In this article I'm going to build two scripts. The first script shows you how to deploy Windows XP Service Pack 3 to all your clients.
Probably most of our XP clients now run Windows XP Service Pack 2, and definitely you want to migrate them to Service Pack 3. Service Pack 3 solves various security problems and fixes some of the bugs inside the current Service Pack 2. Deploying Service Pack 3 can be done several ways.
A very common way to deploy it is by running Windows Update. The windows update website will help you download the service pack and you can install it. During the installation you will be asked to give some parameters to customize the installation, and there you go.
For one PC this is a very good way. For ten computers this will mean you have a new job for about 2 days.
Also very commonly used is to run Windows Update server. The client will connect to the update server or the update server will push the software and the software will be installed. Automatically. One bummer is that the machine needs to be on, and the user should reboot the computer after the patch is applied. When the user does not reboot, the computer will give a very annoying popup that it will reboot in 5 minutes if you do not click later.
Altiris Deployment Solution has a very cool trick to do this.
You can build a task in the Deployment Server, and push that to a client or a group of clients or even to all clients.
And the user will not notice it. We are able to schedule the action at night. The Deployment Server boots up the computer, performs the action and shuts it down again. Users will not loose data and definitely will not get an annoying popup to make them reboot.
So, how do we do this, and how do we manage this?
First we need to build the task.
Step 1. Download the network install version of service pack.
Go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&DisplayLang=en and download the service pack. This is the English version. When you want a different language, select the appropriate language and download it.
The download is approximately 320 MB.
Step 2. Building the job.
Now we have to build the job. The job consists out of two parts. First we copy the file to the client, and then we start the unattended installation.
Start the Altiris Deployment Console. If you haven't already have done so, then first create a folder in the left pane under Jobs.
In this folder my live scripts that are ready for deployment will be located. The second folder is named test scripts.
This will notify other administrators that the script is not ready for production. If you have more administrators, then you can give the folder your own name. Like Erik's scripts or something.
In this folder we can create a subfolder or we build the script just there.
Click on the folder and select New Job. Give the job an appropriate name.
Double click on the job.
Click on add to build a new task.
First we want to be sure the computer is started because this job will run at night, and you may assume that the computer is off then to save power.
So we select the option Power control.
We want the job to wake the computer when it is off, so we select the option Wake Up. Click Next to continue.
Now we change the default setting to Continue. If you do not do this, the job will fail if the computer is running, just because the wake on LAN has not succeeded.
Click Finish to finish this first task.
Our second task is to copy the service pack to a temporary directory on the client. So we add a new task and select copy file.
In the source path we select the downloaded service pack. Make sure you have copied the download into a folder that resides in the eXpress share. This will make it easier, because the client already has a drive mapping to that. Also it ensures the service pack is synchronized to other Deployment Server if you have any and you followed the article about Synchronizing with Microsoft DFS.
In the screenshot above you see that the file is located in my eXpress share in the folder software where I added a folder structure to see what it is. The destination path is a folder on the client.
In this case I use the folder c:\dstemp. The folder does not exist neither does it contain data. So during the script it creates the folder, and afterwards I'm able to delete it without loosing precious data.
Click Next to continue.
You will now receive a notification asking you if dstemp is a directory or a location. Just click yes.
Click Finish without changing anything.
If the copy action succeeds, the script will go on. If it fails the script will stop, and you receive an error message.
Now we have to create the script that installs the software for us.
So we add the third task.
Choose run script from the task menu.
Now we have to create a script.
To do this we need to know the command parameters. If we just start the set-up the client will start and show a message and you have to take remote control of the client to click on all the messages.
First we look up all the command line switches. For Microsoft software that is pretty easy. They always use the same parameters.
- /U or /passive
Uses default options and does not require user interaction. If you use this option, only critical error prompts appear on screen during the installation process.
- /F Forces other applications to close at shutdown.
- /N Does not back up files for removing the service pack.
- /O Overwrites OEM files without prompting.
- /Z Does not restart the computer after the installation is completed.
- /forcerestart Restarts the computer after the installation is completed.
- /norestart Specifies that the computer will not restart the when installation is completed.
- /Q or /quiet Uses quiet mode (the same as unattended mode, but with the user interface hidden from view).
If you use this option, no prompts appear on screen during the installation process.
- /L Lists installed Windows updates, critical updates, and security updates.
- /integrate:path Combines the operating system with the service pack in a shared distribution folder for an integrated installation.
- /uninstall Uninstalls the package.
- /help Displays the same information as /?.
- /d:path Backs up files for removing the service pack into the folder you specify.
- /n Does not back up files for uninstalling the service pack.
The service pack we like to install is first being unpacked, and then the update.exe is started. You can also first unpack the software and then start the installation.
In the first case when we want to unpack and start the installation we use.
C:\dstemp\WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe /N /O /Q
C:\dstemp describes the folder were we copied the service pack. WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe is the name of the file. /N prevents the files form being back upped. Only use this when you tested the service pack very well. It will prevent you from uninstalling the service pack. /O will make sure all drivers and the miniport is updated. /Q will prevent all messages appearing on the client.
In this case the only thing you can see is in the task manager that update.exe is running for about 30 minutes.
The second way to install the service pack is to unpack it first.
To do that you run the script C:\dstemp\WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe /X where /X makes sure the set-up is extracted and that update is not started. Now the second line should be c:\dstemp\update.exe /N /O /Q. So our script looks like:
Or looks like
Now when we click Next we have to fill in some properties.
First we tell the task to run on the client.
We also give in a username and a password with enough rights on the client.
We minimize the script window so there is no small DOS screen visible on the client.
Click Next to continue.
In the Next screen we click Finish.
Now we create a new task with the line: deltree c:\dstemp
This will delete the temporary folder and all its contents.
Now we only have to do one task. We need to reboot or shutdown the computer.
The installation of the service pack already reboots the client, but after the reboot some additional settings are made. Because this job runs at night we just shut down the computer by adding a new task with a power control to shut down the computer.
Now the only thing we have to do is to start the job on a test machine to see if everything goes well. If you use the /U switch, please make sure you tested the job and the computer that you deployed the job to, and then you test it again and also a third time. If something goes wrong the /U switch will prevent you from rolling back the computer.
Now you have created a very sophisticated task to rollout Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.
In the next article we are going to do a scripted installation of Windows XP Service Pack 2 with only the stuff we want, and not what Microsoft wants us to have.
The smallest scripted install that works great is only 128 MB in size. It does not contain any additional software. It is only a lean and mean Windows XP machine.
Deployment Console, Part 5: Install HII Tools and Configure Them for a Multi Site Environment
Deployment Console, Part 7: Building a Clean, Lean Windows XP Machine and Deploy it with Altiris Deployment Solution