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Installing and Deploying Windows Server 2003

You can install Windows Server 2003 directly from the CD-Rom or from a network share. The Windows Server 2003 installation process consists of five stages:

Stage 1: Hard Drive Preparation: In text mode Setup checks the hard drive for consistency and errors. It allows you to format and create the Windows Server 2003 partition if you need to and copies setup files to the hard drive. Setup then reboots the computer.

Stage 2: Setup Wizard: The graphical user interface Setup Wizard gathers information from you; such as regional settings, your name and organization, the Windows Server 2003 CD-key, and computer name. The Windows Server 2003 Setup Program then creates the local Administrator user account and requests a password for it.

Stage 3: Installing Network Components: After the Setup Wizard has gathered the necessary information from you in Stage 2, it begins the network components installation. It detects your network adapter card; allows you to choose which network components, such as the network client, file and printer sharing and protocols, to install; allows you to join a workgroup or domain; and installs the components you have chosen.

Stage 4: Completing the installation: The Setup Wizard completes the installation by installing the Start-menu items and applying and saving the configuration settings you chose in the previous stages. It then deletes the temporary setup files and reboots the computer.

Stage 5: Post Installation: After the installation is complete, you must perform the “Product Activation” and configure your server. You should also check your device manager for undetected or nonfunctioning hardware components.

System Requirements

Before installing Windows Server 2003, you must ensure that the computer meets the minimum system requirements for Windows Server 2003.

Processor: Pentium 133 MHz
           (Pentium III 550 MHz recommended for Standard Edition)
           (Pentium III 733 MHz for Enterprise Edition)
Memory: 128 MB Ram (256 MB Ram recommended)
Hard Disk: 1.5 GB hard disk free space
Display: Monitor and adapter with minimum resolution of the VGA standard

I/O devices: CD-ROM, keyboard, mouse, or other pointing devices.

For networking, a standard network adapter card or modem is needed.

Installing Windows Server 2003 from the CD-Rom

When installing Windows Server 2003 on a new computer from the CD-Rom you must boot directly from the CD-Rom. Unlike Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 does not support booting from boot disks.

If your computer does not support booting from the CD-Rom, you must install Windows Server 2003 from a network share or from within an existing operating system.

Place the Windows Server 2003 installation disk in the CD-Rom and reboot the computer. During the boot process you will be prompted to “press any key to boot from CD-Rom”. Once you have pressed a key the installation of Windows Server 2003 will begin.

Installing Windows Server 2003 from a Network Share

To install Windows Server 2003 over the network you must copy the i386 folder from the Windows Server 2003 Installation CD to a shared network folder. You must also ensure that the computer has a can connect to the network share when it has booted.

Performing an Unattended Installation

Microsoft allows for the automated installation of Windows Server 2003 through unattended installations. There are three mechanisms through which an unattended installation can be performed. These are through:

• Unattended answer files;
• Disk imaging using the System Preparation Tool;
• Remote Installation Services

Using an Unattended Answer File

The first mechanism you can use to perform an unattended installation of Windows Server 2003 is to use an answer file. An answer file is an automated script that supply’s the Windows Server 2003 Setup program with all the information it would require during the installation.

You can use Setup Manager located in the deploy.cab file in the /support/tools folder of the Windows Server 2003 Installation CD to create and modify an answer file or you can manually create the Answer file.

You can use Setup Manager to create an answer file for an unattended installation, a sysprep install, and for a Remote Installation Services.

Using the System Preparation Tool

With disk imaging it is possible to install and configure Windows Server 2003 and all the applications and application update packs on a test computer and then create an exact image of the hard drive that can then be used to install Windows Server 2003 and the applications on other client computers. However, all the target computers to which the image is to be applied must have the same hardware configuration as the test computer. You will also have to change the computer name of all the target computers as each computer on the network must have a unique name.

You should use the Sysprep, after installing and configuring Windows Server 2003, the applications and application update packages on a test computer, to prepare the computer of disk imaging. You should then run the disk imaging program after Sysprep has completed. Sysprep adds a mini-Setup Wizard to the disk image that will request the user-specific information such as productID, user name, network configuration, etc, on the first reboot of the target computer. This information can either be supplied by the user or by an answer file.

Using Remote Installation Services (RIS)

Unlike Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003 can be deployed using Remote Installation Services (RIS). Remote installation is the process of connecting to Remote Installation Services (RIS) server from a target computer and then performing an automated installation of Windows Server 2003 on the target computer. This is the most effective method of deploying Windows Server 2003. Remote Installation allows administrators to use a centrally located computer to install Windows Server 2003 on a target computer, i.e. the computer on which the Windows Server 2003 operating system is to be installed, anywhere on a network. It however requires that your network already has a Windows Server 2003 server infrastructure in place and that the target computers support remote booting.

Windows Server 2003 Licensing

The use of Windows Server 2003 requires two distinct types of licensing: a product license, i.e., the CDkey, which allows you to install the Windows Server 2003 operating system on a computer; and a Client Access License (CAL), which allows clients to connect to the Windows Server 2003 computer.

Windows Server 2003 provides three CAL modes: a per server mode, which sets the number of concurrent users or clients that can log on to a specific Windows Server 2003 computer; a per user mode, which permits an unlimited number of concurrent users to connect to the Windows Server 2003 computer, providing each has a CAL; and a per device mode, which permits an unlimited number of concurrent client computers, or devices, to connect to the Windows Server 2003 computer, providing that each device has a CAL.

The Windows Server 2003 Boot Process

Files Used in the Boot Process

A Windows Server 2003 Intel-based boot sequence requires a number of files. What follows is a list of these files, their appropriate locations and the stages of the boot process associated with each file.

Pre-boot Sequence

During startup, a Windows Server 2003-based computer initializes the boot portion of the hard disk and the pre-boot sequence begins. This sequence consists of four steps:

• The computer runs power-on self test (POST) process to determine the amount of physical memory; and basic hardware components are present.

• If the computer has a Plug and Play (BIOS), enumeration and configuration of hardware devices occurs.

• The computer BIOS locates the boot device and loads and runs the master boot record (MBR).

Note: Windows Server 2003 modifies the boot sector during installation so that Ntldr loads during system startup. Therefore you should disable the Boot Sector Virus Protection in your BIOS Setup during installation of Windows 2003.

Boot Sequence

After the computer loads Ntldr into memory, the boot sequence gathers information about hardware and drivers in preparation for the Windows Server 2003 load phases. The boot sequence uses the following files:

Ntldr, Boot.ini, Bootsect.dos (optional), Ntdetect.com, and Ntoskrnl.exe.

The boot sequence also has four phases:

• Initial Boot Loader: During the initial boot loader phase, Ntldr switches the microprocessor from real mode to 32-bit flat memory mode, which Ntldr requires. Then, Ntldr starts the appropriate the minifile system drivers. The minifile system drivers are built into Ntldr so that Ntldr can find and load Windows Server 2003 from partitions formatted with either the FAT or NTFS file system.

• Operating System Selection: During the boot sequence, Ntldr reads the Boot.ini file. If multiple operating systems are supported on the computer in the Boot.ini file, then the Please Select The Operating System To Start screen, which you can use to select the operating system that should be loaded within a specified time before the default operating system. If no Boot.ini file is present, Ntldr attempts to load Windows Server 2003 from the Windows folder on the first partition of the first disk, typically C:\Windows.

• Hardware Detection: On Intel-based computers, Ntdetect.com and Ntoskrnl.exe perform hardware detection. Ntdetect.com executes if Windows Server 2003 should be loads. Ntdetect.com collects a list of installed hardware components and returns this list to Ntldr for later inclusion in the registry under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE key.

• Configuration Selection: After Ntldr starts loading Windows Server 2003 and collects hardware information, the operating system loader process displays the Hardware Profile/Configuration Recovery Menu screen, which contains a list of the hardware profiles that have been created on the computer, if more that one hard profile exists on the computer. The first hardware profile is highlighted.

You can press the Down arrow key to select another profile. You can also press L to invoke the Last Known Good Configuration option.

Kernel Load

After the configuration selection, Ntoskrnl.exe, the Windows Server 2003 kernel loads and initializes.

Ntoskrnl.exe also loads and initializes device drivers and loads services. If you press ENTER when the Hardware Profile/Configuration Recovery Menu screen displays, or if Ntldr makes the selection automatically, the computer enters the kernel load phase. The screen clears and a series of white rectangles appears across the bottom of the screen. During the kernel load phase, Ntldr:

• Loads Ntoskrnl.exe but does not initialize it.

• Loads the hardware abstraction layer file (Hal.dll).

• Loads the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM registry key.

• Selects the control set required to initialize the computer.

• Loads device drivers with a value of 0x0 for the Start entry. These are typically low-level hardware device drivers, such as those for a hard disk.

Kernel Initialization

When the kernel load phase is complete, the kernel initializes and takes control from Ntldr. The system displays a graphical screen with a status bar that indicates load status. During the kernel initialization stage four tasks are performed:

• The Hardware key is created.

• The Clone control set is created.

• Device drivers are loaded and initialized.

• The Session Manager (smss.exe) is initialized.

The Session Manager

The Session Manager reads the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session

Manager registry key to find and initialize entries under BootExecute. By default, this includes AUTOCHK, which is a boot-time version of CHKDSK. Session Manager also sets up the paging file (Pagefile.sys). Session Manager then does the following two things simultaneously:

• Loads the console logon service (Winlogon.exe) to start the authentication verification process. Winlogon starts the Local Security Authority Subsystem (Lsass.exe), and the print spooler (Spoolss.exe), along with their supporting function libraries.

• Loads the Services Controller (Screg.exe), which loads the rest of the devices and services.

In Windows Server 2003, the user is permitted to log on even though many of the services are still being initialized.

The Boot.ini File

The Boot.ini file is a hidden file that the Windows Server 2003 Setup program saves in the active partition when you install Windows Server 2003. Ntldr uses information in the Boot.ini file to display the Please Select The Operating System To Start menu, from which you select the operating system that should be loaded.

Components of the Boot.ini File

The Boot.ini file includes two sections, [Boot Loader] and [Operating Systems]

The [Boot Loader] section contains the specified time that the Please Select The Operating System To Start menu is displayed and the default operating system that should be loaded if no selection is made within the specified time. The [Operating Systems] section of the Boot.ini file contains a list of all the operating systems that are installed on the computer.

ARC Paths

During installation, Windows Server 2003 generates the Boot.ini file, which contains Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) paths pointing to the computer's boot partition.

Convention Description

multi(x) | scsi(x) Indicates the hardware adapter or disk controller. Use scsi only to indicate a SCSI controller on which SCSI BIOS is not enabled. All other hardware adapter or disk controllers use multi. (x) represents a number that indicates the load order of the hardware adapter. The hardware adapter first to load and initialize receives the value (0).

Disk(y) The SCSI ID. For multi, this value is always (0).

Rdisk(z) A number that identifies the disk and starts with (0).

Partition(a) A number that identifies the partition. Partition numbers start with (1)

Boot.ini Switches

You can add a variety of switches to the entries in the [Operating Systems] section of the Boot.ini file to provide additional functionality. Table 1.4 lists some of these switches.

Boot.ini Switch Description

/basevideo Boots the computer using the standard VGA video driver.

/fastdetect Disables serial mouse detection. Without a port specification, this switch disables peripheral detection on all COM ports. By default, this switch is included in every entry in the Boot.ini file.

/maxmem:n Specifies the amount of RAM that the operating system should use.

/noguiboot Boots the computer without displaying the graphical boot status screen.

/sos Displays the device driver names as they are loading.

Advanced Boot Options

The Windows Server 2003 advanced boot options include Safe Mode, Enable Boot Logging, Enable VGA Mode, Last Known Good Configuration, Directory Services Restore Mode, and Debugging Mode.

• Safe Mode can be used if your computer does not start properly. Pressing F8 during the operating system selection phase displays a screen with advanced options for booting Windows Server 2003. If you select Safe Mode, Windows Server 2003 loads only basic files and drivers that are required to support the operating system. If your computer does not start using safe mode, you can try Windows Server 2003 Automatic System Recovery. You can also choose Safe Mode With Networking, which is the same as Safe Mode except that it adds the drivers and services required to enable network access, and Safe Mode With Command Prompt, which is the same as Safe Mode except when the computer restarts, it displays a command prompt.

• Enable Boot Logging logs the loading and initialization of drivers and services in the ntbtlog.txt file, which is located in the windir folder and can be used for troubleshooting boot problems.

• Enable VGA Mode option starts Windows Server 2003 with a basic VGA driver.

• Last Known Good Configuration starts Windows Server 2003 using the registry information that Windows Server 2003 saved after the last successful startup of Windows Server 2003. Windows Server 2003 startup is not considered successful until a user logs on at the computer. After a logon, the system automatically copies the Clone control set to the LastKnownGood control set making the current control set the Last Known Good Configuration

Note: Windows Server 2003 startup is not considered successful until a user logs on at the computer. After a logon, the system automatically copies the Clone control set to the LastKnownGood control set making the current control set the Last Known Good Configuration.

The Recovery Console

The Recovery Console is a command-line interface that can be used to perform a variety of troubleshooting and recovery tasks on the local computer. These tasks include:

• Starting and stopping services;

• Reading and writing data on a local drive; and

• Formatting hard disks.

Installing and Starting the Recovery Console

You can install the Recovery Console from the Windows Server 2003 Installation CD by running the winnt32 command with the /cmdcons switch from the command prompt. After Recovery Console is installed, you can access it from the Please Select Operating System To Start menu. You can also use the Windows Server 2003 Installation CD to start your computer and then select the Recovery Console option when you are prompted to choose repair options.

Note: You can instruct the Windows Server 2003 Setup program to install the

Recovery Console when you install Windows Server 2003 by installing Windows Server 2003 with the winnt command and adding the /e and /cmdcons switches. The /e switch specifies that the Windows Server 2003 Setup program must run a command after the final stage of the installation of Windows Server 2003 is finished and the /cmdcons switch specifies that the command must install the recovery console onto the hard drive. The full command would be similar to this: Winnt/e:z:\i386\winnt/cmdcons

Using the Recovery Console

The Recovery Console provides you with a limited set of DOS-like administrative commands that you can use to repair your Windows Server 2003 installation. Before you can use these commands, however, you must supply the password for the local Administrator account. Some of the recovery console commands that you should know are:

COPY - Copies a single file from a floppy drive or CD-Rom drive to the hard drive (you cannot copy files from the hard disk to a floppy)

DISABLE - Disables the specified service or a device driver

EXIT - Exits the Recovery Console and restarts your computer

FIXBOOT - Writes a new partition boot sector onto the system partition

FIXMBR - Repairs the master boot record of the partition boot sector

HELP - Lists all of the Recovery Console commands

LISTSVC - Lists the device drivers and services that are currently installed on the computer. Use this command to identify the service or device driver that you want to disable or enable

A full list of the Recovery Console commands is found here:
 List of recovery console commands from Microsoft