If you’ve ever experienced the mind numbing drudgery of installing Windows for the billionth time on a computer what you need is an unattended install disc. It is a bootable CD/DVD Rom you create out of Windows install files that has everything all ready to go including settings, services, updates, and 3rd party programs are all part of it.

Why not just use a Ghost image or something similar

A Ghost image is great if there have been no hardware modifications, but it starts to run into trouble as you upgrade hardware. A Windows unattended install is a full Windows installation so as long as the architecture of the computer you are installing it on supports the Operating System it will install.

How long will it take?

That depends on a few factors.

• How proficient you are with computers
• How fast the computer you are going to do the work on is
• How quickly you can locate all of the information you need. Sometimes it can take a while finding command line switches to automate program installation

What will I need?

As a bare minimum you’ll need a legal copy of Windows 2000, XP, or 2003 server. Vista has not yet been automated to my knowledge. Beyond the bare minimum you should consider the latest service pack for the version you are automating. It is also a good idea to get a virtual machine as that will allow you to test the installation you are building without having to actually install it on a computer.

Beyond those things you’ll want the latest versions of all the programs you wish to install, and any special settings, themes, and things of that nature you might want.

How do I get started?

The best resource I’ve found is located at MSFN Unattended Windows which will take you step by step through the entire process. I’d love to take you step by step through the entire process, but since someone has already done it, and it would take many months for me to compile the information I figure it best to allow them to explain it all to you.

Has anyone found a way to install Vista using this same method?

Don't forget to subscribe to A Blog about Nothing's RSS feed!

Tags: installation, microsoft, os, windows