[blindza] Re: Setting up XP Unattended.
- From: "Jacob Kruger" <jacobk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <blindza@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:28:08 +0200
Chances are that it's actually a BIOS setting specific to the computers that
are telling them not to booth up from the CD as such, since some of them
default to not booting up from CDs as such.
Apart from that I have a USB connection external stiffy drive just in case
since all my machines are laptops, and not one of them has a stiffy drive as
such.
Anyway, obviously you know this, but the primary implementations of booting
up from a drive etc. is the autoexec.bat, command line/DOS batch file,
sometimes in conjunction with a config.sys file for bootup, and the
autorun.inf file that tells the media/drive what to do with itself if you
insert it while the machine is running already.
Primarily, on the CD, you'd want an autoexec.bat file telling it to start
the process as such, but like I said, some machines are set not to actually
boot up from the CD automatically, since apart from enabling/disabling it,
you can also set the preference order in the BIOS, and this might default to
hard drive as such, and in one of my machines, around the 3rd time I wanted
to reload it, although it had worked in the past, I had to get my sighted
friend to help me set that option again, so chances are it had been reset by
some or other bit of static electricity thing or something.
The fact is that when reloading machines, although have the audio tutorials
on the standalone process from blind-computing.com, I normally just get a
sighted friend to help me start the process, then do whatever, then come
back and get them to help me just install things like audio/video drivers,
and then go from there starting off with narrator if necessary.
I do also have nero here, but haven't really looked into bootup CDs, and I
think you are right that you need something like a boot sector to be written
to them, but when just looked at it now, in the list of possible CD types, I
see there is one called CD-Rom (bootup) or something like that, and I
suppose it may actually ask you questions like what to start automatically
etc.
Stay well
Jacob Kruger
Blind Biker
Skype: BlindZA
'...fate had broken his body, but not his spirit...'
----- Original Message -----
From: "Boshoff, Deon (GP Health)" <Deon.Boshoff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blindza@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 9:10 AM
Subject: [blindza] Setting up XP Unattended.
Hallo, There,
Anyone out there who could help me to make a "Boot up CD", so I can just
insert it; it formats the complete C-drive, and then installs XP for you,
then I can go shopping. When I come back, XP is installed, without me
having to do anything again.
Now, to do this, you need to write an "Answer file", which I have already
done. It worked very nicely, but, unfortunately, I have had to put it on a
Stiffy, together with a "bat" file, while the XP CD is in it's drive, and
then boot up from CD. When I came back, the computer was like new, with XP
installed cleanly onto it. Of course, I backed up my work first, before I
rebooted with the CD and Stiffy!
The problem now is that only two of my computers still have Stiffy drives,
and that's why I would want to add this "winnt.sif" file of mine to a
bootable CD. I have tried to burn such a CD using NERO 6.6, but although
all the files are there, it does not want to boot up my machine.
So, my "winnt.sif" file is fine, except that the first time my computer
thought I am in Zimbabwe! [This I could easily change after
installation, and I also corrected the "winnt.sif" file, so now it's ready
to be added onto a bootable XP CD]
But how do I do that? I now have a couple of perfect, but non-bootable XP
CD's in my dustpin!
I did find an interesting explanation on the Net as to how to do it, but
that guy was using NERO 5.
Any ideas as how to solve my small problem? Such a CD would make life so
easy to do maintenance on a computer for a blind person: it's easier than to
do a "System Restore", you don't need to do much, and your computer is like
new when you come back to it.
Kind regards,
Deon
[G. Boshoff, BA[Stell]UDC[Potch]
WESKOPPIES HOSPITAL SWITCHBOARD
Tel: 0123199735
Mobile: 0829699571
Fax-to-Email: 0865101295
Fax: 0123277076
Bleeper: 0123199820, code 0002
E-mail:
Deon.boshoff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:Deon.boshoff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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