Article ID: 156876 - Last Review: November 1, 2006 - Revision: 1.1

INFO: Using UDF Files with Windows NT 4.0 Unattended Setup

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This article was previously published under Q156876

SUMMARY

Unattended Setup with Windows NT 4.0 supports the use of the Uniqueness Database File (UDF), which provides the ability to specify per-computer parameters. The functionality of the UDF is to merge or replace specific sections of the answer file for the GUI portion of setup. The use of the UDF provides a structured and convenient method for the deployment of Windows NT 4.0 on a large scale.

The information in this article assumes that a working answer file has been developed for unattended installation of Windows NT 4.0.

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MORE INFORMATION

The UDF is an ASCII text file created using a simple text editor. The file is stored with the other Windows NT files on the distribution server.

The UDF is broken down into two sections, the UniqueIDs and the UniqueID parameters. The UniqueIDs section identifies the Unique ID and the sections of the answer file that are going to be merged or replaced. The UniqueIDs parameter is the actual data that will be merged or replaced in the answer file.

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Example 1

In this example, two Unique IDs have been created: UserID1 and UserID2. UserID1 and UserID2 will have Userdata, GuiUnattended, and Network sections that will merge or replace the corresponding sections in the answer file.

   [UniqueIDs]
      UserID1 = Userdata,GuiUnattended,Network
      UserID2 = Userdata,GuiUnattended,Network

In the next section of the UDF, Unique ID sections are identified by using the Unique ID and the section name, separated by a colon.

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Example 2

In this example, the Userdata, GuiUnattended, and Network sections will be merged into the answer file. See the sample Unattend.txt file at the end of this article as a reference.

   [UniqueIDs]
      UserID1 = Userdata,GuiUnattended,Network
      UserID2 = Userdata,GuiUnattended,Network

   [UserID1:UserData]
   FullName = "User ID-1"
   ComputerName = "MACHINE-1"

   [UserID1:GuiUnattended]
   TimeZone = " (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US &amp; Canada)"

   [UserID1:Network]
   JoinDomain = "DomainEast"

   [UserID2:UserData]
   FullName = "User ID-2"
   ComputerName = "MACHINE-2"

   [UserID2:GuiUnattended]
   TimeZone = "(GMT-06:00) Central Time (US &amp; Canada)"

   [UserID2:Network]
   JoinDomain = "DomainCentral"

Merging of this unique information occurs during the execution of Winnt.exe or Winnt32.exe. To invoke the UDF file, use the following command-line options:

/u:answer_file /s:NT_Source /t:temp_drive /UDF:UniqueID,local_name_of_udf

Example:

winnt /u:answ.txt /s:z:\ /t:c: /udf:userid1,z:\udf.txt

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Sample answer file used for reference:

   [Unattended]
   NoWaitAfterTextMode = 1
   NoWaitAfterGUIMode = 1
   FileSystem = LeaveAlone
   ExtendOemPartition = 0
   ConfirmHardware = No
   NtUpgrade = no
   Win31Upgade = no
   OverwriteOemFilesOnUpgrade = yes
   TargetPath = winnt

   [GuiUnattended]
   OemBlankAdminPassword = 1
   DetachedProgram = "C:\REGINI.EXE"
   Arguments = "C:\CHANGEIT.INI"

   [UserData]
   OrgName = "The Computer Company"
   ProductID = "123-1234567"

   [NetWork]
   InstallAdapters = AdaptersList
   InstallProtocols = ProtocolsList

   [AdaptersList]
   DECETHERWORKSTURBO = DECParams

   [DECParams]
   InterruptNumber = 5
   IOBaseAddress = 768
   MemoryMappedBaseAddress = 851968
   InterfaceType = 1
   BusNumber = 0

   [ProtocolsList]
   NBF = NetBeuiParams

   [NetBeuiParams]

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

155197 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/155197/EN-US/ ) Unattended Setup Parameters for Unattend.txt File

Additional information on Windows NT 4.0 deployment is available on the Microsoft web site at http://www.microsoft.com/ (http://www.microsoft.com/) under the Windows NT 4.0 Workstation Home Page Migration Tools section.

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