INFO: Installing Windows NT 4.0 Service Packs During Unattended Installation

There are several ways to install service packs during an unattended installation/deployment of Windows NT 4.0. Starting with Service Pack 1, the specification for quiet/unattended installation was added to Update.exe.

NOTE: Sysdiff cannot be used to apply a service pack. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To install Service Pack 3 by using an unattended installation, you must extract the files into a folder from the self-extracting file that you downloaded from the Web. To extract the files without applying, type the following command: You will then be prompted for the directory that you want the files extracted to.

Update.exe supplied with Service Pack 1 supports the following command line parameters: Update.exe supplied with Service Pack 2 supports the following command line parameters: Update.exe supplied with Service Pack 3 supports the following command line parameters: The version of the service pack that is being used may determine the installation method desired.

The installation of Windows NT service packs during unattended installation/deployment can be accomplished with the methods described later in this article. There is not a right or wrong way to install the service pack. The methods presented are to tailor the installation to meet the needs of your environment. There are basically three installation options available.

Installation Option 1 - Manual

Manual installation is the normal installation method used to install the service back after Windows NT is installed. All command line switches are valid with manual installation. User interaction is required for this method.

Installation Option 2 - Using RUNONCE incorporated with unattended installation when the service pack is either local or on a network share

Windows NT 4.0 supports the use of the RUNONCE command, which is executed on first logon to the system only. In many cases, the RUNONCE option is used for various other customizing options used for deploying Windows NT 4.0.

Option 2 consists of two steps. The first step is to enable Administrator Automatic Logon. The second step is to configure the RUNONCE registry value for the command that is to be executed at logon.

For detailed instructions on using the RUNONCE option consult the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 "Deployment Guide," Chapter 5, and refer to the section on Executing a Batch File on First Logon to Customize Windows NT. The Deployment Guide may be viewed from the following Web site:

Installation Option 3 - Using Cmdlines.txt when the service pack is either local or on a network share

(This option is only supported with Service Pack 2 and Service Pack 3.)

Windows NT 4.0 supports the installation of the service pack through the CMDLINES.TXT file by either copying the service pack to the $OEM$ directory or by calling a batch job to connect to the share. Note that with CMDLINES.TXT, the -Z option will need to be specified in order to prevent the service pack from trying to restart the system.

Using the $OEM$ directory as the source for the service pack:

1. Copy the entire Windows NT 4.0 service pack to the $OEM$ directory.
2. Add the following line to CMDLINES.TXT:
   ".\UPDATE.EXE -U -Z"
   

The installation of the service pack will occur during setup, but from the local drive. This method will increase the amount of time it takes for the Text Mode portion of setup to be completed, since the entire contents of $OEM$ are copied to the local drive.

Using a Network share requires more configuration, but will install the service pack during the GUI portion of setup and will not add any additional overhead to the Text Mode phase of setup.

For simplification, the Primary Domain Controller (PDC) has the GUEST account enabled with no password assigned to the account.

1. Create a directory on a server, and then copy the contents of the service pack for your platform to the directory. For example, the directory is called SP2 on the server, and is shared out as SP2.
2. Create a batch file and place it in the $OEM$ directory.
   
   The batch file should contain something similar to the following example, called SP.CMD.
   NET USE Z: \\Server\SP2 /PERSISTENT:NO /USER:<domain name>\guest <
   password.txt
   Z:\UPDATE.EXE -U -Z
   
   NOTE: A valid domain name and account are required because Windows NT setup runs in the context of the user SYSTEM which is only understood by the local system. Make sure to use the /PERSISTENT:NO option so that the share is not reconnected on first logon.
   
   
3. The file PASSWORD.TXT that is piped back to NET USE is required to respond to the prompt that is presented for the password. The file PASSWORD.TXT is copied to the local computer during setup. It is then deleted so there no is concern of leaving a file containing a password for an account on the local computer. The use of the Guest account is sufficient since all that is needed is READ access by default.
   
   To create Password.txt, run the following command from an MS-DOS prompt:
   COPY CON PASSWORD.TXT
   
   After the command is executed, press ENTER once, and then use CTRL+Z to save the file. The file contains a carriage return, which is all that is needed. If you have a password assigned to the account being used, you would type the password followed by ENTER then CTRL+Z.
   
   
4. Copy the PASSWORD.TXT to the $OEM$ directory.
5. Add the following line to the end CMDLINES.TXT:
   ".\SP.CMD"
   
   Below is an example of a functioning CMDLINES.TXT using the SP.CMD.
   [Commands]
   ".\regedit.exe /s .\autolog.reg"
   "rundll32 setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 128 .\CMDHERE.INF"
   "rundll32 setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 128 .\RSHXMENU.INF"
   "rundll32 setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 128 .\RUNEXT.INF"
   "rundll32 setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 128 .\TWEAKUI.INF"
   "rundll32 setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 128 .\diffile.INF"
   ".\SP.CMD"

Update.exe supplied with Service Pack 4 supports the following command line parameters: For additional information on the Windows NT 4.0 Power Toys, consult the Windows NT 4.0 Supplement I Server online documentation.

For additional information on Windows NT 4.0 deployment/unattended installation, visit the following Microsoft Web site To download the Windows NT 4.0 Deployment Guide, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

NOTE: The Deployment Guide is valid for both Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server.