A "Push", or unattended installation of Windows XP provides a means for network adminstrators to easily install Windows XP on similarly equipped systems. The network administrator can create a bootable diskette that will automatically log into a central server and install the operating system from an image of the Windows XP installation directory stored on that server.
This page provides instructions for a basic unattended installation of Windows XP that includes the installation of drivers for the Intel(R) PRO/100 and Intel(R) PRO/1000 adapters.
The elements necessary for the Windows XP unattend installation are:
The server must be setup with a distribution folder that holds the required Windows XP files and which clients can reach when connecting via TCP/IP or IPX.
For illustration purposes, the examples in this readme use the network share D:\PUSHXP. To create this share, create a directory on the server, (EX: D:\PUSHXP).
Next, use the "My Computer" applet in Windows XP to locate the D:\PUSHXP folder. Right-click on the folder and select "Sharing". Select "Share this folder", Give it a share name (EX: PUSHXP). This share name will be used to connect to this directory from the remote target systems. By default, the permissions for this share will be for "Everyone" to have "Full Control". Adjust permissions as necessary and click OK.
To prepare the distribution folder:
![]() |
NOTE: The PUSHCOPY.BAT file provided with the drivers in the \Push directory will copy the appropriate files for the installation. PUSHCOPY also copies the components needed to perform the automated installations contained in the [GuiRunOnce] section of the sample UNATTEND.TXT file. These include an unattended installation of the Intel(R) PROSet II configuration and diagnostic utility.
Example: From a Windows XP command prompt: The above command will create the $OEM$ directory structure and copy all the necessary files to install the driver and PROSetII. However, PROSetII will not be installed unless the line: As an alternative to using the PUSHCOPY.BAT file method the following steps can be used to create the required directory structure for unattended installation of the PRO/1000 drivers. Note that this method does not copy the files specified in the [GuiRunOnce] section of the sample UNATTEND.TXT. If this method is used, the entries in this section should be commented out. Make folders beneath the new PUSHXP\I386 as follows: See "Appendix B. Directory structure for unattended installation files" for more information about the directory structure and file layout of the $OEM$ directory. |
![]() |
NOTE: In the above procedure, setup runs the installation in unattended mode and also detects the plug and play network adapters. All driver files are copied from the shared directory to the target system directories and installation of the OS and Network Adapters continues without user intervention. |
For a complete description of the parameters supported in Unattend.txt see the DEPLOY.CHM document in the DEPLOY.CAB cabinet file on the Windows XP CD. To obtain the document, use Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater to open DEPLOY.CAB in the \SUPPORT\TOOLS directory on the CD.
Other documents and utilities in the DEPLOY.CAB file provide details and tools for setting up a variety of unattended installation methods.
[Unattended]
UnattendMode=FullUnattended
OemSkipEula=Yes
OemPreinstall=Yes
OemPnPDriversPath=\drivers\net\INTEL
TargetPath= *
DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore
Filesystem=LeaveAlone
OverwriteOemFilesOnUpgrade=No
; This switch prevents the user setup dialog from running when XP
; starts for the first time.
UnattendSwitch=Yes
[GuiUnattended]
AdminPassword=*
AutoLogon=Yes
AutoLogonCount=1
OEMSkipRegional=1
TimeZone=4
OemSkipWelcome=1
[UserData]
FullName=Name
OrgName=Organization
ComputerName=Computer1
; PRODUCT ID is required for most installations.
ProductID="xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx"
[GuiRunOnce]
; Comment the following lines if you did not use PUSHCOPY to copy the
; driver files to the installation media.
; *** command to install the drivers from the driver media
Command0="c:\drivers\net\INTEL\w2kupdat.exe -ic:\drivers\net\INTEL\neti557x.inf"
Command1="c:\drivers\net\INTEL\w2kupdat.exe -ic:\drivers\net\INTEL\net8254x.inf"
; *** command to install PROSetII - uncomment to install PROSetII after push install
; Command2="c:\drivers\net\INTEL\Windows\Drivers\Ia32\Proset.msi /qn"
[Identification]
JoinWorkgroup=WORKGROUP
; *Use the following for a domain installation
; JoinDomain=MYDOMAIN
; CreateComputerAccountInDomain=Yes
; DomainAdmin=Installer
; DomainAdminPassword=install
[Networking]
InstallDefaultComponents=Yes
The following directory structure is created by PUSHCOPY.BAT to place the files necessary for the installation of the driver and PROSet II. The
directory D:\PUSHXP refers to the location of the files from the Windows XP installation CD.
D:\PUSHXP\I386\$OEM$\$$\System32
<no files are copied into this directory>
D:\PUSHXP\I386\$OEM$\$1\DRIVERS\NET\INTEL
(From the Root directory of the Intel drivers CD)
NETI557X.INF
E100BW2K.CAT
NET8254X.INF
E1000.CAT
(From the \Windows\PUSH\XP directory on the Intel drivers CD)
UNATTEND.TXT
PUSHXP.TXT
(From the \Windows\Update\Win2k directory on the Intel drivers CD)
W2KUPDAT.EXE
W2KUPDAT.TXT
D:\PUSHXP\I386\$OEM$\$1\DRIVERS\NET\INTEL\WINDOWS\DRIVERS\IA32
(From the \Windows\Drivers\IA32 directory on the Intel drivers CD)
NET82557.DIN
E100B325.SYS
NET8254X.DIN
E1000NT5.SYS
PROUNSTL.EXE
INTELNIC.DLL
ANSMW2K.INF
ANSPW2K.INF
IANSW2K.SYS
IANSW2K.CAT
IANSNDI.DLL
PROSET.MSI
; To activate the PRoset II installation once the above directories have
; been created and populated, uncomment the line:
; Command2="c:\drivers\net\INTEL\Windows\Drivers\IA32\Proset.msi /qn"
; in the [GuiRunOnce] section of Unattend.txt