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Installing FPNW unattended. How?!?

Here's the deal. I am creating a bunch of setup scripts (unattend.txt, setup.iss, etc.) for software we need to install in the manufacturing environment. I have NT installation going fine with unattend.txt. Is there a way to install File and Print Services for Netware in a similar fashion? The only way I know how to install it is through the Network Properties, by clicking on Services, and then Add. If there is a way to do this, that would be great, but if not, does anybody know how to spawn the "Select Network Service" dialog box that NT pops up when you install a service? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.

Adam

cer

You can use SYSDIFF from the resourcekit (and as an update from the MS-homepage near the SP's). With this you snap the system state before an installation and after the installation of a software. It will tell you all the differences made (files and registry). You will find several articles in the knowledgebase and elsewhere on the internet about how to use SYSDIFF.
It does NOT work if registry entries created which contains the SID or any machine specific ID you do not want to clone. But this you will only see after you tried it.

eclipse

ASKER

A very good answer, however, I fear that I wasn't exactly clear in my first posting. I am sorry (this is my first post). The method that is used to install this *cannot* capture the machine-specific settings (such as hardware settings in the registry, etc.). We want to be able to take the software (NT, FPNW, etc.) to a new computer (no matter what hardware is, actually there will be ten configurations maybe) and run the setup executables with the unattend scripts to configure the system. I think that SysDiff captures this hardware information (correct me if I am wrong), and therefore I don't think that I can use this method.

cer

As I wrote: I do not know. Give it a try and examine what SYSDIFF found (you get a textfile with the registry information). Then you see if it is hardwaredependent. If the service rely on the NIC you are probably right.
I think with unattend.txt you cannot achieve this.
Maybe you can record the necessary steps with a macro recorder and let it play (automatically) after the installation. Such a recorder can be found on the net, I have a PAQ about this.

WinDude

I agree with cer....Since I create sysdiff's for one machine and have applied them to different models without any problems you should give it a try. Sysdiff only grabs the changes from before and after software installs and rarely includes hardware specific info unless the software is designed for that particular piece of hardware and then the other models should have that hardware anyway. After installing the software do not reboot if it asks you to....do a sysdiff /dif first, then you can reboot.

cer

Windude: I always rebooted before the "/dif", I thought only then it is completely installed and I do not have to reboot after applying the sysdiff package on a different machine.
For what reasons I should not reboot ?

Eclipse: Please try, I would like to repost my answer, because I think it is still valid.

eclipse

ASKER

Ok I'll try it if I can before I leave work today.

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

ahoffmann

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ahoffmann

Nice to see it working :-)
Could you please give me some feedback how to set the parameters, I'm a bit confused after reading M$'s books, texts, etc. and got stuck with the try'n error method while installing drivers for several network adapters in an unattended setup.
Thanks.

ahoffmann