Determining NIC Parameters for Setup Using Unattend.txt

Last reviewed: February 4, 1998
Article ID: Q163554

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SUMMARY

When preparing to deploy Windows NT, you should test the network adapter to determine its functionality. During the testing phase, the network adapter settings will be determined and documented for use with a Windows NT answer file. The following information assumes that an installation of Windows NT with the adapter to be used is available. Just as, in most cases, manually installing Windows NT requires prior knowledge of the network adapter configuration, the answer file similarly requires this information for automation.

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: Modifications to .inf files incorrectly can cause serious, system- wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from modifications of .inf files can be solved. Use this method at your own risk.

Determining an adapter's parameters can be accomplished via the Regedt32.exe utility supplied with Windows NT 4.0. Every installed network adapter has two keys in:

   HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\

These keys are <ProductName> and <ServiceName>, and they specify the option name for the card and the instance of the card, respectively.

To find out the values of <ProductName> and <ServiceName>, check the following registry values on an already installed computer using the same adapter that you will be using:

   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkCards\1

   ProductName: REG_SZ:<adapter_string>
   ServiceName: REG_SZ:<adapter_string>

The string assigned to ServiceName is what is needed to locate the parameters for the instance of the network adapter installed. These parameters can be located in the registry under:

   HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\<ServiceName>\Parameters

All non-string values found in the parameters key for the adapter have to converted from hexadecimal values to decimal values for the unattend file. The names of the parameters and non-numeric values can be directly translated to the unattend file.

Examples

NOTE: A semicolon is used to comment a particular line in Unattend.txt.

   [NetWork]
   InstallAdapters = AdaptersList

   [AdaptersList]
   ; DECETHERWORKSTURBO = DECETHERWORKSTURBOParams
   ; EE16 = EE16Params
   ; J2573A = J2573AParams
   IEEPRO = IEEPROParams

   ;[DECETHERWORKSTURBOParams]
   ;InterruptNumber = 5
   ;IOBaseAddress = 768
   ;MemoryMappedBaseAddress = 851968
   ;BusType = 1
   ;BusNumber = 0

   ;[EE16Params]
   ;BusType = 1
   ;Transceiver = 3
   ;BusNumber = 0
   ;IoChannelReady = 2
   ;IoBaseAddress = 784
   ;InterruptNumber = 10

   ;[J2573AParams]
   ;BusNumber = 0
   ;BusType = 1
   ;AdapterType = 0
   ;BusType = 5
   ;MediaType = 1
   ;IoBaseAddress = 768
   ;InterruptNumber = 5

   [IEEPROParams]
   BusNumber = 0
   BustType = 1
   AdapterType = 0
   BusType = 5
   MediaType = 0
   IoBaseAddress = 768
   InterruptNumber = 5

For more information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q155197
   TITLE     : Unattended Setup Parameters for Unattend.txt File

   ARTICLE-ID: Q143134
   TITLE     : Oemsetup.inf Modifications for Automated Windows NT Setup

   ARTICLE-ID: Q155099
   TITLE     : Creating Network Component .inf File for Unattended Setup

   ARTICLE-ID: Q156876
   TITLE     : Using UDF Files with Windows NT 4.0 Unattended Setup

Additional query words: 4.00
Keywords : ntdriver ntreskit ntsetup kbsetup kbfaq
Version : 4.0
Platform : winnt

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Last reviewed: February 4, 1998
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