The setup initialization file contains the information that will be used to set configuration parameters when SQL Server is installed. Instead of responding to prompts for information from the setup program during installation, you enter configuration parameters ahead of time, in the configuration file, and during installation setup obtains the necessary settings from there.
Optionally, you can create custom scripts that will run during installation. All custom scripts must be placed in one directory on the server being installed (or in one directory accessible to the server). The path to the scripts and the name of the scripts must be entered in the setup initialization file. For more information, see [Scripts], later in this appendix.
All the entries in the initialization file are strings and can also be created using the Windows function WritePrivateProfileString. For example:
// Assume lpszKeyValue is user's name string from user interface LSTR lpszKeyValue // Needs to be written to [License]FullName in SETUP.INI WritePrivateProfileString("License","FullName", lpszKeyValue,"SETUP.INI")
For information about using WritePrivateProfileString, see your Windows programming documentation.
Important The setup program does not perform error checking of the values entered in the initialization file. It is up to the user to ensure that the .INI file contains valid values.