Automating the installation is a key step in reducing the cost of migration. By creating a setup script with predetermined answers for installation questions, the installation process can run from start to finish without user intervention. It is also possible to "push" the installation from the server, so that you can install Windows 95 on an individual personal computer without ever touching the computer. This automation work is done in the lab, prior to conducting the pilot rollout.
Automating the installation consists of creating a setup script, setting up Windows 95 on the server, and creating a push installation process. With a setup script you can perform a "hands-free" installation, so that the user need not respond to any prompts or even touch the computer during Windows 95 Setup.
Setting up Windows 95 on the server requires the Server-based Setup program (NETSETUP.EXE) from the Windows 95 compact disc. Installing Windows 95 source files on the server is a separate and distinct process from the Windows 95 Setup program (SETUP.EXE) that you ran in the initial lab installation.
Note Depending on the common network configuration at your site, you may determine that you need to remove a line from one or more configuration files as a global procedure before starting Windows 95 Setup. For example, you may want to use a protected-mode protocol such as Microsoft TCP/IP during Setup instead of the real-mode version of TCP/IP currently used on the target computers. In addition, users may be running certain TSRs or applications that should be closed before running Windows 95 Setup. In these cases, you can modify NETDET.INI on NetWare networks as described in Chapter 9, "Windows 95 on NetWare Networks." On other networks, including Microsoft networks, modify the [Install] section of MSBATCH.INF to automate these changes. (For more information, see Appendix D, "MSBATCH.INF Parameters.")
When you run Server-based Setup to install source files on the server, you can also create a default setup script, and you can specify whether the Windows 95 source files on the server will be used to set up Windows 95 to run locally from a single computer or to run a shared copy from the server for client computers that require a shared installation.
In addition, you may want to manually add other files to the shared directory on the server, such as custom bitmaps for screens or a predefined WKGRP.INI file for workgroup organization, so that client computers are fully configured when Windows 95 is installed.
Creating a push installation process involves doing some final work on the server, such as editing the login script for the user, or sending a link in electronic mail to a batch file that runs Windows 95 Setup, so that the user only needs to log on or double-click an icon to start the installation. System management software such as Microsoft Systems Management Server can also be used to start the installation centrally. If you plan to use system management software in automating the installation, make sure this has been acquired and tested.
For more information, see Chapter 5, "Custom, Automated, and Push Installations."