PRB: Editing the Windows NT 4.0 Unattended Setup Script To Insert

ID: Q181357

The information in this article applies to:

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

SYMPTOMS

Following the instructions from "Deployment Guide: Automating Windows NT Setup," a user who wishes to replace settings that are unique to the computer such as computername, can interrupt the unattended installation after character mode setup is completed. The user can start the computer in MS-DOS mode, and edit the file, C:\$WIN_NT$.~BT\WINNT.SIF. When the user restarts the computer in the Windows NT GUI mode setup, the unattended installation completes. However, the modifications introduced into Winnt.sif do not take effect. The defaults from the original Unattend.txt take precedence.

CAUSE

The wrong file, Winnt.sif, is being edited.

MORE INFORMATION

In an unattended installation over a network, the Windows NT files are copied from the network share point into two temporary directories on the computer being installed. The directories are:

C:\$WIN_NT$.~LS (system files) and C:\$WIN_NT$.BT

After the files are copied, the computer restarts and uses the files from $WIN_NT$.~BT to boot and to direct the character mode installation process. The character mode setup phase uses data from WINNT.SIF to install some device drivers and to copy files to the correct subdirectory of %windir%.

At the end of character mode phase, Setup copies data needed for the GUI phase from WINNT.SIF into the file, %windir%\SYSTEM32\$WINNT$.INF. The data copied includes computername, network adapter settings, domain/machine account configuration settings, and other information necessary to build the registry.

The administrator should therefore edit the following file:

%windir%\SYSTEM32\$WINNT$.INF

before restarting in GUI mode setup.

Where disk duplication is being used to replicate the character mode setup image, inserting the unique settings in each computer's $WINNT$.INF results in a usable installation of Windows NT, when the computers on which the installation is taking place have identical drive subsystems. If they do not, the restart into GUI setup will fail with a stop code of 0x0000007B because of incorrect disk drivers. Where the drive subsystems are different, the C:\$WIN_NT$.BT\WINNT.SIF should be edited prior to any startup into Windows NT setup.

When an administrator performs an unattended install over a network on each computer, it may be easier to use a Uniqueness Database File (UDF) in conjunction with UNATTEND.TXT to give the unique data for each computer because no manual intervention is required. See the Windows NT Deployment Guide For further information, available at:

http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/info/deployguide.htm.

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

Q156876 Using UDF Files with Windows NT 4.0 Unattended Setup

Additional query words: Unattended Setup Install

Keywords : kbsetup kbOPK ntsetup kbSBK
Version : winnt:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbprb