Trilight Zone

[digital8]

By: Jeff Gilbert
Posted On: 3/1/2005

Ever get sick of loading a server from a CD and then having to go through a day’s worth of customizations and software installations afterwards? I use the below method to create CDs to automatically load systems and do everything I need to do before putting them on the network. This saves a lot of time and ends up giving me a pretty good baseline for what software and settings are on my servers. The setup time for one of these CDs is usually about an hour and when it’s finished I know I’ve got a system complete with all the updates, managed AV and ready to go on the production network.

This article is first in a three part series and will explain how to create the directory structure for a silent installation of Windows Server 2003. I’ll show you what the CD actually does, the file and folder structure for the CD, and what exactly those custom folders and oddly named files do. In my next two articles I’ll show you examples for all the important files and lastly, show you how to make this CD bootable.

Follow the instructions below to create your installation source file structure. Remember to keep the total file size small enough to fit on a CD!

When you create a Windows Server 2003 CD following the example here, setup will automatically go to work when you press a key to boot from the CD. Below are listed the main installation actions:

During Setup:
The server will read the data stored in the WINNT.SIF file for unattended installation options. The first partition of the first hard drive WILL BE FORMATTED with NTFS.
At 12 minutes before Windows setup completes the following will occur:
Registry edits will be imported—desktop wallpaper, logon screen saver, quick launch toolbar, and Internet Explorer home page settings will be modified. Additional software such as the Windows 2003 Server resource kit and antivirus program is installed. System updates are installed—updated to time of CD creation. The i386 folder from the CD is copied to C:\Windows\i386—the registry is edited to point to this folder from now on instead of looking for the CD. Certain files are then deleted so the i386 folder cannot be copied and used to load unauthorized systems (winnt.exe, winnt.sif, etc…). System Properties OEM information will be changed to reflect your organization

When the server starts the first time it will auto logon and the following will occur:
The SETADMPW.BAT file will run. This allows you to reset the local administrator password from the default Password00 set by the WINNT.SIF file. The antivirus will be updated to the latest definition file as of the time the CD was created. Temporary files used during installation are also deleted.

Below is a quick overview of the basic folder structure. After that, I’ve broken it down folder by folder, and in some cases, file by file for you.

D:.
+---$OEM$
¦ +---$$
¦ ¦ +---System32
¦ ¦ ¦ +---ss
¦ ¦ ¦ [Screen saver .bmp files (800x600)]
¦ ¦ ¦ oeminfo.ini
¦ ¦ ¦ oemlogo.bmp
¦ ¦ +---Temp
¦ ¦ ¦ AV Definition Update File
¦ ¦ ¦ AVUPDATE.BAT
¦ ¦ ¦ DEL.BAT
¦ ¦ ¦ SCR.BAT
¦ ¦ ¦ SCR.REG
¦ ¦ ¦ SETADMPW.BAT
¦ ¦ +---Web
¦ ¦ +---Wallpaper
¦ ¦ Desktop.jpg [Desktop wallpaper picture file]
¦ +---$1
¦ +---update
¦ +---SAV [Symantec Antivirus Installation files]
¦ REGIMPORTS.REG
¦ rktools.msi
¦ rktools_p.cab
¦ rktools_s.cab
¦ WindowsServer2003-KB828741-x86-ENU.exe
¦ [Other Server 2003 updates….]
+---DOCS [Default DOCS folder]
+---I386 [Default I386 Folder and WINNT.SIF file]
¦ +---ADMT [Default ADMT folder]
¦ +---COMPDATA [Default COMPDATA folder]
¦ +---DRW [Default DRW folder]
¦ +---LANG [Default LANG folder]
¦ +---SYSTEM32 [Default SYSTEM32 folder]
¦ +---WINNTMIG [Default WINNTMIG folder]
¦ +---WINNTUPG [Default WINNTUPG folder]
+---PRINTERS [Default PRINTERS folder]
+---SUPPORT
¦ +--- SETUP
¦ ¦ +--- Instructions pptview.exe
¦ ¦ PLAYLIST.TXT
¦ ¦ AUTORUN.INF
¦ ¦ Instructions.pps
¦ ¦ PLAY.BAT
¦ ¦ PLAYLIST.TXT
¦ ¦ pptview.exe
¦ ¦ [remaining PowerPoint Viewer files--install the viewer and copy the files from Program files directory]
¦ +---TOOLS [Default TOOLS folder]
+---VALUEADD [Default VALUEADD folder]
AUTORUN.INF
README.HTM
SETUP.EXE
WIN51
WIN5IIS

Folder Structure Breakdown and Explanation:
(Unless otherwise noted all files are default Server 2003 installation files)

D:.

Files in the CD Root
The AUTORUN.INF file tells setup what to do when the CD is loaded while Windows is running. The default autorun.inf will cause setup.exe to run and display the Server 2003 installation options. I’ve added the label and shell commands to the default autorun.inf file. The label command will cause the CD drive label to be Windows Server 2003 when viewed from Windows explorer. The shell commands give you a context menu option (right click) to view Windows Server 2003 documentation. Create a PowerPoint slide show and save it as a presentation (.pps) and save it in the .\support\setup\instructions folder. When you right click on the CD you will now be given the option to view your presentation—the presentation opens with PowerPoint viewer.

D:.
+---$OEM$

Files/Folders in the $OEM$ Folder
The $OEM$ folder contains all the extra files that you want to install or run other than the default Server 2003 installation files. The $$ and $1 folders correspond to the %systemroot% and C: respectively. If you want anything extra placed in either of those two folders, just add it to the $$ and $1 folders. If you would like to add additional drivers to this installation you could create a drivers folder in the $1 folder and add them there. You will need to add additional lines to the WINNT.SIF file for that to work.

D:.
+---$OEM$
¦ +---$$
¦ ¦ +---System32
¦ ¦ ¦ +---ss
¦ ¦ ¦ [Screen saver .bmp files (800x600)]

This ss (screen saver) folder will be placed in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. I’m using the Windows my slideshow screen saver later to create a logon screen saver displaying the pictures in this folder.

¦ ¦ ¦ oeminfo.ini oemlogo.bmp

The oeminfo.ini file is the text displayed for support information when you right click on the My Computer icon on the desktop and select properties from the context menu. The oemlogo.bmp file is the picture displayed on that same tab.

¦ ¦ +---Temp
¦ ¦ ¦ AV Definition Update File
¦ ¦ ¦ AVUPDATE.BAT
¦ ¦ ¦ DEL.BAT
¦ ¦ ¦ SCR.BAT
¦ ¦ ¦ SCR.REG
¦ ¦ ¦ SETADMPW.BAT

These files are placed in the C:\Windows\ Temp folder. These are the files needed to run after the system boots to Windows for the first time and then they'll be deleted.

¦ ¦ +---Web
¦ ¦ +---Wallpaper
¦ ¦ Desktop.jpg [Desktop wallpaper picture file]

This file is the desktop wallpaper to be displayed as the desktop when the system boots (800x600 pixels seems to work pretty well).

¦ +---$1
¦ +---update
¦ +---SAV [Symantec Antivirus Installation files]
¦ REGIMPORTS.REG
¦ rktools.msi
¦ rktools_p.cab
¦ rktools_s.cab
¦ WindowsServer2003-KB828741-x86-ENU.exe
¦ [Other Server 2003 updates….]

The C:\update folder is the real workhorse for customizing Windows setup. At 12 minutes from setup completing the Windows portion of setup, the cmdlines.txt file is called. This file causes the update.bat file to go into action accessing and running the files in the update folder. Place anything in here that you want to run during Windows setup. I generally put things like the resource kit tools, antivirus installation files and updates here. On my regular Server 2003 CD there are 13 Server 2003 updates that are installed from here. This way, when the server loads Windows the first time it already has the extra tools I want, managed antivirus, and is up to date on required system patches.

+---DOCS [Default DOCS folder]
+---I386 [Default I386 Folder and WINNT.SIF file]

The WINNT.SIF file is the unattended answer file that setup uses to answer all the questions you are normally asked during setup. The WINNT.SIF file can also be created by using setupmgr.exe located in the .\SUPPORT\TOOLS\ folder on the CD—you need to go into the DEPLOY.CAB folder and extract it. You can also put the WINNT.SIF file on a floppy disk instead of embedding it in the I386 folder. I put it in the I386 folder so I don’t need any floppies or to remember to take it out before the server restarts!

+---PRINTERS [Default PRINTERS folder]
+---SUPPORT
¦ +--- SETUP
¦ ¦ +--- Instructions
¦ ¦ PLAYLIST.TXT
¦ ¦ AUTORUN.INF
¦ ¦ Instructions.pps
¦ ¦ PLAY.BAT
¦ ¦ PLAYLIST.TXT
¦ ¦ pptview.exe
¦ ¦ [remaining PowerPoint Viewer files]

The .\SUPPORT\SETUP\Instructions folder is where the documentation you created with PowerPoint and the PowerPoint viewer files are stored. You will need to install the PowerPoint viewer and then copy the files from the .\Program Files\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer folder here. These files launch PowerPoint viewer to display the documentation—or instructions for loading the server—from the context menu at the root of the CD drive in Windows Explorer. I use this presentation to let people know that this CD WILL format their hard drives and also things like the local administrator password or other customizations they need to be aware of.

¦ +---TOOLS [Default TOOLS folder]
+---VALUEADD [Default VALUEADD folder]

That's the basic folder structure that I use. In my next article I'll go into detail about what exactly these files I keep talking about look like and how they work.