Additional Resources for Designing Image-based Installations with Sysprep
Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2
These resources contain additional information and tools related to this chapter.
Related Information
"Choosing an Automated Installation Method" in this book for more information about planning Sysprep installations.
"Designing Unattended Installations" in this book for more information about answer files, distribution shares, and unattended and automated installations.
"Migrating User State" in this book for more information about migrating user data and settings.
The Storage Technologies Collection of the Windows Server 2003 Technical Reference (or see the Storage Technologies Collection on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit) for more information about disk partitions and file systems.
Microsoft Windows Corporate Deployment Tools User’s Guide (Deploy.chm) for more information about using Sysprep. Deploy.chm is included in the Deploy.cab file in the Support folder on the Windows Server 2003 operating system CD.
The Windows Catalog link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources for information about using the Windows Catalog.
The Windows Update link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources for information about Windows Update.
The Windows Preinstallation Environment link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources for information about Windows PE and Windows PE licensing plans.
The Microsoft Platform SDK link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources to download the Core SDK, which contains information about configuring a .theme file.
The TCP/IP Boot Disk link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources for more information about creating a TCP/IP boot disk for distributing disk images across a network.
Article Q216573, "How Windows Determines ACPI Compatibility," and article Q298898, "How to Determine the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) That Is Used in Windows XP," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information about determining the type of HAL that is installed on a computer. To find these articles, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Article Q294895, "Description of the Application Compatibility Toolkit 2.0 for Windows XP," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. To find this article, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Article Q298389, "Sysdiff.exe Deployment Tool Is Not Included in Windows XP," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information about other resources that are similar to Sysdiff.exe. To find this article, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Article Q271369, "Statically-Entered TCP/IP Settings Are Not Present After Sysprep," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information about how Sysprep affects network settings. To find this article, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Article Q257813, "Using Sysprep May Result in ‘Stop 0x7B (Inaccessible Boot Device)’ on Some Computers," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information about Stop 0x7B errors. To find this article, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Article Q299840, "How to Use Sysprep with Windows Product Activation or Volume License Media to Deploy Windows XP," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information about Windows Product Activation and Sysprep. To find this article, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Article Q252448, "How to Create an MS-DOS Network Startup Disk in Windows 2000," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information about creating a network boot disk by using a Windows NT Server 4.0 operating system CD. To find this article, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Article Q167685, "How to Create an El Torito Bootable CD-ROM," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information about using the El Torito specification to create a bootable CD. To find this article, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Articles Q142857, "How to Create a Network Installation Boot Disk," and Q128800, "How to Provide Additional NDIS2 Drivers for Network Client 3.0," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information about creating a network boot disk by adding NDIS and NDIS2 drivers to an MS-DOS boot disk. To find these articles, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Related Tools
Sysprep.exe, Setupcl.exe, and Factory.exe
Use Sysprep.exe, Setupcl.exe, and Factory.exe to prepare a hard disk for disk imaging. To obtain Sysprep, open the Support\Tools folder on any Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003 operating system CD, and then open Deploy.cab. You can also see the Windows Downloads link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Windows Upgrade Advisor
Use Windows Upgrade Advisor to identify incompatible software and hardware on a destination computer before you perform an image-based installation. To download the Upgrade Advisor tools, see the Windows Upgrade Advisor link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources. You can also run the Windows Upgrade Advisor tools by using the /checkupgradeonly parameter with the Winnt32.exe tool. The Winnt32.exe tool is included in the I386 folder on the Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003 operating system CD.
User State Migration Tool
Use the User State Migration tool to save user settings and data before you perform an image-based installation. To download a free version of the User State Migration tool, see the User State Migration Tool link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer
Use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer to identify security vulnerabilities that require further configuration after you perform an image-based installation. See article Q320454, "Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) Version 1.0 Is Available," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. To find this article, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Related Job Aids
"Disk Image Worksheet" (ACISYS_1.doc) on the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit companion CD (or see "Disk Image Worksheet" on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit) for a worksheet to help you define your disk images.
"Mass Storage Controller Worksheet" (ACISYS_2.doc) on the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit companion CD (or see "Mass Storage Controller Worksheet" on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit) for a worksheet to help you record information about your mass storage controllers.