• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Fully automating XP setup of new Compaq/HP/Emachines/Sony computers

D

dew042

Platinum Member
At work we set up 20-30 of these machine on average per day. It gets rather tedious to manually stand there and wait for the GUI prompts to come up and go through them one by one.

I know have read about an "answer file", or sysprep as possible ways of rolling XP out - but never directly seen a way to use these to make manual setup of new computer automated...

Is there a way to get a boot disk of some sort that will bypass the OEM startup questions and inputs??? If so could you point me in the right direction. I have done the searches and found lots of info but I am having a difficult time pulling it all together into my application.

Thanks a bunch.

dew.
 
I used the deploy.cab file from microsoft..it makes the answer file, which you rename .sif and put on a floppy..then put your bootable CD into the CDRom drive and then the floppy in the floppy drive..it takes all the answers for the GUI questions from the floppy...
There is an option in the unattend file to make is fully automated and ask no ?'s

I had a link for it on MS, but cant seem to find it now..sorry!
 
I understand that I need to make and unattend.sif answer file - but the probelm is that the os on these oem computers is already deployed. its just the last 20 annoying setups questions that i need to take care of... most of the info around expects that you are going to be completely installing xp from a network or cd.... which i am not.

any ideas on how i would integrate an answer file into a bootable floppy that would automatically deploy itself into the oem xp home install????

pretty please 😉

dew.
 
I would expect that most OEM setups would be running SYSPREP from the "%SYSTEMROOT%\SYSPREP" folder (usually "C:\SYSPREP"). You could replace the sysprep answer file, "sysprep.inf", with a customised version which automates the install. This is quite simple if the hard disk is formatted to use FAT32, not so easy if the hard disk in formatted with NTFS. You could use a utility such as NTFSDOS Pro to write the file even to an NTFS partition.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top