[likuidkewl]

//##EDIT##//
Install.bat fixed now will install from batch.

Q: Why would you want to use this process?
A: This would remove the need for another program to be ran prior to installing your OS, example: partitioning a hard drive to your liking(you can use Diskpart from PE), Virus scanning the hard drive(Here I show you how to integrate Mcafee command line) etc.

What you will need:
1. About 2 hours of time
2. Windows OPK CD (or ISO image of an existing WinPE ISO)
3. Windows XP Pro or Server 2003 (Not applicable if you are using an existing ISO)
4. Windows XP pro/home/2000/2003 files out of an ISO, or off a CD.
5. cdimage.exe and a valid XP boot image(easily obtained from MSFN)
6. Some random .exe’s (getcd.exe, screenres.exe) Optional
7. McAfee 32bit command line scanner Optional

Step 1. Preparing your installations
**Warning this method will NOT work with Gosh’s way of reducing the size of source, I would use an alternate method that will allow you to keep winnt32.exe**
There are many ways to do this, you can use a multiboot CD( I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS!) if you like that can be booted into WinPE or you may just boot into WinPE directly off of the CD, I do the latter. You may also use your Unattended files *Remember to use it as unattended.txt instead of winnt.sif in your batchfiles*
On a spare partition or existing free space of your hard drive Copy your desired installations to there respective folders, here I used XP_PRO, *note if you want to keep your existing structure go ahead and substitute your folder names*

Step 2. Preparing Windows PE
Follow the instructions provided in you OPK documentation for making a custom CD, I used a SP2 Beta edition due to the updated drivers, you can XP SP1/SP2 or 2003. Also if you already have an ISO, you can skip making the ISO.
Extract the contents of the ISO to a folder called WinPE. Should be about 142MB. You may use the information provided with the OPK to reduce the size or use Gosh’s batch file, it removes them for you.

Step 3. Combining folders
Take your XP_PRO, or what ever other OS’s you want, and put it in the root of the WinPE folder, This can be done with other OS’s too like Home etc.
(Example:
WinPE
|_____I386
|_____XP_PRO
|_____rest of files(Winbom.ini, win51,etc) )
This is all you need to do to be able to install from within WinPE but I am going to keep going and show you all how to make is useful to use….

Step 4.
Obtain the file neededexe’s from this post included here are getcd.exe which does what it says gets your CDROM drive letter, very helpful for multiple machines. The other is setres.exe, I was tired of working in 800x600 mode so I integrated this little utility in with a batch file that runs when Startnet.cmd runs. I will supply my batch files for ease of use.
The following files (getcd.exe, setres.exe, and all batch files) get put in the WinPE\i386\system32 folder, also edit your startnet.cmd in same folder to launch the setres.bat.


Example batch files below:

STARTNET.CMD

regsvr32 /s netcfgx.dll
factory -minint
netcfg -v -winpe
net start dhcp
net start nla
SetRes.bat

SetRes.bat

CLS
@ECHO off
TITLE "WinPE Recovery & XP Pro install disk..."
@ECHO off
ECHO.
ECHO Select your screen resolution below...
ECHO *If your resolution is not supported
ECHO WinPE will revert it to 640x480*
FOR /F "tokens=*" %%a in ('getcd.exe') do set CDROM=%%a
@ECHO off

:start
ECHO.
ECHO 1. 640x480
ECHO 2. 800x600
ECHO 3. 1024x768
ECHO 4. 1280x1024
ECHO 5. 1600x1200
ECHO 6. Use default
set choice=
set /p choice=Type the number you would like to do?: 
if not '%choice%'=='' set choice=%choice:~0,1%
if '%choice%'=='1' goto 640
if '%choice%'=='2' goto 800
if '%choice%'=='3' goto 1024
if '%choice%'=='4' goto 1280
if '%choice%'=='5' goto 1600
if '%choice%'=='6' goto default
ECHO "%choice%" invalid! Try again...
ECHO.
goto start
:640
ECHO Setting resolution to 640x480...
@echo off
%CDROM%\i386\system32\setres.exe h640 v480 b32
CLS
ECHO.
ECHO To install Windows XP type "Install" without quotes...
goto end

:800
ECHO Setting resolution to 800x600...
@echo off
%CDROM%\i386\system32\setres.exe h800 v600 b32
CLS
ECHO.
ECHO To install Windows XP type "Install" without quotes...
goto end

:1024
ECHO Setting resolution to 1024x768...
@echo off
%CDROM%\i386\system32\setres.exe h1024 v768 b32
CLS
ECHO.
ECHO To install Windows XP type "Install" without quotes...
goto end

:1280
ECHO Setting resolution to 1280x1024...
@echo off
%CDROM%\i386\system32\setres.exe h1280 v1024 b32
CLS
ECHO.
ECHO To install Windows XP type "Install" without quotes...
goto end

:1600
ECHO Setting resolution to 1600x1200...
@echo off
%CDROM%\i386\system32\setres.exe h1600 v1200 b32
CLS
ECHO.
ECHO To install Windows XP type "Install" without quotes...
goto end

:default
ECHO Using default options...
CLS
ECHO.
ECHO To install Windows XP type "Install" without quotes...
goto end
:end

Install.bat

CLS
@ECHO off
TITLE "WinPE Recovery & XP Pro install disk..."
@ECHO off
ECHO.
ECHO Select options below...
FOR /F "tokens=*" %%a in ('getcd.exe') do set CDROM=%%a
@ECHO off

:start
ECHO.
ECHO 1. Install XP PRO (Unattended)
ECHO 2. Return to command shell
set choice=
set /p choice=Type the number you would like to do?: 
if not '%choice%'=='' set choice=%choice:~0,1%
if '%choice%'=='1' goto Install
if '%choice%'=='2' goto No
ECHO "%choice%" invalid! Try again...
ECHO.
goto start
:Install
ECHO Starting Installation...
@echo off
set AnswerFile="%CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386\unattend.txt"
set SetupFiles="%CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386"
%CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386\winnt32.exe /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile%
goto end
:No
ECHO Going back to Shell...
CLS
goto end
:end

Now feel free to edit these batch files for your use.


Step 5. Antivirus
Go to http://vil.nai.com/vil/virus-4d.asp, download dailyscan.zip, create another folder in your WinPE dir named Antivirus or scan, what ever you like, and extract the files from dailyscan.zip to your new folder, now you have 32bit command line scanning abilities in WinPE.
Step 6. Building your ISO
Now open a command prompt and navigate to where you put CDIMAGE.exe and your XP boot image, input something like this:

CDIMAGE.EXE -lPEXP_EN2 -t02/04/2004,13:00:00 -h -j1 -m -O -bxpboot.img E:\x86winpe E:\WinPEXP.ISO

Remember to edit it with your directory locations!!!

Now boot up VPC or VMware and see if it worked.

Good luck!!

--Likuidkewl

Please post any issues you are having, as this will help further develope this topic.

Attached File(s)

•  neededEXEs.rar (45.74K)
  Number of downloads: 697

This post has been edited by likuidkewl: 19 February 2004 - 09:47 PM

[FakeUrl]

I've just set up a Multiboot CD with the option to install several unattended win2k configurations with and without the use of WinPE. I'm trying to include the options you provided. Will let u know
ciao
Nico

[pachelbeljoe]

That sounds cool. I´ll give it a try next weekend.

pachelbeljoe

[gosh]

Quote

%CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386\winnt32.exe /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile%

Command's wrong.

-gosh

[likuidkewl]

gosh, on Feb 19 2004, 12:27 AM, said:

Quote

%CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386\winnt32.exe /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile%

Command's wrong.

-gosh

Please elaborate.

Ok I see what you mean, when I get sec. I will fix it. The rest of the post is fine it is just that part of the batch file .

[likuidkewl]

Fixed the problem, the install.bat file I used was the old one on accident. Now updated, here is the correct install.bat, also fixed in main example. posted again below tested and working.
Install.bat

@ECHO off
TITLE "WinPE Recovery & XP Pro install disk..."
@ECHO off
ECHO.
ECHO Select options below...
FOR /F "tokens=*" %%a in ('getcd.exe') do set CDROM=%%a
@ECHO off

:start
ECHO.
ECHO 1. Install XP PRO (Unattended)
ECHO 2. Return to command shell
set choice=
set /p choice=Type the number you would like to do?: 
if not '%choice%'=='' set choice=%choice:~0,1%
if '%choice%'=='1' goto Install
if '%choice%'=='2' goto No
ECHO "%choice%" invalid! Try again...
ECHO.
goto start
:Install
ECHO Starting Installation...
@echo off
set AnswerFile="%CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386\unattend.txt"
set SetupFiles="%CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386"
%CDROM%\XP_PRO\I386\winnt32.exe /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile%
goto end
:No
ECHO Going back to Shell...
CLS
goto end
:end

Thanks for the input keep it coming!

[likuidkewl]

FakeUrl, on Feb 12 2004, 10:10 AM, said:

I've just set up a Multiboot CD with the option to install several unattended win2k configurations with and without the use of WinPE. I'm trying to include the options you provided. Will let u know
ciao
Nico

So did you get it working?

[likuidkewl]

So I am guessing no one used this thread at all due to the lack of enthusiasm. Well I will give it one more bump before I stop posting updates etc.

EDIT
Decided to keep checking it, almost 1000 views and 74 downloads so someone is using it.

[lolojpm]

hello, i'm french and my english is very bad

i download your neededexes files for getcd and setres
I test your install;bat and I reply for feedback
this week

[likuidkewl]

alright good luck!

[Zavaliata]

Hi folks, problem here: when Win PE processes last line of my STARTNET.CMD file it says "Setup script file is unaccessible or invalid". Here are they both:

STARTNET.CMD:

FORMAT c: /fs:ntfs /q /V:PC /y
\XP\i386\winnt32.exe /syspart:c /tempdrive:c /unattend:\XP\i386\winnt.sif


WINNT.SIF

[Data]
AutoPartition=1
MsDosInitiated="0"
UnattendedInstall="Yes"

[Unattended]
UnattendMode=FullUnattended
OemSkipEula=Yes
OemPreinstall=Yes
TargetPath=\WINDOWS
Repartition=No
UnattendSwitch=Yes
WaitForReboot=No
OemPnPDriversPath="Drivers\000_intel_INF;Drivers\001_3COM_LAN;Drivers\002_Intel_Pro_LAN;Drivers\006_storage\3ware78k;Drivers\006_storage\3ware9k"
DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore
KeyboardLayout=US

[GuiUnattended]
AdminPassword=*
EncryptedAdminPassword=NO
OEMSkipRegional=1
TimeZone=85
OemSkipWelcome=1

[UserData]
ProductKey=***
FullName=***
OrgName=***
ComputerName=***

[Display]
BitsPerPel=32
Xresolution=1024
YResolution=768
Vrefresh=85

[TapiLocation]
CountryCode=1

[RegionalSettings]
LanguageGroup=1
SystemLocale=00000409
UserLocale=00000409
InputLocale=0409:00000409

[Identification]
JoinWorkgroup=Video

[Networking]
InstallDefaultComponents=No

[Components]
msmsgs=off
msnexplr=off
AutoUpdate=off

[Shell]
DefaultStartPanelOff=Yes
DefaultThemesOff=Yes

[NetAdapters]
Adapter1=params.Adapter1

[params.Adapter1]
INFID=*

[NetClients]
MS_MSClient=params.MS_MSClient

[NetServices]
MS_SERVER=params.MS_SERVER

[NetProtocols]
MS_TCPIP=params.MS_TCPIP

[params.MS_TCPIP]
DNS=No
UseDomainNameDevolution=No
EnableLMHosts=Yes
AdapterSections=params.MS_TCPIP.Adapter1

[params.MS_TCPIP.Adapter1]
SpecificTo=Adapter1
DHCP=No
IPAddress=192.168.63.99
SubnetMask=255.255.255.0
DefaultGateway=192.168.63.254
DNSServerSearchOrder=215.50.0.10,217.9.224.3
WINS=No
NetBIOSOptions=0

[GuiRunOnce]
%systemdrive%\install\start.cmd



Where am I getting wrong?

[likuidkewl]

Hard code this in or lose the variables and install it at a different time.

[GuiRunOnce]
%systemdrive%\install\start.cmd

WinPe has a probelm with the variables.

[mbouchard]

likuidkewl, on Sep 2 2004, 07:10 AM, said:

Hard code this in or lose the variables and install it at a different time.

[GuiRunOnce]
%systemdrive%\install\start.cmd

WinPe has a probelm with the variables.

I have used variables since I have started using PE (set path to include %systemdrive%\custom) and have not had any issues with it. But I am not certain that variables will work properly in a sif file. You may want to look at another way of doing this.

For instance, after booting to PE and configuring the HD I then write the unattend.txt file to the HD filling in several lines with input from the technician. I.e. computername, Product ID, Username/Password. I then copy down the I386 folder and launch setup from the HD.

Mike

[philipnorth]

mbouchard, on Sep 2 2004, 12:43 PM, said:

likuidkewl, on Sep 2 2004, 07:10 AM, said:

Hard code this in or lose the variables and install it at a different time.

[GuiRunOnce]
%systemdrive%\install\start.cmd

WinPe has a probelm with the variables.

I have used variables since I have started using PE (set path to include %systemdrive%\custom) and have not had any issues with it. But I am not certain that variables will work properly in a sif file. You may want to look at another way of doing this.

For instance, after booting to PE and configuring the HD I then write the unattend.txt file to the HD filling in several lines with input from the technician. I.e. computername, Product ID, Username/Password. I then copy down the I386 folder and launch setup from the HD.

Mike

Mike,

do you configure the HD automatically?

Because that is what I'm looking for, but I'm not sure what to use, either gdisk/diskpart or the integrated diskthingie from PE.

[likuidkewl]

I use a diskpart script in mine. It is highly configurable, it even has support for hidden drives, i.e. type = 12

[likuidkewl]

mbouchard, on Sep 2 2004, 01:43 PM, said:

likuidkewl, on Sep 2 2004, 07:10 AM, said:

WinPe has a probelm with the variables.

I have used variables since I have started using PE (set path to include %systemdrive%\custom) and have not had any issues with it. But I am not certain that variables will work properly in a sif file. You may want to look at another way of doing this.

For instance, after booting to PE and configuring the HD I then write the unattend.txt file to the HD filling in several lines with input from the technician. I.e. computername, Product ID, Username/Password. I then copy down the I386 folder and launch setup from the HD.

Mike

I meant in the Winnt.sif file, sorry for the confusion.

[philipnorth]

likuidkewl, on Sep 2 2004, 03:46 PM, said:

I use a diskpart script in mine.  It is highly configurable, it even has support for hidden drives, i.e. type = 12

Could you be so kind to share the code?

And do you need to reboot after configuring the disk and how do you arrange that in the script, so that after a reboot it starts installing and doesnt start to configure the disks again?

[crossgrid]

i cannot run this..winPE is 150MB and win xp pro is 500 or more so will not create the ISO. can you help?

[edg21]

crossgrid, on Sep 30 2004, 01:02 PM, said:

i cannot run this..winPE is 150MB and win xp pro is 500 or more so will not create the ISO. can you help?

Try removing some of the files in i386.

http://unattended.ms...saving_tips.htm

[crossgrid]

i've managed to get this to work somewhat.
1. i was under the impression this was unattended but when i diskpart the disk and reboot it goes into the blue "windows xp professional setup" window
2. asks for what partition to install windows
3. when it is ready to copy the files i get this error

setup was unable to verify drive c:.

your computer may not have enough memory to examine the drives, or your windows xp cd may contain some currupted files

to continue, press enter



please help
TIA