend more time with my unattended setups. I like having a clean install and so I usually format about every 4 to 6 weeks. Wouldn't ever have considered it if I couldn't automate it all. Slipstreaming was a godsend. I don't know how many people ever had to deal with NT4 but it was a joke. While the 9x world was learning to cope with "make a change, reboot the computer" the NT admins were dealing with "make a change, reapply the service pack."

The next step was multi-boot CD's. I learned to combine automated and attended installs of Windows on one CD. By the time I landed my current job as a network administrator I could whip up an unattended multi-boot CD in no time. We use ghost + sysprep due to the large number of machines, but I still used an unattended setup because I usually made several revisions of an image before I was satisfied with it, and an unattended setup could be completely documented. As we got new hardware platforms, it also made it a snap to deploy a new image.

And here I am now. Home user originally but still make significant use of my unattended CD's at work. Things that I learn in one area usually carry over to the other. It's great for learning new things but sometimes I get mixed up thinking I've already made that change when I really only did it at work.

Anyway, that's my story. Home enthusiast, Netadmin to boot. Can I vote for both?

[prathapml]

No long stories here (don't want to bore you), but I need to vote for both.

[LegendaryXL]

i dont even remember when my friend told me about the customized install, maybe 3-4 yrs ago. i've never looked back since then. i realized it could help me as a computer lab admin. i can customize a CD to repartition/reformat/reinstall windows all in one shot. who wouldnt want that?? i have 1 image for each computer lab. i try to keep them updated as much as possible so that way, once a yr when it's time to format, i can do it with relative ease. but it also helps me at home, so i'd vote for both if i could.

[Arie]

Both.

[dexter.inside]

I (re)design custom install disks for resellers, mostly with Autodesk, Adobe, TrendMicro or Microsoft Office products included. My primary job (a.k.a. money source) is tech support for these.