Distributing the Master System to the Target Computers

The target computers must have the same hardware options, such as video card and bus type, as the master system computer. Target computers can, however, have more memory and a larger hard disk than the master system computer. You can choose from several duplication options, according to your manufacturing requirements. Some of the methods used for distributing the master profile include:

• Serial or parallel port file transfer using a parallel connector such as Xircom® Pocket Ethernet Adapter™
• Network adapter or interface
• Hard-disk duplication equipment
• Tape or disk backup-and-restore process

The duplication method you choose depends on the resources and needs of your organization. This list is not exhaustive but is intended to suggest some common approaches to duplicating the master system files.

To distribute the master system profile to target computers

1. Create a bootable floppy disk that can access the network and/or a SCSI disk drive and copy the WINNTP.EXE utility from the resource kit to this floppy disk.
2. From the target computer, connect to the directory on the distribution server that contains the master system files.
3. Boot the computer off the floppy disk and establish a network connection to the distribution server and sharepoint.
4. At the command prompt, type the following:

   winntp /r /s:\\server\share /b

   where \\server\share is the network path to the master system files on the distribution server. The /r switch indicates that a profiled directory is being downloaded instead of a normal CD-ROM installation. For information on other winntp options, at the command prompt type winntp /?.

   The winntp tool copies the Windows NT profile to the local computer and starts Windows NT setup, prompting the user for local machine information (such as: User Name, Organization Name, Machine Name, and so forth). This information can also be provided on the command line, allowing unattended installation of the Windows NT Profiled setup.

5. When the system reboots after Setup is completed, Windows NT is completely installed and ready for use.