Distributing XP over network

[dakta]

I have been using windows setup manager, and suing it to make a windows share folder for the distribution files, however the share is never visible from other computers (only locally) and when you click the folder it says the path is no longer available. The folder on the drive doesnt appear to exist though the share still displays, I have tried running the tool several times but no success, each with different folders.

Any ideas?

 

[chrisds]

are you trying to install windows xp over the network? if so you may want to check out this great free boot network boot disk

(www.netbootdisk.com)

 

[dakta]

bootdisk

I am using a bootdisk that has the driver for a generic lan card,

however I need to configure the PC I sue as a server to host the image/files of XP and the list of serial numbers so that i can simply plug in a pc tell it to install and go.

I am doing this in order to help increase productivity, and automate tedious tasks such as working with the installer and make everything unattended.

I have made a bootdisk that will automatically prepare the hard drive (i.e format and partition) and I have the bootdisk you specified. However the entwork share that windows setup manager creates does not work. Is there anything I have missed?

 

[jmhill1976]

Can you connect to the share from other computers? I would try that as a first troubleshooting step. Verify that the share is up and accessible via another system which has already been configured, and then proceed from there.

 

[dakta]

That's what i said from the start, the share does not work! It claims not to exist. And it shows when conencitng to //127.0.0.1 but if you try to browse it you get an error saying it is currently unavailable.

The folder in quesiton does NOT show if you go into the local disk to try and verify folder permissions.

 

[jmhill1976]

Hmm.

So the folder does not exist on the local disk? Have you tried going in and manually creating the shares? This is why I hate using MS setup Wizards, because you never know what it is doing, and if you try to duplicate or alter things post setup you could end up missing a step or changing something that is required to work.

Try doing it manually - create the share, copy the files, and set the permissions. Then alter the .ini files on the bootdisk to point to the correct share.

 

[dakta]

I see what your thinking about doing it manually, however I need to configure the unattended side of the install from the setup manager which will then apply whatever modifications to the folder in order to share it, but in the process seems to "hide" or delete the folder that it is copying the modified XP to.

I recreated the folder that I told setup manage to use, (which dissapeared after configuration) and it allowed me to recreate it, the folder was different from when I made it only that it was now shared though it was empty.

 

[chrisds]

the unatented side of the install is done by a file called WINNT.SIF this tutorial )http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/) will tell you how this can be done (then you should be able to do it manually) also you may wish to try creating a simple share on the server called say "test" will a file called "test.bat" and see if you dos machines are able to execute that file from the server, if not then you need to sort the share / dos drivers out.!

I have also found (i use this method of remote build) that if you build several stations at once the hdd load gets really high and the build time increases, I would recomend using ram disks once you have got a basic system up and running (just a thought)

 

[Law]

Hi,

Can another computer ping the computer that is hosting the share. This will help determine that it is not a network problem. Also are you running XP Home or Pro?

In Pro, you would simply disable simple file sharing in Control Panel/Folder Option-View tab. Then you will see the sharing and security tab which you should modify manually and add the “Everyone” group.

In Home you need to boot into safe mode to be able to see the security tab.

 

[dakta]

I appreciate you guys offering your help, but you still do not seem to understand the problem.

the share does not exist! I complete the wizard which is suppsoed to share the foder, and the folder just dissapears after the wizard creates it! whilst the wizard is running the folder is ok and files are being copied to it, but when the wizard is closed (on the server) the folder just dissapears! Say i stored the shared folder in C:\sharedfolder\ once the wizard was complete and you browsed to C:\ the folder sharedfolder would not be there!

however if you conenct to the server remotely using netBios, you can see [sharedfolder] but you get "network path unaivailable] if you try and access it!

The shared folder either exists or it doesnt...

How can I edit security permissions if theres no folder to right click?