INFO: Changes to Windows 2000 Unattended Winnt[32].exe Command Line (183245)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

This article was previously published under Q183245

SUMMARY

This article discusses the differences between unattended winnt[32].exe command line parameters in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000.

MORE INFORMATION

The following sample command lines are used to start Windows NT Setup in unattended mode:

Windows NT 4.0

winnt[32] /u:<answer file> /s:<install source>

  • /u: In Windows NT 4.0, this parameter is used to specify the location and name of the answer file.
  • /s: In Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000, this parameter is used to specify the location of the Windows NT source files.
These are the only available Winnt[32].exe command-line parameters for Windows NT 4.0.

Windows 2000

winnt[32] /unattend:<answer file> /s:<install source> [/syspart:<target drive>]

  • /unattend: In Windows 2000 this parameter is also used to specify the location of the answer file, with two differences:

    • You must spell out the word "unattend," rather then just "u."
    • You can specify the amount of time Windows NT Setup waits at the boot menu before continuing.
    For example: /unattend20:<answer file>. This parameter forces Windows NT Setup to wait 20 seconds at the boot menu before continuing.
  • /syspart: In Windows 2000, this parameter causes Windows NT Setup to copy all files for boot and temporary files to the drive and mark it as active.

    This parameter is valid only for Winnt32.exe and is useful only if the drive will be duplicated and inserted into other computers as the primary drive.
  • <answer file> is a file that contains answers to questions you want to automate (also known as Unattend.txt in Windows NT 4.0).

    In general, an answer file consists of section headers, parameters, and values for those parameters. Most of the section headers are pre- defined, although some may be user-defined. It is not necessary to specify all the possible parameters or keys in an answer file if the installation does not require them.

    Invalid parameter values generate error messages or may result in incorrect behavior after Setup.
For additional information about unattended Setup and deployment methods for Windows NT 4.0, see the Microsoft Windows NT Deployment Guide on the following Microsoft Web site: For additional information about unattended Setup information, parameters, and deployment methods for Windows 2000, see the Unattend.doc file located in Deploy.cab found in the Support\Tools folder of the Windows 2000 CD-ROM.

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:3/21/2005
Keywords:kbinfo kbSBK kbsetup KB183245