The InstallDefaultComponents Key in the Networking Section Always Defaults to Yes

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This article was previously published under Q247952

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SYMPTOMS

When you use an Answer file to install Windows 2000, the InstallDefaultComponents entry in the [Networking] section always defaults to "Yes" regardless of the value set in the Answer file.

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This behavior occurs because the default components are always installed by the network installation portion of Setup. All that is required by the Answer file is that the [Networking] section header be present.

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STATUS

This behavior is by design.

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MORE INFORMATION

With the following example of an Answer file section, this behavior exists:

[Networking]

[Identification]
JoinDomain=mycorp.com
DomainAdmin=Administrator
DomainAdminPassword=password

[NetAdapters]
Adapter01=Params.Adapter01

[Params.Adapter01]
InfID=*

[NetProtocols]
MS_TCPIP=Params.MS_TCPIP

[Params.MS_TCPIP]
AdapterSections=params.TCPIP.Adapter01
DNS=yes
DNSSuffixSearchOrder=mycorp.com, mycorp-nc.com,microsoft.com
EnableLMHosts=No
UseDomainNameDevolution=No

[params.TCPIP.Adapter01]
SpecificTo=adapter01
DNSServerSearchOrder=10.0.1.5, 10.0.1.50, 10.0.1.49
DNSDomain=mycorp.com
DHCP=yes

If the [Networking] section header is present as shown above, the components listed in the Answer file are installed with the supplied parameters.
If the [Networking] section is not present in the Answer file, no networking will be installed regardless of the parameters that are listed in the Answer file.
If the [Networking] section is present in the Answer file but no parameters are supplied, the default networking components are installed.

NOTE: Because the default components are always installed, changing the UnattendMode to ProvideDefault will not permit the Network Wizard to appear during Setup with Answer file provided values. If this behavior is desired, the best method is to leave the JoinDomain value blank in the [Identification] section. This permits the installer to "back up" one screen, click Typical for the network settings, and then enter the required IP information for that computer. Also, note that this same behavior occurs using Sysprep.exe.

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