Format of the INITIAL.INF and PARTIAL.INF Files

The INITIAL.INF and PARTIAL.INF files are text files that contain one or more sections. Each section begins with a section title in brackets (for example, "[Files-I386-nt-system32]"). Some sections contain lists of files to be installed by Setup. Other sections contain a Setup scripting language. The scripting language is not usually needed for customizing setup, and is beyond the scope of this chapter.

In the INITIAL.INF file, files are listed in the following format:

disk number, filename, SIZE=file size

where disk number is the number of the Setup floppy disk or CD on which the file exists. The following is an example of a typical section in the INITIAL.INF file.

[Files-i386-WindowsOptions]
1,256COLOR.BMP , SIZE=999
1,ARCADE.BMP , SIZE=999

In the PARTIAL.INF file, the name assigned to the option is also indicated. The format is as follows:

option name = disk number, filename, SIZE=file size

where option name is defined in the [OptionalTypeLanguage] section.

For example, the options presented during Setup as "256-Color Wallpaper" and "Arcade Wallpaper" are defined in the following section of the PARTIAL.INF file:

[OptionalWallpapersENG]
    256ColorWallpaper = "256-Color Wallpaper"
    ArcadeWallpaper   = "Arcade Wallpaper"
...

The file used for this option is defined as shown in the following example from the PARTIAL.INF file:

[Files-i386-WindowsOptions]
256ColorWallpaper = 1,256COLOR.BMP , SIZE=999
ArcadeWallpaper = 1,ARCADE.BMP , SIZE=999

Each .INF file also contains a [Source Media Descriptions] section, which lists the Setup media. Usually, there will be only one entry for the CD. In this case, the section looks similar to the following:

[Source Media Descriptions]
    1  = "Windows NT Server CD-ROM"  , TAGFILE = cdrom.s

The number in the first column is the disk number, which is used in the file list described earlier. If you are using a floppy disk set, each disk in the set is listed, and the [Source Media Descriptions] sections looks similar to the following:

[Source Media Descriptions]
    1  = "Windows NT Setup Disk #1"  , TAGFILE = disk1
    2  = "Windows NT Setup Disk #2"  , TAGFILE = disk2
    3  = "Windows NT Setup Disk #3"  , TAGFILE = disk3
    ...

Note

Lines in the files that begin with a semicolon (;) are treated as comments and are ignored by Setup. Including comments in these files is helpful, for example, when you want to document changes you are making to the file.

You can also use a semicolon for commenting out lines in the TXTSETUP.SIF file. In the DOSNET.INF file, use a pound sign (#) instead of a semicolon for commenting out lines.

Remember that you must use the correct symbol for the file you are modifying; otherwise, Setup fails.