The TXTSETUP.SIF file is the most likely file you need in order to customize the setup. It contains numerous sections, the most important of which are described in the following sections.

The [SourceDisksFiles] Section
The [SourceDisksFiles] section lists all files for the installation. This section is critical for customization because it controls which files are copied during the installation. Using a text editor (such as Notepad), you can search for the [SourceDisksFiles] section to obtain a list of all Windows 2000 installation files. The first few lines of this section are



The following line shows the syntax of each line in the [SourceDisksFiles] section:


filename_on_source=diskid,subdir,upgradecode,newinstallcode,spare,spare,newfilename


Extra fields specified by commas (,) are Windows NT—specific.

diskid is used when a floppy disk installation is used. (Or multiple CDs?)

subdir is the directory to which files are copied. Codes defined in the [WinntDirectories] section of the TXTSETUP.SIF file are used to identify the destination directory.

upgradecode is a single digit that is used if this is an upgrade from an earlier version. It specifies whether the file is copied during the text-mode portion.

Codes in the [Files] Section of TXTSETUP.SIF for File Copy

Status Code - Copy Action
0 - Always copies the file
1 - Copies the file only if it exists in the installation directory
2 - Does not copy the file if it exists in the installation directory
3 - Does not copy the file


newinstallcode is a single digit that is used if this is a fresh installation. It specifies whether the file is copied during the text-mode portion. The same codes are used as for upgrading Windows 2000 and are described in Table 4.3. The newinstallcode is optional; if it is not included, the file is not copied (code = 3).

newfilename is the name to which the file is renamed if it is copied. As an example, consider this line from the [SourceDisksFiles] section.




The file AUTOCHK.EXE in this line is on the CD or the disk with diskid d2 defined in the [Media] section. The file also is on Setup Disk 2 (_2), also defined in the [Media] section. The file is installed in directory 2, which is defined in the [WinntDirectories] section. If you look up the [WinntDirectories] section, directory 2 is the System32 subdirectory in the Windows 2000 root directory. The upgrade code and new installation codes are 0, which means that this file always must be copied to the installation directory, whether this is an upgrade from an earlier version of Windows 2000 or a fresh installation.

Giving credit where credit is due:

Windows® 2000 Server Professional Reference
By Karanjit S. Siyan Ph.D.

Publisher : New Riders Publishing
Pub Date : July 10, 2000
ISBN : 0-7357-0952-1
Pages : 1848

so what does all this info mean? And how can this help with my unattended install? Can deleting some info from this file speed up the install?

Now in plain English...I think.

A while back I posted how to add 3rd party SATA/RAID/SCSI/IDE drivers that were not included with Windows. This involved making changes to the TXTSETUP.SIF file located in the i386 directory.

Let's look at a line adding the driver file iaStor.sys (ICH5R driver) in the [SourceDisksFiles]

Now a bit more commentary.

I think I've figured out what everything means here except for the last "4" in the line. Looking through the original TXTSETUP.SIF shows that the DESTINATION CODE and this last number always match. So I'd suggest keeping your own lines that way.

Text in the drawing marked in RED is optional.

I've also noticed that with a CD install the [SourceDisksNames] are all the same. I believe that these are really just dummy files (especially 2_ through 6_). I would also suspect that in your own modifications to TXTSETUP.SIF you could probably replace 3_ with 1_ through 6_ and have success...haven't tested it though.

I also must give credit to Gosh for figuring out some of this information. According to his information if your added files in the i386 directory are not compressed replace 3_ with _x.

In any case if you add files by modifying TXTSETUP.SIF make sure that an identical filename doesn't already exist in TXTSETUP.SIF or DOSNET.INF. If it does you should be able to comment out (;) the additional lines to add your new, updated file. Although it does seem that a few of the additional switchs (the last two specifically) are there to allow you to determine what should happen if a conflict arises.

I'll be doing some testing playing with different settings very soon.

Just wanted to mention my site has similiar info at http://gosh.msfnhosting.com/txtsetup.htm

-gosh

@gosh
Your stuff is always so nicely laid out. You have a gift for explaning things!

Does it really matter if there's a 100 or a 1 at the front of the line if you're integrating files (say a mass storage controller driver) into the install?

Why do RAID drivers use 4_ instead of 3_?

does anyone have one of those expensive books to answer the man?

I'm interested as well. No real use for it just yet, but curiosity is a good enough driving force.

In Windows 2000 Server txtsetup.sif, some RAID drivers use this syntax

both cpqarry2 and mraid35x are RAID controllers.

@RyanVM
Maybe this number 3_ is just used to recreate the Setup Boot floppies with makeboot or makebt32 tool.
3_ means put the file on the 3rd disk
4_ means put the file on the 4th disk
because there is 4 setup boot floppies on Windows 2000

on Windows XP, there is 6 setup boot floppies
How can I create the Setup Boot floppies for Windows XP Pro/Home?

Old topic, maybe forgotten, but I've bookmarked it.

Might turn out to be useful...

bah, somehow replied to wrong thread.

I have a couple of questions related to the [url=http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=103095]image[/b] attached to the raskren's post on the first page of the thread.

"1- Original or RTM." What is RTM? "Ready to manufcture" is the only thing that comes to my mind except for RTFM

"Commas required. 6 at minimum, 7 if the next entry is omitted". What entry is this about? And what happens if it is omitted?

Thanks for your attention to my questions.

rtm is "release(d) to manufacturer"

and the 6 commas or 7 if next is omitted...this basically refers to "[SourceDisksNames] Entry" you can omit it if you want (dunno what happens if you do) and if you do, then youll need 7 commas...Actually, I believe it tells windows if the file is compressed or not...3_ for uncompressed _3 for compressed...and dunno what happens if its omitted.

Thanks for your reply, evilvoice. So "omitting the entry" refers to the particular entry after the commas and has nothing to do with the whole line, correct?

that is correct...it is talking about omitting the very next entry...or if it helps you more...its talking about omitting the entry BEFORE the 7th comma

Thanks, I just needed to make sure I got it right

How to delete floppy disk driver(flpydisk.sys&flpydisk.inf) from the txtsetup.sif file?