Slipstreamed and Unattended Windows Installations - Final Thoughts
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We've come to the end of this article. By now you should be familiar enough with the process of slipstreaming to master the free third party utilities that aid us during these endeavors. While very few actually do slipstream their own Windows installations, it is helpful to know what happens behind the scenes of these tools. It gives a better understanding and makes us feel more confident when beginning the journey.
Furthermore, if we also know the structure of configurations files that alter the behavior of our installations, turning them into "unattended" setups, then sometimes we can apply various finishing touches, editing the answer-files ourselves. This again helps a great detail because it may save us time to not rely on the utility that generates the answer files, when an adequate computer isn't in our reach.
On top of everything, in those situations where we ought to deploy the image we have just slipstreamed via network, there are a few possibilities. Microsoft supplies RIS (Remote Install Server) to help administrators with this task. This official document explains the entire process in great detail. In a nutshell, you set up the RIS, and after that deployment can happen to remote-boot enabled computers.
A capable network card is required (PXE - Pre-Boot eXecution Environment) along with the necessary BIOS configurations to allow client computers to be booted up remotely via network shares. RIS boot disks can also be used when PXE capability isn't possible.
Another common alternative to network booting is making the content of the slipstreamed installation image available through a network share, and then using any pre-made network-enabled bootable disk. A few recommendations for the TCP/IP network boot disks include the following: NetBootDisk, Nu2, and Google for more.
And finally, we can't really finish without inviting you to join our helpful community at DevHardware Forums. We've a strong base of resident professionals, enthusiasts, and tech experts. If you want to hear opinions on some service or ask some clarifications regarding some details just shoot us your questions. We'll do our best to help. And you may also want to pay a visit to the community of our sister site: DevShed Forums.
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