Overview of Automated Installations

In an environment where you need to upgrade more than a handful of computers to Windows 98, you must automate the Setup process. Automating the Setup process eliminates user interaction, standardizes the Windows 98 configuration on every desktop, and makes an organization-wide rollout easier and less time consuming. You will probably want to use an automated installation if you are responsible for installing Windows 98 on more than 50 computers.

An automated installation can be either a pull installation or a push installation. In a pull installation the user performs the upgrade, using tools provided by the administrator. In a push installation the administrator performs the upgrade, either directly or through system management software, such as Microsoft Systems Management Server.

Automating an installation is a three-step process:

1. Create a custom setup script with the desired configuration for your users as described in Chapter 3, "Custom Installations."
2. Set up an installation point on the network with the Windows 98 source files.
3. Use one of the following methods to upgrade the client computers in your organization to Windows 98:
   • Use a logon script that includes a statement to run Setup with a setup script, automatically installing Windows 98 when each user logs on.
   • Create an Apps.ini file that lets users upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows 98 simply by clicking a button.
   • Create a system policy that includes a statement to run Setup with a setup script, automatically upgrading from Windows 95 to Windows 98 when each user logs on.
   • Use Microsoft Systems Management Server to run Windows 98 Setup with a setup script as a mandatory job, as described in Appendix E, "Microsoft Systems Management Server."
   • Use network management software from other vendors to install Microsoft Windows 98 based on the setup scripts you create. Refer to the documentation for your network management software for information about performing remote installation of software.

For some types of automated installation, you should also implement version checking before running Setup to ensure that Windows 98 is not installed over itself or on an incompatible operating system.

The following sections provide details about automating installations with logon scripts, Apps.ini, and system policies, and then describes how to implement version checking.

Note

The examples in this chapter direct you to add the Msbatch.inf command to setup scripts. This is good practice, but it is not necessary if the Msbatch.inf file is located in the same directory as your installation files.