Create a TCP/IP boot disk for installing
Win2K/XP over the network
Oct 15, 2002
Allen V. Rouse MCSE, MCDBA, CCNA
When you study for the Windows 2000 MCSE exams, you will find that Microsoft
places strong emphasis on the importance of knowing how to install operating
systems over the network. One of the most common ways to accomplish this is by
booting a system with a network boot disk that uses the TCP/IP protocol to
connect to your network. Once you have connected to the network, you can access
a network share that has the Windows 2000/XP installation files and install
Win2K or XP on the computer. But even though Microsoft emphasizes this method on
the MCSE exams—and despite its obvious advantages—very little information is
actually available on how to create such a disk.
To help you capitalize on this useful technique, I'm going to explain how to
create a TCP/IP network boot disk. I will discuss what is normally found on a
floppy disk that will boot to the network, how to use the Windows NT Network
Client Administrator to create the disk, and how to modify the disk with
information specific to your network.
Basic features
The basic components of a TCP/IP network boot disk include the following:
Using the Windows NT Network Client Administrator
You could, of course, assemble all the necessary files and copy them to a floppy
disk. However, you will find it far easier to use the Network Client
Administrator utility. This utility will create a network boot disk based on
your answers in some simple dialog boxes.
Unfortunately, the utility is old and hasn't been updated by Microsoft, so it
does not contain current NIC drivers. As a result, you will have to manually
modify the disk after running the utility. In addition, you will need to make
other modifications to the configuration files, such as the location and name of
the share point, to accommodate the specifics of the network you want to attach
to.
Finally, you will find that even when perfectly configured, the disk probably
won't work correctly because of insufficient memory. To get around this, you
will have to add DOS memory management capabilities. In spite of all this
tweaking, using the Network Client Administrator utility is still more efficient
than starting from scratch.
The Network Client Administrator utility is not available on the Win2K or XP CD,
but you can get it from a Windows NT 4.0 Server CD. Microsoft document
Q252448 provides instructions for using the utility with Windows 2000, which
involves the following steps:
For the purposes of this example, I will use the Intel 10/100 Pro NIC, which
uses a real mode driver named e100b.dos. Since the Intel 10/100 Pro NIC is not
one of the choices in the Network Client Administrator, I chose the Intel 10mbps
16-bit NIC. That NIC uses a driver named exp16.dos.
You'll also be asked to choose whether the startup disk will use DHCP or a
static address and to specify the client you want to use. Select Network Client
v3.0 for DOS and Windows. In addition, you'll be asked to enter a computer name
for the client to use, a user ID, and a domain.
An inspection of the contents of the newly created disk will show that the root
of the disk contains the normal startup files, with Autoexec.bat and a
Config.sys, along with a subdirectory called NET. The NET subdirectory contains
the NIC driver, TCP/IP driver, Net.exe, Netbind.exe, various other files, and
two important configuration files—Protocol.ini and System.ini.
The root directory of the newly created disk will contain the files shown in
Listing A, in addition to the hidden files Io.sys and Msdos.sys.
The NET subdirectory of the disk will contain the files shown in
Listing B.
Modifying the boot disk
Now that you have created the basic disk, you will need to make several
modifications.
The Intel Ethernet 10/100 Pro and 10/100 Management NICs both use a different
DOS driver from the one installed by the Network Client Administrator. The
Network Client Administrator installed the driver exp16.dos. To correct this, I
obtained the file e100b.dos from the Intel driver disk. I removed the exp16.dos
file in the NET directory and replaced it with the e100b.dos file. If you are
using a different NIC, you will need to obtain the correct driver from the
manufacturer or one of several Web sites that have drivers available for
download, such as DriverGuide.com.
In addition to the driver file in the NET directory, there are references to the
exp16 driver in several locations in the configuration files Protocol.ini and
System.ini. You'll need to replace these with the correct references. You should
modify Protocol.ini as shown in
Listing C and System.ini as shown in
Listing D.
Autoexec.bat file
The default Autoexec.bat created by the Network Client Administrator looks like
this:
path=a:\net
a:\net\net initialize
a:\net\netbind.com
a:\net\umb.com
a:\net\tcptsr.exe
a:\net\tinyrfc.exe
a:\net\nmtsr.exe
a:\net\emsbfr.exe
a:\net\net start
net use z: \\SERVER1\Clients
echo Running Setup...
z:\msclient\netsetup\setup.exe /$
You will need to modify the last few lines to suit your own purposes. The net
use command should map a drive to the share where setup files are located
(e.g., a drive containing the Windows 2000 Professional setup files). The last
two lines are not useful and should be deleted. You can add any additional lines
you want, such as the winnt command with appropriate parameters.
Adding memory management
Finally, with all the modifications, you will probably find that when you get to
the net start command in the Autoexec.bat, an “Insufficient memory” error
message will occur. To correct this, you will need to obtain a copy of the DOS
memory driver HIMEM.SYS (from a Windows 98 disk, for example) and copy it to the
root of the startup disk. Having done that, add the following two lines to the
Config.sys file:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
DOS=HIGH,UMB
Summary
After you create and modify your disk, you may have several false starts as you
test it. Carefully scrutinize every line in the configuration files and
Autoexec.bat. Make sure that you have the correct real mode driver for your NIC,
the correct UNC path for the share you want to connect to, and so forth. Once
you have a network boot disk that functions correctly, make copies of it so you
don’t have to start all over again if something happens to your disk. I
recommend copying the entire contents to a file share, where it can be backed up
regularly.
If you find yourself in a mass deployment of Windows, the effort you've put in
here will be well worth it. This boot disk allows you to boot a system, connect
to a network share, and install Windows over the network. And it saves you the
hassle of having to carry around a bunch of CDs every time you install a system.
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