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This article covers the additional installation methods of Windows XP Professional of over the network installations and automating installations using Windows Setup Manager.

Installing Windows XP Professional over the Network

Before you can begin a network installation of Windows XP Professional, you need to copy the Windows XP Professional installation files to a server, normally a file or distribution server, and share out the directory so that people who need to perform an over the network installation can attach to the share. (These people will also need the proper level of Folder and NTFS permissions to attach to the share.)

The distribution server share will need to contain the installation files from the I386 folder on the Windows XP Professional CD-ROM.

From the target system, you connect to this shared directory and then run the Setup program.

The target system needs to be prepared ahead of time in order to be successful with an over the network installation. First, you need to create a FAT or FAT32 partition on the target computer of at least 1.5 GB of disk space and format it ahead of time and you also need to either boot from a client diskette that includes a network client that enables the target computer to connect to the distribution server or install the client directly to the local system hard drive with some sort of system installed, such as formatting the hard drive with a Windows 9x boot disk with the "s" switch.

(FORMAT /S Copies system files to the formatted disk to make a boot disk. This also works on a local hard drive).

The preferred method is to boot from a client diskette that includes a network client that enables the target computer to connect to the distribution server.

(As we continue from here, we will assume we are using the preferred methods of installation. As variables come up, I will mention them as a side note.)

The Setup program copies the installation files to the target computer, which is why you need to create a FAT or FAT32 partition on the target computer of at least 1.5 GB of disk space and format it ahead of time.

You begin from the target computer by booting from a floppy disk that includes a network client that can be used to connect to the distribution server. Once the network client on the target computer is started, you connect to the shared folder on the distribution server that contains the Windows XP Professional installation files and Run WINNT.EXE to start the Setup program.

[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] - WINNT.EXE is used for an installation using MS-DOS or Windows 3.0 or later versions on the source system. WINNT32.EXE is run for an installation using Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Me, Windows NT 4, or Windows 2000 Professional.

Running WINNT.EXE from the shared folder does creates the $Win_nt$.~ls temporary folder on the target computer and the Windows XP Professional installation files are copied from the shared folder on the distribution server to the $Win_nt$.~ls folder on the target computer. Once all of the files are copied to the target system, setup will reboot the local computer and begin installing the Windows XP Professional operating system.

[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] - WINNT.EXE and WINNT32.EXE can be modified by using switches. I have outlined the available switches below.

Modifying the Setup Process Using WINNT.EXE switches

Switch Function
/a Enables accessibility options.
/r[:folder] Specifies an optional folder to be copied and saved. The folder remains after Setup is finished.
/rx[:folder] Specifies the optional folder to be copied. The folder is deleted after Setup is finished.
/s[:sourcepath] Specifies the source location of Windows XP Professional files. This must be a full path x:\[path] or \\server\share\[path]. The default is the current folder location
/t[:tempdrive] Specifies a drive to contain temporary setup files and directs the Setup program to install Windows XP Professional on that drive. If you do not specify a drive, Setup attempts to locate the drive with the most available space by default.
/u[:script_file] Performs an unattended installation. (Requires the /s switch.) The answer file provides answers to some or all of the prompts that the end user normally responds to during Setup.
/udf:id[,UDF_file] Indicates an identifier (id) that Setup uses to specify how a Uniqueness Database File (UDF) modifies an answer file. The /udf parameter overrides values in the answer file, and the identifier determines which values in the UDF file are used. If you do not specify a UDF_file, Setup prompts you to insert a disk that contains the $UNIQUE$.UDB file.

Modifying the Setup Process Using WINNT.EXE32 switches

Switch Function
/checkupgradeonly Checks your computer for upgrade compatibility for Windows XP Professional.

* On Windows 98 or Windows Me upgrade checks, the default filename is UPGRADE.TXT in the %systemroot% folder.
* For Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000 upgrades, the default filename is NTCOMPAT.TXT in the %systemroot% folder.

/cmd:command_line Specifies a specific command that Setup is to run. This command is run after the computer restarts and after Setup collects the necessary configuration information.
/cmdcons Copies to the hard disk the files for the Recovery Console, which is used for repair and recovery as a Startup option after the Windows XP Professional installation has been completed.
/copydir:foldername Creates an additional folder within the %systemroot% folder, which contains the Windows XP Professional system files. You can use the /copydir switch to create as many additional folders within the %systemroot% folder as you want.
/copysource:foldername Creates an additional folder within the %systemroot% folder. Setup deletes folders created with /copysource after installation is complete.
/debug[level] [:file_name] Creates a debug log at the specified level. By default, the debug log file is C:\WINNT32.LOG and the default level is 2. Includes the following levels:

* 0 (severe errors)
* 1 (errors)
* 2 (warnings)
* 3 (information)
* 4 (detailed information for debugging)

Each level includes the level below it.
/dudisable Prevents Dynamic Update from running. Without Dynamic Updates, Setup runs only with the original Setup files. This option disables Dynamic Update even if you use an answer file and specify Dynamic Update options in that file.
/dushare: pathname Specifies a share on which you previously downloaded Dynamic Update files from the Windows Update Web site. When run from your installation share and used with /prepareinstall, it prepares the updated files for use in network-based client installations. When used without /prepareinstall and run on a client, it specifies that the client installation will use the updated files on the share specified in pathname.
/duprepare: pathname Prepares an installation share for use with Dynamic Update files that you downloaded from the Windows Update Web site. You can use this share for installing Windows XP Professional for multiple clients and it can only be used with /dushare).
/m:foldername Instructs Setup to copy replacement files from an alternate location. Directs Setup to look in the alternate location first and, if files are present, to use them instead of the files from the default location.
/makelocalsource Instructs Setup to copy all installation source files to the local hard disk. Use this switch when installing from a CD-ROM to provide installation files when the CD-ROM is not available later in the installation.
/noreboot Prevents Setup from restarting the computer after completing the file-copy phase.
/s:sourcepath Specifies the source location of Windows XP Professional installation files. To simultaneously copy files from multiple paths, use a separate /s switch for each source path. If you type multiple /s switches, the first location specified must be available or the installation will fail. You can use a maximum of eight /s switches.
/syspart:[drive_letter] Copies Setup startup files to a hard disk and marks the drive as active. You can then install the drive in another computer. When you start that computer, Setup starts at the next phase. Using /syspart requires the /tempdrive switch. You can use syspart on computers running Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, or Windows 2000 Server. You cannot use it on computers running Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me.
/tempdrive:drive_letter Places temporary files on the specified drive and installs Windows XP Professional on that drive.
/unattend [number]: [answer_file] Performs an unattended installation. The answer file provides your custom specifications to Setup. If you don't specify an answer file, all user settings are taken from the previous installation. You can specify the number of seconds between the time that Setup finishes copying the files and when it restarts with [number]. You can specify the number of seconds only on computers running Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4, or Windows 2000 that are upgrading to a newer version of Windows XP Professional.
/udf:id[,udb_file] Indicates an identifier (id) that Setup uses to specify how a UDF modifies an answer file. The UDF file overrides values in the answer file, and the identifier determines which values in the UDF file are used. If you do not specify a UDF file, Setup prompts you to insert a disk that contains the $UNIQUE$.UDF file.

For the most part, an over the network installation of Windows XP Professional from this point forward is almost perfectly identical to installing Windows XP Professional from a CD-ROM to a clean hard disk. For more information, you can take a look at my article Attended Install of Windows XP Professional.

Installing Windows XP Professional using Windows Setup Manager.

Using the Windows Setup Manager will help you automate certain Windows XP Professional installations. In order to use the Windows Setup Manager you need to install the Windows XP Professional Deployment Tools from the Windows XP Professional CD-ROM.

To start, you need to log on with a user account that is a member of the Administrators group and insert the Windows XP Professional CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive. (If you have AUTORUN enabled the Welcome To Microsoft Windows XP screen, shown below, will appear. Click Exit to close it).



Open the Windows Explorer and create the folder where the files can be extracted to.



The E:\Setup Tools folder in our example will be used to contain the files extracted from DEPLOY.CAB on the Windows XP Professional CD-ROM. (You can also choose to create a new folder to where you want to extract the files when you open the CAB files. We have performed this step ahead of time in the example)



Double-click :\Support\Tools\Deploy.CAB. The cabinet file will open in the explorer window and show all of the files. Select them all and right click and choose EXTRACT.



The Select a Destination window will open. Select the E:\Setup Tools folder we created earlier as the point where to extract the tools to. (Or, as I mentioned before, you could select Make New Folder at this point as well).



When you have finished, the following files will appear in the folder.



We will use setupmgr.exe, the Windows System Manager, to create an unattended setup script. Double clicking the on the executable will start the Windows Setup Manager Wizard.



Clicking Next will bring up the New Or Existing Answer File page. Since we do not have an existing answer file, we will elect to create a new one and continue.



We are then presented with three different options on the Product to Install page. Since we are creating an answer file for a Windows Unintended Installation (which is selected by default) we will keep this setting and continue.



On the Platform page we will choose our platform for the answer file. (This will be Windows XP Professional, but you are supplied with the options for Windows XP Home Edition and Windows 2002 Server, Advanced Server or Data Center when you use setupmgr.exe, the Windows System Manager, from the Windows XP Professional CDROM).



On the User Interaction Level page, the following five options are displayed:

Provide Defaults. This setting causes default selections to appear to the end user as the operating system installs itself on a workstation. The user can accept the default answers or change any of the answers supplied by the script.

Fully Automated. A Fully Automated installation does not allow the user the chance to review or change the answers supplied by the script.

Hide Pages. This setting causes default selections to be hidden. Pages for which the script supplies all answers are hidden from the user.

Read Only. Pages for which the script supplies all answers are viewable by the user but the user cannot change the answers.

GUI Attended. The text-mode portion of the installation is automated, but the user must supply the answers for the GUI-mode portion of the installation.

We will choose FULLY AUTOMATED and continue.



On the Distribution Folder page you can create a distribution folder on your local computer or network containing the required source files. You can add files to this distribution folder to further customize your installation.

For this demonstration we will select, No This Answer File Will Be Used To Install From A CD, and then click Next to continue.



On the License Agreement page you will need to select the checkbox to accept the terms of the License Agreement in order to successfully continue.



The next page that comes up is the Customize the Software page. As you can see here and in the left hand column, all of the prompts are exactly like the ones you would expect to see during an attended install. You are answering them all here, just once, for use each time in the future.

To view the next set of images, use the links below.
Screen 1
Screen 2
Screen 3

The last entry of the General Settings section is Providing the Product Key. Click here to view the image.

During a fully automated install, you must supply a Product Key or you will receive an error message.



If you were to use Provide Defaults or GUI Attended user interaction levels, you would be allowed to leave this page blank. Also, if you provide a bogus key on the Product Key page, the Wizard will continue, but, the fully automated install will halt when it reaches this point, as the key is invalid.

The next page that is presented starts the Network Settings section of the answer file. Click here to view the image.

The first entry is for Computer names. Here, you can enter as many different workstation names and you want, import them from a text file, or allow the installation program to auto generate names based on your organization name.

[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] - If multiple computer names were specified in the computers to be installed section, the setup wizard creates a *.UDB file. The Uniqueness Database File (UDB) provides you the ability to specify individually specific computer parameters automatically. The UDB modifies an answer file by overriding values in the answer file, when you run Setup with the /udf:id[,UDB_file] switch. The file overrides values in the answer file, and the identifier (id) determines which values in the .udb file are used.

The Administrator Password page is next and has two options, (of which only the second is available):

1) Prompt The User For An Administrative Password
2) Use The Following Administrative Password (127 Characters Maximum)

(Because we selected the User Interaction level of Fully Automated, the Prompt The User For An Administrative Password option is grayed out).

Enter any password that you want. Click here to view the image.

There is also two other options on this page, to encrypt the Administrator's password in the answer file and to have the Administrator log on automatically.

You can also set the number of times you want the Administrator to log on automatically when the computer is restarted.

We will leave these blank continue from here. Click here to view the image.

The Networking Components page is where we can elect to keep the typical settings or to choose to customize them. We will leave the default selection of Typical and select NEXT to continue.

The final page of the Network Settings section is the Workgroup or Domain page. Image

Here you can choose whether or not the answer file will put the newly installed system into a workgroup or a domain. As with an attended install, if we elect to choose a domain, we need may need to create a computer account in the domain if this hasn't already been done.

We will be using the WORKGROUP option, so we will enter a name and continue. (The WORKGROUP "workgroup" is supplied by default, just as DOMAIN in under the Windows Server domain option)

The last a final phase of the process is the Advanced Settings section. Image

The first option is for the Telephony information.

Next is the Regional Setting section, which allows us to either use the default regional settings for Windows XP Professional from the CDROM we're installing from or to choose another. Image

We will keep the defaults as listed above and continue.

We are also given the option to add support for other languages. Image

In the Browser and Shell Settings section we can elect to use the default Internet Explorer settings or use an auto configuration script created by the Internet Explorer Administration Kit. Image

We could also set Proxy, Home page and other Browser settings at this time as well. We will keep the defaults and continue.

[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] - The version of Internet Explorer that is deployed with Windows XP Professional is 6. At the time of this writing, there is one security hotfix that should be installed on systems that use Internet Explorer and that is Q313675.exe.

The next option of the Advanced Settings section is the Installation Folder window. Image

Here you can elect to install Windows XP Professional to one of three options as listed, only the third being a variable of your choice.

[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] - While I cannot find the specific Q article at this time, here is the Windows 2000 Professional article that outlines my next point. Other than the above method of using the answer file, there is no way on a clean installation of Windows XP Professional to choose the installation folder. The folder for Windows XP Professional will always default to \Windows. (DRIVE LETTER being the only variable that you can set without the answer file.) Windows 2000 Professional installed to the WINNT directory by default.

The next section allows you to automatically setup networked printers on the target systems if you wish. Image

You can also configure run once commands to run the first time a user logs on. Image

The last step in the Advanced Settings section is the Additional Commands option. It allows you to add any commands you wish to run at the end of the unattended installation before Setup restarts the system and runs Windows XP Professional for the first time. Image

The Windows Setup Manager then will create the answer file with the settings you have provided with all of your previous entries to a place on the local system as a text file. (The default location is the folder where the Setup Tools were extracted to.)



Click here for next image.

The unattend.bat file that was created from our input here is below.

@rem SetupMgrTag
@echo off

rem
rem This is a SAMPLE batch script generated by the Setup Manager Wizard.
rem If this script is moved from the location where it was generated, it may have to be modified.
rem

set AnswerFile=.\unattend.txt
set SetupFiles=J:\i386

J:\i386\winnt32 /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile%

[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] - The path of J:\i386\winnt32 /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile% is the default path to my CDROM drive on my system.

The unattend.txt file that was created from our input here is below.

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

[Unattended]
UnattendMode=FullUnattended
OemSkipEula=Yes
OemPreinstall=No
TargetPath=XPPRO

[GuiUnattended]
AdminPassword="RedSox:Rule"
EncryptedAdminPassword=NO
OEMSkipRegional=1
TimeZone=35
OemSkipWelcome=1

[UserData]
ProductID=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
FullName="Jason Zandri"
OrgName="Gunderville"
ComputerName=*

[Identification]
JoinWorkgroup=DRINKOFTEN

[Networking]
InstallDefaultComponents=Yes

[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] - Because we didn't choose the option to encrypt the Administrator password earlier on the Administrator Password page of the Network settings section, anyone that has access to read the unattend.txt can see what the default administrator password for an installation is. This can be a serious issue in large environments where the passwords are not reset on a regular basis.

If encryption were selected the entry in the [GuiUnattended] section would look like this.

[GuiUnattended]
AdminPassword=
f8a2b8ccdf88c616332ed3251640d370c1d991ef0f617f3e78 79bc923d175c5a
EncryptedAdminPassword=Yes

I made my unattended XP installation disk in a slightly different way to that.

Instead of calling the unattended.txt file from the unattended.bat file I renamed the unattended.txt file to Winnt.sif and placed it in the I386 folder, that way there was no need for the unattended.bat file.

I also wanted the disk to create a user account with autologon, install some programs, install a driver, and install my reg tweaks. So here is what i did:

First copied the files from the XP CD to my computer.

Created a unattended.txt file but named it Winnt.sif. This would have all of the answers for the installation as posted above, but also have a few extra lines. The line [OemPreinstall=No] as above would be set to [OemPreinstall=YES], this now tell the installation there will include programs to be installed other than windows. Then placed the Winnt.sif file into the I386 folder.

Here is what my Winnt.sif file looked like (mostly) and with a bit of help from MS Ill give some info on the most important parts of the file when installing extra programs and drivers:

;SetupMgrTag
[Data]
AutoPartition=1
MsDosInitiated="0"
UnattendedInstall="Yes"
AutomaticUpdates=yes

[Unattended]
UnattendMode=FullUnattended
OemSkipEula=Yes

OemPreinstall=yes <---Determines whether Setup is installing its files from distribution folders. When the value is Yes, Setup copies the subfolders and files contained in the \platform\$oem$ folder.

TargetPath=\WINDOWS
Repartition=yes
UnattendSwitch=yes

OemPnPDriversPath="Drivers\000_Nvidia" <---Specifies the path to one or more folders that contain Plug and Play drivers that are not distributed in Drivers.cab on the Windows product CD.

DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore <---Specifies how unsigned drivers are processed during unattended Setup.

KeyboardLayout="United Kingdom"

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

[UserData]
ProductID=xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
FullName="xxxxxxxxxx"
OrgName="xxxxxx"
ComputerName=xxxxx

[RegionalSettings]
LanguageGroup=1
SystemLocale=00000809
UserLocale=00000809
InputLocale=0809:00000809

[Branding]
BrandIEUsingUnattended=Yes

[URL]
Home_Page=http://www.google.co.uk/
Help_Page=http://support.microsoft.com/
Search_Page=http://www.google.co.uk/

[Proxy]
Proxy_Enable=0
Use_Same_Proxy=1

[Identification]
JoinWorkgroup=WORKGROUP

[Networking]
InstallDefaultComponents=Yes

[Shell]
DefaultStartPanelOff=Yes

[Components]
msmsgs=off <---Nothing to do with installing extra programs, but this has to be one of my faves because it tells the installation process to leave out Windows messenger.

msnexplr=off
freecell=off
hearts=off
solitaire=off
spider=off

[Display]
BitsPerPel=16
Xresolution=800
YResolution=600
AutoConfirm=1

[FavoritesEx]
Title1=xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
URL1=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Then created the distribution folders that would hold the programs, reg tweaks, .bat files ect. The distribution folders use very specific rankings all starting from a folder that must be named $OEM$ and placed at the same level as the I386 folder. Sub folders stemming from the $OEM$ folder must be named:

$1 This had the sub folders "Install" and "Drivers". The folder "Install" contains the program installers and the folder "Drivers" contained any drivers, both these will be copied to the root of C.

$$ Anything placed in this folder will be copied to C:\Windows. The sub folder in here is "System32".

$Docs Anything placed in here would be copied to C:\Documents and Settings.

$Progs Anything in here will be copied C:\Program files.

When I used the line "OemPreinstall=yes" in the Winnt.sif this told the installation that there would be additional items installed, there would be distribution folders holding the items, and also to look in the $OEM$ folder for a file called "cmdlines.txt".

Because creating the distribution folders and placing the programs to be installed inside the distribution folders doesnt make the installation automatically install the programs you then must create a series of batch files that would be called from the "cmdlines.txt" file.

below are the batch file I created:

"useraccounts.cmd" this would be used to create my useraccount and also to call a .reg file that would give the account autologon. This is what it looks like:

net user xxxx xxxxxxx /add
net localgroup Administrators xxx /add
net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited
REGEDIT /S autologon.reg
EXIT

And this the .reg file the above batch file called:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"DefaultUserName"="xxxx"
"DefaultPassword"="xxxxxxx"
"AutoAdminLogon"="1"


"progs.cmd" I made this batch file to silently install my programs. This the largest of all the batch files I made and the most fun to make because of the fact that different installer packages use different switches to perfom a silent install.

Here is a sample of the "progs.cmd" batch file:

@echo off
ECHO.
ECHO Windows will now install all programs
ECHO Please do not interfere with any GUI based Installations...
ECHO.

ECHO.
ECHO Installing Microsoft .NET Framework v1.1
ECHO Please wait...
start /wait %systemdrive%\Install\netfx\netfx.msi /QB
SLEEP 10

ECHO.
ECHO Installing Acrobat Reader 7.0.0
ECHO Please wait...
start /wait %systemdrive%\Install\AdbeRdr\AdbeRdr.exe -q /s /v/qn
SLEEP 20

ECHO.
ECHO Installing Spybot Search And Destroy 1.3
ECHO Please wait...
start /wait %systemdrive%\Install\spybotsd13\spybotsd13.exe /VERYSILENT


"reg-tweaks.cmd" This would be used to call and install any registy tweaks. The registry tweaks need to be in the $OEM$ folder along with the cmdlines.txt and batch files. As you will see this batch file doesnt contain the registry tweaks but is used as a way to start them installing.

Here is a sample of the "reg-tweaks.cmd" batch file:

@ECHO OFF
ECHO.
ECHO Windows Will Now Apply Registry Tweaks
ECHO Please wait...

ECHO.
ECHO Disabling Windows Tour
REGEDIT /S notour.reg

ECHO.
ECHO Disabling Desktop Wizard
REGEDIT /S deskwiz.reg

ECHO.
ECHO Disabling Taskbar Grouping
REGEDIT /S nogroup.reg


"DELtemp.cmd" This was used to delete the folders copied to the root of C containing the program installers and driver installed.

Here is the "DELtemp.cmd":

@ECHO OFF
ECHO.
ECHO Deleting temp folders
RD /S /Q %systemdrive%\Install
RD /S /Q %systemdrive%\Drivers


For the finishing touches I edited the "WinntBBU.dll" found in the I386 folder to change the default background picture and text for the setup process and added my own machine branding by placing some files in the system32 folder.

Then I downloaded a batch file (made by MS I think) to remove all attributes and turn the files into a bootable image, then burned the image to DVD using nero. Oh, and i aslo forgot to mention that i slipstreamed service pack 2 and downloaded any critical updates and applied those to the I386 folder before making the image.

When all that was done I had/have an XP DVD that installs most of my programs, go's through all the setup routines, looks nice, and I dont have to press a thing. Olny bad thing about having a DVD like that is if you accidentally leave it in the drive, reboot and go away from the computer for longer then it take to format your hard drive lol.

I originally made this for another forum, thought I might as well post it here too. Please keep in mind this a Rough guide, im not into full on tutorial writing.

Rough guide to installing XP form a Partition

Boot from a Win 98 Boot disk that has SMARTDRV.exe and XCOPY.exe (I use THIS one).

Select "Without CD-ROM Support".

At the A: prompt type "FDISK" without the quotes.

select "Y" to enable large disk support.

At the "FDISK Options" screen, select option 4 to view the currant status of the hard drives partitions. If you find existing partitions you need to delete them--> Back at the "FDISK Options" screen, select option 3. If you found anything other than DOS paritions when you examined the drive you can delete them by selection option 4 (in the "Delete DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive" screen).


If you had more than one DOS partition select option 3, go through the prompts and delete all Logical DOS drives. Then select option 2 and delete any Extended DOS partitions. Next select option 1 (in the "Delete DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive" screen) and delete the Primay DOS partition.

If you only have one partition just select option 1 (in the "Delete DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive" screen) and delete the Primary partition.

You should now have deleted all partitions on the drive. Back at the "FDISK Options" screen select option 4 again, if you have succefully deleted all partitions you should see something like "No partitions defined" near the bottom of the screen.

If my explanation on deleting partitions was no good to you then have a read through the following lik:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000344.htm
-------------------------------------------------------


The next step is to make two partitons. One Primary DOS partiton which will be used to acually install XP to, and one Logical DOS drive inside an Extended DOS partiton which will be used to copy the installation files to. If you want to make more partitions its up to you but thats not the way im doing it here.

At the "FDISK Options" screen, select option 1. Now at the "Create DOS Partiton or Logical DOS Drive" screen, select option 1, when asked to used the maximum available size, press "N" for no then press enter.

Next you will be asked for the size of the partiton to make in MB or %, simply minus 600MB from the total availible disk space and input that number. So you look at it like this:

1GB = 1000MB

your hard drive may be 40GB, so: 40GB = 40000MB - 600MB = 39400MB

In that case you would input "39400" and press enter.

Back at the "FDISK Options" screen, select option 2 (Set active Partition). In the next screen input "1" to select the partition to make active and press enter.

Back to the "FDISK Options" screen again and select option 1. On the "Create DOS Partiton or Logical DOS Drive" screen select option 2 (Create Extended DOS Partition). On the next screen you enter the size of the partiton to make. You need to use the full amount of available space for this partition so just press enter with the amount it has already entered for you. Just do the same thing on the next few screens untill you come to a screen telling you "All available space in the Extented DOS Partition is assigned to Logical Drives" then press Esc to continue.
--------------------------------------------------


Hopefully you now have the two partitions needed to copy the installation files and install Windows to. Next you need to format both partitions.

Press Esc to exit FDISK then Reboot (from the boot disk still). This time select with CD-ROM support.

When you reach the A: prompt type "format C:" without the quotes and press enter, select "Y" to proceed with format and wait untill it finishes. You will then be prompted to enter a volume lable, put whatever you like here or just press enter for none (I choose none).

At the A: prompt again, type "format d:" without the quotes and press enter select "Y" to proceed with format and wait untill it finishes. You will then be prompted to enter a volume lable, put whatever you like here or just press enter for none (I choose none).

Now insert your XP-CD, wait a second then at the A: prompt type "SMARTDRV.EXE" without the quotes.

When smartdrv.exe has loaded, at the A: prompt type "XCOPY X:\I386\*.* D:\I386\ /s/e" without the quotes, change "X:" for your CD-ROM drive letter. If you used the boot disk from the link I gave then your CD-ROM drive letter will be "X". This will now copy all the installation files from your XP-CD to the partition you created earlier.

Once all the files have been copied over:

At the A: prompt type "D:" without the quotes.

Next type "I386\WINNT.EXE" without the quotes. After this you may be asked to specify the location of setup files, if so, type "I386" without the quotes and press enter.This should start the Windows XP installation process.

Once the setup starts you MUST remove the boot disk from the floppy drive BEFORE the setup reboots your computer.

Note: and this is a BIG NOTE, if the setup APPEARS to hang at the copying files to hard drive screen DO NOT restart, just wait it WILL start eventually.

If you find my FDISK instructions seem a little choppy just do a google on FDISK.

I do this everyday...its easier than it reads :P

Originally Posted by jazzman

I do this everyday...its easier than it reads :razz:

No doubt thats due to my poor explanations Jazzman, eh.:roll:

Originally Posted by Cache

No doubt thats due to my poor explanations Jazzman, eh.:roll:

No! Not at all...Its just that the documentation makes it seem harder than it really is , thats all