Mass Storage Device May Not Be Started During Unattended Setup (241827)

SYMPTOMS

When you use the [MassStorageDrivers] section in your Unattend.txt file, only adapters listed in that section are loaded for the graphical user interface (GUI) mode phase of Setup during an unattended Setup.

For example, your system has two mass storage devices (SCSI or IDE). One of the controllers is detectable by Windows 2000 Setup and the other requires a driver from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The OEM driver is listed in the [MassStorageDrivers] section of your Unattend.txt file, but the detectable driver is not. If the boot device is on the controller that is detectable, the computer makes it through the text-mode phase of Setup. In this case, the controller that is detected is not set to start because it is not listed in the [MassStorageDrivers] section in your Unattend.txt file, and the computer does not work when it boots into the GUI-mode phase of Setup.

CAUSE

During the text-mode phase of Setup, normal detection runs to determine the drivers required for each mass storage device in the system. Setup loads the drivers for each adapter found during text-mode Setup, regardless of what is listed in the [MassStorageDrivers] section of the answer file. However, only those drivers listed in the [MassStorageDrivers] section are set to start when the GUI-mode phase of Setup begins.

RESOLUTION

If you need to install a third-party mass storage adapter in addition to the adapter that is detectable by Windows 2000, you can work around this behavior using the appropriate method.

Method 1: Use the [MassStorageDrivers] Section

You can use this method when devices on both mass storage adapters are needed during the GUI-mode phase of Setup. When using this method, both the OEM-supplied driver and the driver included with Windows 2000 are listed in the [MassStorageDrivers] section of your answer file. To obtain the information for the included driver, look in the [SCSI] section of the Txtsetup.sif file located in your distribution share. The following example shows the [MassStorageDrivers] section of an Unattend.txt file:

[MassStorageDrivers]
"My Oem SCSI adapter" = "oem"
"Adaptec AHA-294X/AHA-394X/AIC-78XX SCSI Controller" = "Retail"

Method 2: Allow Plug and Play to Detect the Adapter

If the OEM mass storage device is not required during Setup, you may want to use the OemPnpDriversPath parameter in the [Unattended] section of your Unattend.txt file. When using this method, Setup installs the device during the GUI-mode phase of Setup. For information about using the OemPnpDriversPath parameter, please refer to the unattended Setup documentation.