Associate an unattended setup answer file with a RIS installation image

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To associate an unattended setup answer file with a RIS installation image

  1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers.

  2. In the console tree, right-click the applicable Remote Installation Services (RIS) server.

    Where?

    • Active Directory Users and Computers/Applicable domain/Applicable organizational unit (such as Computers)/Applicable RIS server
  3. Click Properties, and then in the Properties dialog box, click the Remote Install tab.

  4. Click Advanced Settings, and then click the Images tab.

  5. Click Add.

  6. Click Associate a new answer file to an existing image, and then click Next.

  7. Click one of the following options:

    • Windows image sample files

    • Another remote installation server

    • An alternate location

  8. Select the installation image to which the answer file will be associated, and then click Next.

  9. Select the answer file that you want to associate with the installation image, and then click Next.

  10. Enter the friendly description and Help text, and then click Next.

  11. Review the settings summary, and then click Finish to complete the process.

Notes

  • To perform this procedure, you must have permission to write to the folder that contains the RIS folders and files (the default name for the folder is RemoteInstall). For more information about the permissions and group membership needed to perform this task and other tasks related to RIS administration, see Related Topics.

  • To open Active Directory Users and Computers, click Start, click Run, type dsa.msc, and then click OK. For information about creating a shortcut so you can easily open Active Directory Users and Computers with runas, see Related Topics.

  • This topic does not apply to Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.

  • The installation images that appear in the list in the Add Wizard include flat images only. Flat images are images that were created with the Remote Installation Services Setup Wizard. They do not include images created with the Remote Installation Preparation (RIPrep) Wizard.

  • For more information about installation options available through RIS, and the ways these options can be controlled through unattended setup answer files (.sif files), see Related Topics.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

See Also

Concepts

Working with MMC console files
Add a new client operating system installation image
Set permissions for administrators who manage client installation images for RIS
Manage Security for Remote Installation Services
Choosing appropriate group memberships for RIS administrators
Installation options available through RIS
Create a shortcut using the runas command