[RESOLVED] [Pro] unattend

[themanwhowas]

hello. I have used setupmgr to create an unattend file, stored it in f: along with f:\i386 etc setup files.

autopartition=1

this would use the next available partition according to what i have read. To me this means the next block of free space on my hard drive, considering i already have server 2003 and XP home installed on the same pc.

What i get however is a warning telling me "caution: A \windows folder already exists that may contain a windows installation." another warning ensues threatening to delete my files and settings. I'm then given the option to use this folder, deleting everything there, to specify a different folder or to quit.

What's this about? hardly an unattended install if i need to sort this out everytime. Ive searched microsofts website and i see nothing about setting autopartition to 2 so i assume its a true or false answer. when i searched for the error message i see that its for upgrading or something.

Can i not use this unattended install for dual boot?

thanks. All answers gratefully received

[meggypeggy]

This is what I found out from http://www.overclockers.com/tips1158/index03.asp

If you've already formatted the hard drive (or it's brand new), Windows will install at the root of C:\ using the entire hard drive as one partition.

If the drive has not been formatted, you will need to do that part of the installation manually, when it comes up during the install.

If your drive is formatted (or new), and you'd like to set up the partitions or file system yourself, there's a pair of lines in the winnt.sif file you will need to edit. Open the winnt.sif file with Notepad, and change the following lines to this:

[Data]

AutoPartition=0

[Unattended]

FileSystem=*

These lines set to these parameters will force the install to stop so you can manually configure these two items.

[themanwhowas]

hi
thanks for the reply

The problem is that the unattend file is supposed to automate the whole process.
autopartition=1 is supposed to use the next free space on the hard disk.

Something is going on here. The microsoft website isnt helping either

[Steve R Jones]

I think you're out of luck....

How to Perform an Unattended Installation of Windows from a CD-ROM
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314459/en-us


NOTE: The following limitations exist with this installation method:

• The installation is limited to a single partition.

[meggypeggy]

From the site Steve referenced:

AutoPartition=1 - If the value is set to 1, the installation partition is automatically selected. If the value is set to 0 (zero), you are prompted for the installation partition during the text portion of Setup.

[themanwhowas]

ok nevermind. I was only messing about with it anyway so no big loss.

Thanks for your help guys