Free Windows Help Tutorials sponsored by inkjet printer cartridges dot org /title> <META HTTP-EQUIV="imagetoolbar" CONTENT="no"> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; CHARSET=ISO 8859-1"> <META name="description" Content="Hundreds of downloadable Windows help tutorials, articles and how-to guides sponsored by inkjet printer cartridges dot org."><style type="text/css">  </style> </head> <body bgcolor=#999999 vlink=blue link=blue> <span name = "INTRA" class="pg" style="top:0px; left:5px; width:714px; height:1010px"></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:0px; left:5px; height:1010px; width:714px' class='img'> <img src="pg0001im.png" height = "1010 width = "714" border="0"> </span> <span class='nav' style='left: 10px; top: 10px'><pre></pre></span><span name = "INTRA" style='top:108px; left:77px' class="ft3"><pre><font face='Arial'>Windows 2000</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:165px; left:77px' class="ft3"><pre><font face='Arial'>Automated Installations</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:267px; left:77px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>Deploying</b></i> <i><b>Windows</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:287px; left:77px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>2000</b></i> <i><b>can</b></i> <i><b>be</b></i> <i><b>a</b></i> <i><b>lengthy</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:265px; left:247px' class="ft0"><pre><font face='Arial'><b>T</b></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:267px; left:279px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>he deployment of a new operating system can be a slow and time consum </font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:280px; left:279px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>ing process. Despite its bells and whistles, migrating to Windows 2000 is</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:292px; left:279px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>no different. From beginning to end the operation must be handled effi </font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:305px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>ciently and with as little downtime as possible.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:308px; left:77px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>process,</b></i> <i><b>especially</b></i> <i><b>when</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:326px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Microsoft has incorporated several technologies into the Windows 2000 OS that</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:328px; left:77px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>it</b></i> <i><b>involves</b></i> <i><b>a</b></i> <i><b>number</b></i> <i><b>of</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:338px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>makes automating the setup process easier than before. Of the options, distrib </font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:349px; left:77px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>machines.</b></i> <i><b>By</b></i> <i><b>automating</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:351px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>uted scripts are the easiest to set up. Basically, this means creating an answer file</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:364px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>in advance, thereby eliminating the need for administrators to be at the console</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:369px; left:77px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>this</b></i> <i><b>task</b></i> <i><b>the</b></i> <i><b>total</b></i> <i><b>cost</b></i> <i><b>of</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:376px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>of the machine during deployment.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:390px; left:77px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>ownership</b></i> <i><b>can</b></i> <i><b>be</b></i> <i><b>lowered</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:397px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Significant amounts of time can be saved using answer files. With answer files,</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:410px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Windows 2000 Server and more commonly Windows 2000 Professional can be</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:411px; left:77px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>significantly.</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:422px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>installed using a network share or a bootable CD ROM. Basically, answer files</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:435px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>give the Windows 2000 setup program most if not all of the responses it needs</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:443px; left:77px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>By Dave Cook</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:448px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>during the setup process.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:458px; left:77px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Technical Consultant</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:474px; left:247px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>Right</b></i> <i><b>Answers</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:496px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Thankfully the days of building answer files from scratch are long gone. Microsoft</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:509px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>first simplified the process by including the Setup Manager utility in the Microsoft</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:522px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Windows NT Server 4.0 Resource Kit. Both Windows 2000 Server and Windows</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:535px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>2000 Professional CD ROMs include an improved version of this utility. In</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:547px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>addition to building answer files, Setup Manager can automate the creation of a</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:560px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>distribution share point. To take advantage of this option Setup Manager must</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:573px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>be launched at the server that will hold the distribution files. Be warned, though,</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:585px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>that a little over 300 MB of available space is required to hold more than 7,500</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:598px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>files.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:618px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Although the information contained within an answer file will vary to suit</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:631px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>individual circumstances, a typical script will include acceptance of the licensing</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:644px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>agreement, the computer name, and the type of network adapter used. By far the</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:657px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>easiest way to create such an answer file is to use the Setup Manager Wizard.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:669px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Even so, there is nothing to stop administrators from creating answer files</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:682px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>manually. A basic text editor such as Notepad will suffice, or alternatively it is</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:695px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>possible to edit an existing answer file. Examples of three ready made answer</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:707px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>files are offered in the unattend.txt file, which can be extracted from the de </font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:720px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>ploy.cab file found in the Support\Tools folder of the Windows 2000 CD.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:741px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Once administrators become accustomed to answer files, they can generate scripts</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:753px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>that are far more comprehensive than those created using the Setup Manager</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:766px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Wizard. To that end, the same unattend.txt file includes a full listing of answer</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:779px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>file parameters. It must be emphasized, however, that administrators creating</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:791px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>their own answer files especially those of a complex nature are likely to find a</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:804px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>certain amount of trial and error is involved before such files are deemed perfect.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:831px; left:247px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>Wizard</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:853px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>The latest version of Setup Manager is stored in the same cabinet file, deploy.cab,</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:866px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>described earlier. To access the Setup Manager Wizard, extract the deploy.cab file</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:878px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>to a folder on the hard drive, and then launch setupmgr.exe using the RUN</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:891px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>command. After the initial welcome screen, a configuration screen first prompts</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:904px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>administrators to specify what kind of answer files they would like to create.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:950px; left:52px' class="ft4"><pre><font face='Helvetica'>Update 144:November 2000</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:943px; left:264px' class="ft5"><pre><font face='Arial'><b>PC</b> <b>Support</b> <b>Advisor</b></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:950px; left:612px' class="ft4"><pre><font face='Helvetica'>File: E1218.1</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:962px; left:52px' class="ft4"><pre><font face='Helvetica'>page 3</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:962px; left:494px' class="ft4"><pre><font face='Helvetica'>End User Support:Operating Systems</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:967px; left:302px' class="ft6"><pre><font face='Helvetica'><b>www.itp journals.com</b></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" class='nav' style='left: 357px; top: 1010px'><pre>Next page <a href='page0002.htm'>></a></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:1050px; left:50px' class="ft4"><pre><b><font color="#FF0000" size="3" face="Arial">New!</font><font color="#FF0000" size="3" face="Arial Narrow"> </font><font size="2" face="Arial">The best sites for quality <a href="http://www.inkjet-printer-cartridges.org">inkjet printer cartridges</a> and the best sites for <a href="http://www.cheap-inkjet-cartridges.com">cheap inkjet cartridges</a></font></b></pre></span></body> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:1100px; left:300px' class="ft4"><pre><b><font color="#FF0000" size="3" face="Arial"><a href="../index.html">Windows Help Desk Home</a> </font></b></pre></span></body></html>