Web hosting reseller - Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Inside Out Using CD
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Inside Out Using CD Media for Automated Installations In some cases, you might want to install Windows Server 2003 directly from the CD media provided by Microsoft. Perhaps you don t have a network distribution share that the target machine can access, or perhaps the machine has no network connectivity at all. Several contingencies are involved in using the CD media for unattended installation, such as the following: . The target computer must be able to boot from the CD-ROM drive, and the option to boot from the CD-ROM drive must be selected in the BIOS. . The target computer must have a floppy disk drive. . A correctly configured answer file must be on the floppy disk in the drive (the answer file must contain a [Data] section with the entries correctly referencing an unattended installation using the Windows Server 2003 CD. Note For installations from CD-ROM/DVD media that are initiated by booting from a floppy disk, the floppy disk drive must contain the correct CD-ROM/DVD device drivers for the CD-ROM/DVD hardware installed in the target computer. Before starting an automated installation process using the Windows Server 2003 CD, you must create the Winnt.sif file (an Unattend.txt file renamed as Winnt.sif) to provide answers to the Windows Setup process. The Winnt.sif file must be on a floppy disk, which must be in the floppy disk drive when Windows Setup begins. When the Windows operating system boots from CD, it checks the floppy disk drive for a Winnt.sif file and, if one is found, uses it to perform an unattended installation. Advantages to using the Windows Server 2003 CD for unattended installation include the capabilities to install without network connectivity, repartition the hard disk, force a BIOS startup, and bypass the Mini-Setup program. Some of these actions are controlled by the use of entries in the Unattend.txt file, such as the following: . Partition the hard disk You can instruct Setup to delete all existing partitions and create a new (NTFS-formatted) partition by using the Repartition=Yes entry in the [Unattended] section. . BIOS startup To instruct the target computer to use the BIOS (instead of the device miniport driver) for startup, use the UseBIOSToBoot=1 entry in the [Data] section. . Mini-Setup bypass To avoid running the Mini-Setup program when the system boots the first time after an unattended installation, use the UnattendSwitch=Yes entry in the [Unattended] section. Chapter 5 146 Part 2: Windows Server 2003 Installation
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