I spent considerable time customizing the Windows XP/2003 install recently in order to slip-stream in the SATA drivers. In the process I came across several good links for this type of thing. All appear to have their root at Microsoft Software Forum Network, a great site especially for IT/Windows type of information.
Creating Multi-Boot DVDs - Provides a step-by-step guide on creating multi-boot CDs and DVDs. There is also a beginners guide. An entire forum dedicated to the topic of Multi-Boot CD/DVDs is also available. More instructions are available here.
XPCreate - a large batch file that slip-streams hot fixes and Windows install customizations into a new ISO image. This program is great and I highly recommend it to anyone trying to slipstream drivers into their unattended install. (It doesn't appear to support Windows 2003 AMD 64 bit :( but greenmachine provides excellent support and I would imagine he would add stuff if there was enough demand. Incuded in this utility are
CDImage - Command line creation of ISO files (an internal tool from MS but available none-the-less with the XPCreate download). A GUI (currently Beta) version is available here and rumor is that it wraps the command line version. CDBurn.exe - Command line CD burning given an ISO file BBIE (Bart's Boot Image Extractor) - Command line extraction of bootimages from CD/DVD/ISOs
Just on the own these utilities are quite useful in my opinion, never mind there use with XPCREATE
XPlode - A tool for aiding the process of running unattended commands/installs during Windows install. There is little documentation but the utility is actually a CMD/BAT file so it is self documenting to some extent (although the author certainly performed some wonders IMO). The top "How to run XPlode" topic on the forum provides the best introduction.
Both XPCreate and Winnt.sif files use and INI format. As a result I needed a commandline INI editor. For some reason it took considerable time to find this program... so much so that I began writing one (in C++ of course) but avoided this at the last minute. Fortunately, I came across EZ INIEdithere and then INIMAN.EXE/INITOOL.EXE tools called INITyme which are part of the XPCreate download.
One of my favorite windows unattended install tips is to open a command prompt at T-12. Besides performing custom actions this is a great location to debug the cmdlines.txt file. To open the command prompt simply add
start /w cmd.exe
to the [Commands] section of CmdLines.txt. Alternatively, place that command along with other commands into a CMD/batch file as described here.
Last week I gave Windows 2003 x64 AMD w/SP1 BETA a spin on my new 64 bit AMD server. I was disappointed at the viability of this. Not because the OS is bad (didn't use it enough to know) but because it had virtually no software or driver support.
Here are my notes:
Neither Microsoft Virtual PC nor Microsoft Virtual Server seem to have 64 bit versions and they don't even install on the 64 bit OS making them unavailable on that platform. This was the biggest disappointment and caused me to uninstall.
Daemon tools ISO reader didn't work (this was my number 2 disappointment) They know there is demand for a 64 bit version and they are planning on releasing one but there is no ETA.
I wanted to try VSTS but there is not 64 bit versions yet although MS will provide them in time.
The Java based SATA RAID software doesn't appear to have a 64 bit version voiding any RAID configurations on this platform.
Tyan provided beta 64 bit SATA drivers (Si3114r)
The Windows 2003 CD structure is different than normal Windows Cd's. There is very little in the I386 directory and lots in the AMD directory. This makes sense but it is hard to know how to customize the install. Where does $OEM$ go for example?
Western Digital 7200RPM 80GB Hard drive WD800JB% ($63.50)
2 X Seagate 7200RPM SATA Hard drive ST3200822AS% ($128.00 each)
Pioneer DVR-108 DVD+/-RW ($91.99)
2 X DDRAM Transcend PC2700 1GB ECC ($235.00)
Everything was purchased from www.newegg.com except the mother board which came from www.buy.com because NewEgg was out of stock. This was my first experience with NewEgg and I have to say their prices were considerable better than I found else where on virtually every item. Very impressive! The big drawback is that they have a restocking fee if you wish to return something even if you are just replacing it with a different item. Only replacing defective materials with the exact same item avoids the restocking fee.
Comments about the hardware are as follows:
The chassis supports 7 SATA drives but the mother board only supports 4.
Both the motherboard and the chassis include SATA drive cables and the chassis provide normal power connectors so it isn't necessary to hook up special SATA power cables (although the mother board does provide some).
The RAID management software uses Java and requires the Java VM get installed. It also leaves a DOS box around after launching when you log in. This software left something to be desired.
The SATA card on the motherboard does not have Windows 2003 build in drivers making the disks inaccessible during Windows 2003 install without providing a floppy or slip-streaming the drivers into the Windows 2003 CD.
There are two ACT cables (I think they are LEDs for the SATA drives) coming from the Chassis that don't seem to have a connection on the mother board.
The motherboard doesn't have a Power Source LED light.
Researching and building the server myself was way too time consuming but I haven't done it for several years so it was good to have a refresher.
The fan on the chassis power supply doesn't work. I suspect (but I am not an authority on this) the problem is due to the fact that there is a square 4 prong connector coming out of the power supply but there is no destination connector on the mother board.
The lack of built in support for SATA drives in Windows XP/2003 is an absolute pain (but now I digress to software so I will post these turmoils separately.)
