Preparing the Windows DS Server

When deploying to target computers that are not managed by SMS, the team can initiate the image installation process through Windows DS. In the ZTI deployment process, the Windows DS servers are responsible for installing Windows PE on the target computers. Boot Windows PE from Windows DS to prepare the target computer for operating system image deployment.

Note   Windows DS performs the same functions as RIS in SMS OSD Feature Pack–based deployments. The SMS OSD Feature Pack is required by ZTI and is only compatible with RIS methods of deployment.

Ensure that the Windows DS servers have the:

• Appropriate flat file image structures.

• Copies of the Windows PE images when they become available from the development team that creates them. These images may not be ready until the end of the Developing Phase.

For more information about:

• Setting up and configuring the Windows DS server running in Legacy or Mixed mode, see “Deploying the OS Deployment Package Using RIS” in the Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Operating System Deployment Feature Pack Users Guide in the “Education and References” section of this guide.

• Adding additional network drivers to the Windows DS legacy image on a Windows DS server, see “Adding Support to the Windows DS Legacy Image for Additional Network Adapters,” later in this guide.

On This Page

Selecting the Windows DS Operational Mode
Configuring the Windows DS Server
Adding Support to the Windows DS Legacy Image for Additional Network Adapters
Restarting the Windows DS Services on the Windows DS Servers
Transferring Windows PE CD Images to the Windows DS Servers

Selecting the Windows DS Operational Mode

Windows DS performs the same functions as RIS in SMS OSD Feature Pack–based deployments. The SMS OSD Feature Pack is required by ZTI and is only compatible with RIS methods of deployment. To use Windows DS, run Windows DS in Legacy mode or Mixed mode. Table 22 compares the operational modes of Windows DS.

Table 22. Windows DS Operating Modes

Note   The SMS OSD Feature Pack only supports RIS compatibility. In Mixed mode, team members can still only use the functionality provided by Legacy mode for ZTI deployments. However, they can use the other Windows DS features for LTI deployments.

In regard to ZTI and the SMS OSD Feature Pack, using Windows DS is identical to using RIS. To configure Windows DS for ZTI and the SMS OSD Feature Pack, follow any RIS-related guidance in this guide.

For more information on configuring Windows DS to run in Legacy or Mixed modes, see:

• Windows Deployment Services Update Step-by-Step Guide, which ships with Windows DS.

• Windows Deployment Services Help files.

Configuring the Windows DS Server

Perform additional Windows DS legacy image (RIS image) configuration that is specific to using Windows PE in the ZTI deployment process. To configure the Windows DS server to support Windows PE in the ZTI deployment process, perform the following steps:

1. Disable the creation of the Windows PE computer account in Active Directory.

2. Disable Windows PE logging on the Windows DS server.

3. Automate the Windows DS Client Installation Wizard.

4. Add support to the Windows DS legacy (RIS) image for additional network adapters.

5. Transfer the Windows PE CD images to the Windows DS servers.

6. Restart the Windows DS service on the Windows DS servers on which the team installed Windows DS legacy images.

Disabling Creation of the Windows PE Computer Account in Active Directory

During the ZTI deployment process, Windows PE creates a computer account in Active Directory by default. The computer name that Windows PE uses is temporary and unnecessary after Windows PE has prepared the target computer for Windows XP deployment.

To modify the Ristndrd.sif file to disable the creation of computer accounts in Active Directory

1. On the Windows DS server, start Notepad.

2. In Notepad, open RISTemplatePath\Ristndrd.sif, where RISTemplatePath is the path to the Template folder of the Windows PE image to be modified (for example, \RemoteInstall\Setup\English\Images\RIS\I386\Templates).

3. Modify the ImageType entry in the [OSChooser] section to ImageType=WinPE, as illustrated in Listing 2.

   Listing 2. Ristndrd.sif Before the Modification of ImageType to Use Windows PE

   [OSChooser]
   

Description ="Build 3608" Help ="SMS 2003 SP1 Build 3174.1017, OSD Build 3608, WinPE Source" LaunchFile = "%INSTALLPATH%%MACHINETYPE%\templates\startrom.com" ImageType =Flat Version="5.1 (0)"

4. After modification, the [OSChooser] section should resemble Listing 3.

   Listing 3. Ristndrd.sif After the Modification of ImageType to Use Windows PE

   [OSChooser]
   

Description ="WinPE 1.5" Help ="Windows PE 1.5 Source" LaunchFile = "%INSTALLPATH%%MACHINETYPE%\templates\startrom.com" ImageType =WinPE Version="5.1 (0)"

5. Save the file, and then close Notepad.

Note   In addition to completing these steps, team members must also enable only Tools in the Choice Option dialog box. For more information, see “Enabling Only Tools in the Choice Options Dialog Box,” later in this guide.

Disabling Windows PE Logging on the Windows DS Server

By default, Windows PE writes startup information to the Setupapi.log log file. When several target computers simultaneously boot the same Windows PE image, those target computers attempt to write to the same Setupapi.log file, which can cause slow performance because each target computer must wait to gain write access to the file. In the ZTI deployment process, status logging is not required for Windows PE.

Note   The file Setupapi.log is not generated until a client boots into Windows PE.

To disable Windows PE logging on the Windows DS server

1. Modify the registry settings in the Windows PE image on the Windows DS server.

2. Set read-only access on the Setupapi.log file in the Windows PE image on the Windows DS server.

Modifying the Registry Settings in the Windows PE Image

To modify the registry settings in the Windows PE image on the Windows DS server, perform the following steps:

1. On the Windows DS server, click Start, click Run, and then type RegEdt32.exe in the Open box.

2. Click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry subtree.

3. On the File menu, click Load Hive.

4. Navigate to WinPEConfigPath (where WinPEConfigPath is the path to the i386\System32\Config folder of the Windows PE image on the Windows DS server), click Software, and then click Open.

5. In the Key Name box, type TemporaryHiveName (where TemporaryHiveName is a temporary name assigned to the hive), and then click OK.

6. In the Registry Editor, navigate to TemporaryHiveName\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Setup (where TemporaryHiveName is a temporary name assigned to the hive).

7. On the Edit menu, click New, and then click DWORD Value.

8. For the name of the new value, type LogLevel, and then press ENTER.

9. Double-click LogLevel. In Base, select Hexadecimal; in Value data, type 101; and then click OK.

10. Verify that the LogLevel entry now has a value of 0x00000101.

11. Click TemporaryHiveName (where TemporaryHiveName is the temporary name assigned to the hive).

12. On the File menu, click Unload Hive.

13. In the Unload Hive dialog box, click Yes.

14. Close the Registry Editor.

Set the Setupapi.log File to Read Only

To set the Setupapi.log file to read-only, perform the following steps:

1. On the Windows DS server, open Windows Explorer, and navigate to RISImageI386Path (where RISImageI386Path is the path to the I386 folder of the Windows PE image to be modified)—for example, D:\RemoteInstall\Setup\English\Images\winpe\i386.

2. In the details pane, right-click Setupapi.log, and then click Properties.

   Note   The Setupapi.log file is not present until after a successful start from the Windows PE image for the first time.

3. In the Setupapi.log Properties dialog box, select Read-only, and then click OK.

4. Close Windows Explorer.

Automating the Windows DS Client Installation Wizard

Although enabling the Windows PE Tools option, the process still requires manual intervention to complete the installation of Windows PE. If the team is installing a single image of Windows PE, the team can automate the Client Installation Wizard pages in Windows DS.

To automate the Windows DS Client Installation Wizard

1. Select Tools in the Choice Options dialog box, and disable all other options.

2. Modify the Tools.osc file (and the Tlchoice.osc file for Windows Server 2003 SP1) to enable automated installation.

3. Modify the Login.osc file to further automate installation.

4. Modify the Welcome.osc, Install.osc, and Oschoice.osc files to further automate installation.

Enabling Only Tools in the Choice Options Dialog Box

To enable the Tools (Maintenance and Troubleshooting) option in the Client Installation Wizard, perform the following steps:

1. Start Active Directory Users and Computers.

2. In the console tree, browse to GroupPolicyContainer (where GroupPolicyContainer is either the domain or the organizational unit [OU] that contains the Windows DS servers), right-click GroupPolicyContainer, and then click Properties.

3. On the Group Policy tab, click the default domain policy, and then click Edit.

4. In the console tree of the Group Policy Object Editor, expand User Configuration, expand Windows Settings, and then click Remote Installation Services.

5. In the details pane, double-click Choice Options.

6. In the Tools section of the Choice Options Properties dialog box, click Enabled.

7. In the Automatic Setup section, click Disabled.

8. In the Custom Setup section, click Disabled.

9. In the Restart Setup section, click Disabled, and then click OK.

10. Close the Group Policy Object Editor.

11. Close Active Directory Users and Computers.

Modifying the Tools.osc and Tlchoice.osc Files

Modify Tools.osc so that Windows DS automatically selects the default tool without waiting for interaction.

Note   In the version of RIS in Windows Server 2003 SP1 and later versions, two files must be modified: Tools.osc and Tlchoice.osc.

To modify the Tools.osc file (or the Tlchoice.osc file for SP1)

1. On the Windows DS server, start Notepad.

2. In Notepad, open ToolsPath\Tools.osc (or Tlchoice.osc for SP1) (where ToolsPath is the path to the Template folder of the Windows PE image that to be modified)—for example, \RemoteInstall\Setup\English\Images\RIS\I386\Templates.

3. In the Tools.osc file (or the Tlchoice.osc file for SP1), locate the entry <SELECT NAME="SIF" NOAUTO SIZE=12>, which Listing 4 shows.

   Listing 4. Original Version of Tools.osc (or Tlchoice.osc for SP1)

   Note Some parts of the following code snippet have been displayed in multiple lines only for better readability. These should be entered in a single line.

   <OSCML>
   

<META KEY=F3 ACTION="REBOOT"> <META KEY=F1 HREF="TOOLSHLP"> <META KEY=ESC HREF="CHOICE"> <META SERVER ACTION="ENUM TOOLS CMDCONS"> <TITLE>  Client Installation Wizard Tools</TITLE> <FOOTER>  [ENTER] continue     [ESC] go back     [F1] help     [F3] restart computer</FOOTER> <BODY left=5 right=75> <BR> <BR> Use the arrow keys to select one of the following options: <BR> <P left=8> <FORM ACTION="LAUNCH"> <SELECT NAME="SIF" NOAUTO SIZE=12> %OPTIONS% </SELECT> </FORM> </P> <BOLD>Description:</BOLD>&nbsp&nbsp <TIPAREA> </BODY> </OSCML>

4. Remove NOAUTO from the entry, as illustrated in Listing 5.

   Listing 5. Modified Version of Tools.osc (or Tlchoice.osc for SP1)

   Note Some parts of the following code snippet have been displayed in multiple lines only for better readability. These should be entered in a single line.

   <OSCML>
   

<META KEY=F3 ACTION="REBOOT"> <META KEY=F1 HREF="TOOLSHLP"> <META KEY=ESC HREF="CHOICE"> <META SERVER ACTION="ENUM TOOLS CMDCONS"> <TITLE>  Client Installation Wizard Tools</TITLE> <FOOTER>  [ENTER] continue     [ESC] go back     [F1] help     [F3] restart computer</FOOTER> <BODY left=5 right=75> <BR> <BR> Use the arrow keys to select one of the following options: <BR> <P left=8> <FORM ACTION="LAUNCH"> <SELECT NAME="SIF" SIZE=12> %OPTIONS% </SELECT> </FORM> </P> <BOLD>Description:</BOLD>&nbsp&nbsp <TIPAREA> </BODY> </OSCML>

5. Save the file, and then close Notepad.

Note   If the organization is running Windows Server 2003 without SP1 (or later versions), no further modifications are necessary.

To modify the Tools.osc file for Windows Server 2003 SP1 or later

1. On the Windows DS server, start Notepad.

2. In Notepad, open ToolsPath\Tools.osc (where ToolsPath is the path to the Template folder of the Windows PE image that to be modified)—for example, \RemoteInstall\Setup\English\Images\RIS\I386\Templates.

3. In the Tools.osc file, search for <TITLE>.

4. Insert a new line immediately above <TITLE>, found in step 3.

5. On the new line, type <META ACTION=AUTOENTER>.

6. Save the file, and then close Notepad.

Customizing Login.osc

To customize Login.osc to provide credentials for authentication, complete the following steps:

1. Use a text editor to open the file \RemoteInstall\OSChooser\English\login.osc.

2. Replace the string "*****" with the user name and password values appropriate for the environment.

   For example, if team members use OSDUser for the USERNAME value and Deploy101 for the PASSWORD value, the edited lines are illustrated in Listing 6.

   Listing 6. Example of Modifying Login.osc

   <INPUT NAME="USERNAME" MAXLENGTH=255 TYPE=TEXT VALUE=OSDUser>
   

<INPUT NAME="*PASSWORD" TYPE=PASSWORD MAXLENGTH=20 VALUE=Deploy101>

Listing 7 is an example of a modified login.osc file.

**Listing 7. Modified Version of Login.osc**

**Note** Some parts of the following code snippet have been displayed in multiple lines only for better readability. These should be entered in a single line.

<pre IsFakePre="true" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">&lt;OSCML&gt;

<TITLE> SMS OSD Client Installation Wizard Logon</TITLE> <FOOTER>  [ENTER] continue     [ESC] clear     [F1] help     [F3] restart computer</FOOTER> <META KEY=F3 ACTION="REBOOT"> <META KEY=F1 HREF="LOGINHLP"> <META KEY=ESC HREF="LOGIN"> <META ACTION="LOGIN"> <META ACTION=AUTOENTER> <BODY left=5 right=75> Type a valid user name, password, and domain name. You may use the Internet-style logon format (for example: Username@Company.com). <FORM ACTION="CHOICE"> &nbsp&nbspUser name: <INPUT NAME="USERNAME" MAXLENGTH=255 TYPE=TEXT VALUE=osduser> &nbsp&nbsp&nbspPassword: <INPUT NAME="*PASSWORD" TYPE=PASSWORD MAXLENGTH=20 VALUE=Deploy101> Domain name: <INPUT NAME="USERDOMAIN" VALUE=%SERVERDOMAIN% MAXLENGTH=255> </FORM> Press the TAB key to move between the User name, Password, and Domain name fields. You are connected to %SERVERNAME% </BODY> </OSCML>

Customizing Welcome.osc, Install.osc, and Oschoice.osc

To customize Welcome.osc, Install.osc, and Oschoice.osc to provide credentials for authentication, complete the following steps:

1. On the Windows DS server, start Notepad.

2. In Notepad, open OSCFile (where OSCFile is \RemoteInstall\OSChooser\Welcome.osc).

3. In the file, search for <TITLE>.

4. Insert a new line immediately above <TITLE>, found in step 3.

5. On the new line, type <META ACTION=AUTOENTER>.

6. Save the file, and then close Notepad.

7. Complete steps 1–4 for the following files:

   • \RemoteInstall\OSChooser\English\Install.osc

   • \RemoteInstall\OSChooser\English\Oschoice.osc

An additional copy of the Welcome.osc file exists in the \RemoteInstall\OSChooser\English\ folder. This is the language-specific version of the file. Only modify the version of Welcome.osc in the \RemoteInstall\OSChooser\ folder.

Note   Windows DS uses Oschoice.osc when there is more than one legacy image to choose from. It prompts the user for the appropriate image.

Adding Support to the Windows DS Legacy Image for Additional Network Adapters

Add support for additional network adapters that are unavailable in the default configuration of Windows DS. The team can add the network drivers to the Windows DS legacy image.

Note   Before completing this procedure, obtain the correct network drivers from the vendor. Obtain the Windows XP versions of the network drivers.

To add support to the Windows DS legacy image for additional network adapters, copy the files shown in Table 23 (where RISImagePath is the path to the root of the Windows DS legacy image—for example, D:\RemoteInstall\Setup\English\Images\WinPE15).

Table 23. Source Network Driver Files and Where to Copy Them in a Windows DS Legacy Image

For more information about adding additional network adapters to Windows DS in Legacy or Mixed mode, see the following resources:

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 823658, “The Operating System Image You Selected Does Not Contain the Necessary Drivers for Your Network Adapter.” This error message occurs during the text-mode part of Setup when the team uses Windows DS to deploy an operating system image. (Refer to the “Education and References” section of this guide.)

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 246184, “How to Add Third-Party OEM Network Adapters to RIS Installations,” which is available in the “Education and References” section of this guide.

Restarting the Windows DS Services on the Windows DS Servers

After adding support for additional network adapters, restart the Windows DS service on any Windows DS server on which the Windows DS legacy images are installed. Doing so ensures that the Windows DS service recognizes the updates made in previous steps.

Transferring Windows PE CD Images to the Windows DS Servers

After creating the Windows PE CD images, you can transfer them to the Windows DS servers.

Note   For more information about Windows PE, Windows DS, and using Windows DS to deploy Windows PE, see Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Operating System Deployment Feature Pack Users Guide, which is included in the SMS OSD Feature Pack installation files.

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