Install Xp Unattended

[microsoftne]

This tip works if installing XP (all builds) as "upgrade" over any existent Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME or previous XP copy, as well as if installing XP "from scratch" on an empty hard drive/partition.
If you own an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), VAR (Value Added Reseller) or Bulk/Corporate/Volume License Setup CD-ROM (released September 25 2001), or if you purchased the Full or Upgrade retail Setup CD (released October 25 2001) of Windows (e)XP(erience) Home or Professional Edition, you CAN install it in COMPLETELY UNATTENDED ("hands-free") mode, a *tremendous* time saver!
Why unattended? Simple. Because this way the entire setup process is automated, so you won't have to do ANY of this time consuming, boring stuff:
Chose between a "fresh" install (if available) or upgrading (if available) from a previous supported MS OS.
Agree with MS EULA (End User License Agreement).
Type in the XP Product ID number [25 digits! ].
Type in the drive letter and/or directory name where you would like your XP copy to reside into, if you decide to install it to a path other than the Microsoft "preselected" default (C:\Windows).
Type in the Administrator (XP Pro) or Power User (XP Home) account name, password(s), company name, workgroup, server name/IP address/ID etc.
Select through all detected hardware/software lists and/or matching language/local/regional settings.
Push a bunch of OK/Yes/Apply/Cancel/Exit/etc buttons to answer all those annoying popup confirmation dialog boxes/windows [nag, nag ]... etc.
IMPORTANT: No matter which OS you upgrade to WinXP from: BACK IT UP FIRST!

If moving from your previous, stable, heavily customized/tweaked MS OS, you may need to spend some time getting used to the new XP features (which was built on the more secure and less prone to crashes WinNT true 32-bit code), especially if you were using Win95/98/ME exclusively.
If this sounds quite appealing or if it picked your interest even remotely, please read on, you're in for a treat...

NECESSARY STEPS:


Automatic [boring ]:

Pop in your XP Setup CD.
FYI: You DO own a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-R(W)/DVD-R(W) drive, don't you? Otherwise you canNOT do this, because WinXP comes ONLY in CD-ROM format! ;-)


Fire up Windows Explorer or File Manager (FM = C:\Windows\Winfile.exe), presuming you're running one of these MS Windows OSes: 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME or XP. The complete list of supported Microsoft Operating Systems that can be upgraded to XP is available here, or as an alternative, you can download the free XP Upgrade Advisor for all Win32 versions [32 MB !].

Click on your CD/DVD drive icon/letter.

Go to the \Support\Tools folder.

(Double)-click on DEPLOY.CAB.

Highlight DEPLOY.CHM, REF.CHM, SETUPMGR.EXE + README.TXT.

Select your target path.

Click OK to extract them.

Go to the folder where you have extracted these files.

(Double)-click on the CHM files [one at a time ] to read the detailed guidelines on how to install XP in "automated" unattended mode.

Run SETUPMGR.EXE, which will guide you through the process of creating an UNATTEND.TXT file.
NOTES:

To be able to open the *.CHM files (using the MS HTML Help system), you need to either own Win98, ME or 2000, or install (if you haven't already) the current version of MS Internet Explorer (free), which installs HTML Help engine (also available as a separate download) on all older Win95/NT4 releases.

The CABinet Extract function may not be available if using Win95 or NT. In this case you need to download the MS Win95 Power Toys Pack and install Cabview.dll by right-clicking on Cabview.inf and selecting Install, or get the CabPack tool

Manual [more fun ]:

Create a file called UNATTEND.TXT (file name is optional) to contain all required and eventually optional sections and lines, customized to match your particular hardware/software/user settings/wishes.
For a template, you can take a look at the two generic UNATTEND.TXT examples found in REF.CHM.
Here is my UNATTEND.TXT file contents:
-----Begin cut & paste here-----
[Data]
MsDosInitiated="0"
UnattendedInstall="yes"

[Display]
BitsPerPel="24"
Vrefresh="100"
Xresolution="1024"
Yresolution="768"

[GuiRunOnce]
"DRIVE:\DIRECTORY\PROGRAM.EXE /SWITCHES..."

[GuiUnattended]
AdminPassword="*"
AutoLogon="yes"
AutoLogonCount="4294967295"
OEMSkipRegional="1"
OEMSkipWelcome="1"
ProfilesDir="DRIVE:\DIRECTORY"
TimeZone="010"

[Identification]
JoinWorkgroup="JOIN GROUP NAME"

[LicenseFilePrintData]
AutoMode="PerSeat"

[PCHealth]
Display="1"
ER_Display_UI="1"
ER_Enable_Applications="all"
ER_Enable_Kernel_Errors="1"
ER_Enable_Reporting="1"
ER_Enable_Windows_Components="1"
ER_Include_MSApps="1"
ER_Report_Path="DRIVE:\DIRECTORY"
Headlines="1"
RA_AllowFullControl="0"
RA_AllowToGetHelp="0"
RA_AllowUnsolicited="0"

[RegionalSettings]
Language="00000409"
LanguageGroup="1"

[RemoteInstall]
Repartition="No"

[SystemFileProtection]
SFCShowProgress="1"

[SystemRestore]
CheckpointCalendarFrequency="7"
CheckpointSessionFrequency="24"

[UserData]
ComputerName="YOUR COMPUTER NAME"
FullName="YOUR FULL NAME"
ProductKey="XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX"
OrgName="YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME"

[Unattended]
AutoActivate="no"
CrashDumpSetting="0"
DisableDynamicUpdates="yes"
DriverSigningPolicy="Ignore"
FileSystem="LeaveAlone"
NtUpgrade="no"
OemPreinstall="no"
OemSkipEula="yes"
Repartition="no"
TargetPath="DIRECTORY"
UnattendMode="FullUnattended"
UnattendSwitch="yes"
WaitForReboot="no"
Win9xUpgrade="yes"

[Uninstall]
DisableCompression="yes"
EnableBackup="no"

[url]
Home_Page="http://members.aol.com/axcel216/"

[Win9xUpg]
Boot16="yes"
DefaultPassword="*"
ForcePasswordChange="no"
ForceWorkgroup="no"
IgnoreNetworkErrors="yes"
UseLocalAccountOnError="yes"
UserPassword="*"

------End cut & paste here------