Installing Windows XP Service Pack 1 by Using Systems Management Server (326696)

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To installing Windows XP SP1 by using SMS:

1. Create the SMS package by importing the package definition file for the service pack.
2. In the package, provide the path to the service pack source files.
3. Distribute the SMS package to the distribution points.
4. Create the advertisement to notify SMS clients about the service pack.

This procedure is described in more detail in the following sections of this article. This article assumes that you have an understanding of SMS and a working knowledge of software distribution. Additionally, this article assumes that your SMS infrastructure is in place or that you will put an SMS infrastructure in place before you deploy the service pack. For more information about SMS, see the SMS 2.0 Administrator's Guide. For specific information about software distribution, see Chapter 12, "Distributing Software," in the SMS 2.0 Administrator's Guide.

For information about using SMS securely, see the security documentation on the following Microsoft Web site: Additionally, review the white paper on the following Microsoft Web site: A package definition file for Windows XP SP1 is available for download from the following Microsoft Web site as XPPro.sms.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
Download the XPPro.sms package now.

Creating the SMS Package

To distribute software by using SMS, you must first create the SMS package that contains the files and instructions that direct the software distribution process. When you create the SMS package, you set up the location of the package source files (where SMS obtains the files) and the package definition file (.sms) for distributing the service pack.

A package definition file is a specially formatted file that contains all of the information that you must have to create the SMS package. If you import this file, SMS immediately creates the package. After you use a package definition file to create a package, you can modify it the same way you modify any other SMS package.

Each predefined SMS package also contains SMS programs, which are command lines that run on each targeted computer to control the package installation. Each program is a different combination of options that you create for installing the package. For example, the package definition for the service pack includes programs to install the service pack with or without user input. These SMS programs must be compatible with the installation files for the package.

NOTE: In the following procedure, "E:/" represents the drive of the network or the computer on which your distribution folder is located, for example \\server1\share1\.

To create the SMS package:

1. Connect to the shared network folder or the folder on your local computer in which you want to put the source files.
2. In the shared network folder or the local folder, create a source files folder for the service pack.
   
   For example, to create a source files folder named XPSP1, type mkdir e:\xpsp1 at a command prompt.
3. Copy the service pack executable (.exe) files to the source files folder that you created in step 2.
   
   For example, to copy the service pack files from the service pack CD in the CD-ROM drive (drive D) to the XPSP1 source files folder, type the following command at a command prompt:

   xcopy d:\ e:\xpsp1 /e

4. Extract the files. To do so:
   1. At the command prompt, type xpsp1.exe /x, and then press ENTER.
   2. When you are prompted, provide the path to the folder (for example, the source files folder) to which you want XPsp1.exe to be extracted.
   IMPORTANT: If you download the service pack from the Windows XP SP1 Web site, you must extract the compressed program file before you can copy it to the source files folder.

Creating a Package on a Site

1. Start the SMS Administrator program, click the Tree tab, find the site for which you want to create a package, and then click Packages.
2. Right-click Packages, click New, and then click Package From Definition.
3. After the Create Package From Definition Wizard starts, click Next.
4. To import the service pack package definition file, click Browse, locate the package definition file, and then click Open.
5. Click Next.
6. On the Source Files page, click Always obtain files from a source directory, and then click Next.
7. In the Source directory box, type the path to the package source files (for example, \\server1\share1\xpsp1).
   
   This path is the path you provided in step 4b in the procedure that is described earlier.
8. Click Next, and then click Finish.
9. In SMS Administrator, click the Tree tab, locate the new package, and then click Programs.
10. Under Name in the right pane, double-click the name of the package you want to deploy.
11. On the General tab, verify that the predefined command line is the correct setup command that you want to use.
    
    You can edit the command line by adding or removing options.
12. To check and modify the options that control how the program runs, click the Requirements tab, the Environment tab, and the Advanced tab as appropriate.
    
    For more information about the options on these tabs, see the SMS 2.0 Administrator's Guide.
13. Click Apply, and then click OK to save your changes.

Distributing the SMS Package to the Distribution Points

After you create the SMS package for the service pack, you can distribute the package to your distribution points. Distribution points are shared network folders from which client computers access these package source files.

NOTE: Distribution points must have enough disk space for the SMS package. For instructions about how to use the SMS Administrator program to check the disk space that is available on distribution points, see the SMS 2.0 Administrator's Guide.

To distribute the SMS package to the distribution points:

1. In the SMS Administrator program, click Packages, click the SMS package that you created for the service pack, and then click Distribution Points.
2. On the Action menu, point to New, and then click Distribution Points.
3. After the New Distribution Points Wizard starts, click Next, and then select the distribution points that you want to use. NOTE: The distribution points for the site that you are connected to and all child sites are listed in the wizard. You can select any of these distribution points. Make sure to specify a distribution point for every site that has clients for which you want to install SP1.
   
   
4. Click Finish to start the distribution.

Creating the Advertisement

After you distribute the SMS package to the distribution points, create the advertisement that offers the package to the SMS clients.

1. Create or select a collection of SMS clients to receive SP1. You can base the collection on a query or on direct membership rules.
   
   NOTE: For more information about creating a collection, see the SMS 2.0 Administrator's Guide.
2. In the console tree, under Collections, right-click the collection that you want to receive the program, click All Tasks, and then click Distribute Software.
3. When the Distribute Software Wizard appears, click Next.
4. Click Distribute an existing package, select the SMS package for the service pack in the Packages box, and then click Next.
5. On the Distribution Points page, make sure that the distribution points that you want to use are selected, and then click Next.
6. On the Advertise a Program page, click Yes to advertise a program, click the program you want to advertise under Programs, and then click Next.
7. On the Advertisement Target page, verify that the collection of clients that you selected in step 2 is listed, and then click Next.
   
   If this collection is not listed, click Browse to find the collection that you want.
8. On the Advertisement Name page, type the name of the advertisement in the Name box, if appropriate, and then click Next.
9. On the Advertise to Subcollections page, specify any subcollections that you want to receive this advertisement, and then click Next.
10. On the Advertisement Page, confirm or change the time at which the advertisement is to be offered, specify whether and when the advertisement will expire, and then click Next.
11. On the Assign Program page, click Yes to make the advertisement mandatory and to force the installation of the advertised package.
    
    You must select the date and time for any mandatory program to run.
12. Click Next, and then click Finish. SMS clients refresh the list of advertised programs on a configurable polling interval; the default interval is 60 minutes. After the service pack advertisement is received on a client, it either appears in the Advertised Programs Wizard in Control Panel (for selection by users) or it runs on the specified schedule if the advertisement is assigned (mandatory).

For additional information about installing Windows XP SP1, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: