Customizing and Automating Installations

  • Article

This section details the steps you take to add hardware devices, including:

  • Mass storage devices

  • Plug and Play devices

  • HALs

For the most up-to-date information about hardware devices with Windows 2000, see the Windows Driver and Hardware Development Web site link on the Web Resources page at https://windows.microsoft.com/windows2000/reskit/webresources .

Mass Storage Devices

In Windows 2000 Professional, Plug and Play installs most hardware devices, which can be loaded later in the setup process. However, mass storage devices, such as hard disks, must be properly installed for full Plug and Play support to be available during the GUI mode of Setup. For this reason, the installation of mass storage devices is handled differently from that of other hardware devices.

note-icon

Note

It is not necessary to specify a device if it is already supported by Windows 2000.

To add SCSI devices during text-mode Setup—that is, before full Plug and Play support is available—you must provide a Txtsetup.oem file that describes how Setup needs to install the particular SCSI device. For more information about Txtsetup.oem, see the ** Microsoft Windows 2000 Device Driver Kit.

To install a mass storage device

  1. In the distribution folder, create the Textmode subfolder in the \$OEM$ subfolder.

  2. In the Textmode subfolder, copy the following files, which you obtain from the device vendor (replace the word Driver with the appropriate driver name):

    • Driver .sys

    • Driver .dll

    • Driver .inf

    • Driver .cat

    • Txtsetup.oem

    note-icon
    Note
    You must also copy the driver files to the < PnPdrvrs > location that you specified for the OemPnPDriversPath parameter in the answer file. For example:

\$OEM$\$1\<PnPdrvrs>\<Storage>

Some drivers, such as SCSI miniport drivers, might not include a DLL file.

  1. In the answer file, create a [MassStorageDrivers] section, and include the driver entries that you want to include. For example, a possible entry in the [MassStorageDrivers] section might be the following:

Adaptec 2940 = OEM

Information for this section can be obtained from the Txtsetup.oem file, which is provided by the hardware manufacturer.

  1. In the answer file, create an [OEMBootFiles] section, and include a list of the files in the $OEM$\Textmode folder. For example, a possible entry to the [OEMBootFiles] section might be the following:

[OEMBootFiles]

Driver.sys

Driver.dll

Driver.inf

Txtsetup.oem

Where Driver is the driver name.

  1. In the Txtsetup.oem file, verify that a section named [HardwareIds.Scsi. yyyyy ] exists. If it does not, create it following this format:

[HardwareIds.scsi. yyyy ]

id = xxxxx , yyyyy

where xxxxx is the device identifier and yyyyy is the device service name. ** For example, for the Symc810 driver, which has a device ID of PCI\VEN_1000&DEV_0001, you create this section:

[HardwareIds.scsi.symc810]

id = PCI\VEN_1000&DEV_0001 , symc810

Plug and Play Devices

Plug and Play device drivers that are not included on the Windows 2000 Professional operating system CD can easily be added by following the steps in this section. This method works for all Plug and Play device drivers. You can also use this method for updating drivers.

To add Plug and Play devices

  1. In the \$OEM$ subfolder of the distribution folder, create a subfolder for any special Plug and Play drivers and their INF files, for example:

$OEM$\$1\PnPDrvrs

  1. In the answer file, edit the [Unattend] key for Plug and Play, adding the path to the list of Plug and Play search drives, for example:

OEMPnPDriversPath = PnPDrvrs

To maintain the folders so that they can accommodate future device drivers, create subfolders for potential device drivers. By dividing the folders into subfolders, you can store device driver files by device type, rather than having all device driver files in one folder. Suggested subfolders types include Audio, Modem, Net, Print, Storage, Video, and Other. An Other folder can give you the flexibility to store new hardware devices that might not be currently known.

If the PnPDrvs folder contains the subfolders Audio, Modem, and Net, the answer file must contain the following line:

OEMPnPDriversPath = PnPDrvs\Audio;PnPDrvs\Modem;PnPDrvs\Net

Note

The specified folder is created at the root of the system drive and remains there after setup is complete.

Driver Signatures

If you intend to use any updated drivers, you must first verify that they are properly signed. If they are not, those drivers might not be installed. To verify that drivers are properly signed, contact the vendor.

Driver Signing Policy

In the answer file, the DriverSigningPolicy key in the [Unattended] section specifies how nonsigned drivers are processed during installation.

important-icon

Important

Microsoft strongly advises against using DriverSigningPolicy = Ignore unless you have fully tested the device driver in your environment and are sure that it works properly. Using unsigned drivers increases the risk of device driver problems that can effect the performance or stability of your computer.

If you are using DriverSigningPolicy = Ignore and you attempt to install a newer, unsigned copy of a driver that is protected by Windows 2000 Professional, the policy level is automatically updated to Warn .

For more information about driver signing policy, see Unattend.doc in Support\Tools\Deploy.cab on the Windows 2000 Professional operating system CD.

Hardware Abstraction Layers

To specify HALs for installation, you must have a Txtsetup.oem file and the HAL files, which the vendor provides. Use the same Txtsetup.oem file if you are installing mass storage device drivers. Only one Txtsetup.oem file can be used, so if you have to install HALs and mass storage device drivers, combine entries into one file.

To use third-party drivers, you must make appropriate changes to the answer file. For more information about answer file parameters and syntax, see Unattend.doc in Support\Tools\Deploy.cab on the Windows 2000 Professional operating system CD.

To install a HAL

  1. If you have not already done so, create a Textmode subfolder in the \$OEM$ folder.

  2. Copy the files that you receive from the device vendor to the Textmode subfolder.

  3. In the answer file, edit the [Unattend] section for the HAL, adding any drivers that you want to install. For example, type the following:

[Unattend]

Computertype = HALDescription , OEM

Information for the HALDescription can be obtained from the [Computer] section of the Txtsetup.oem file from the driver provider.

  1. In the answer file, create an [OEMBootFiles] section, and enter the names of the files in the \$OEM$\Textmode folder.