Installation Types
Types of Installation
- Attended
- Unattended
Attended Installation
Attended installation is where the installer inputs the configuration information in response to prompts from a setup program.
- 2 types
- Clean install means installing the OS to a new computer or completely replacing the OS software on an old one by repartitioning and reformatting the target disk.
- reliable than upgrading
- In-place upgrade means running setup from an existing version of the OS.
- third-party applications, user settings, and data files are all kept
- designed for home users
- Clean install means installing the OS to a new computer or completely replacing the OS software on an old one by repartitioning and reformatting the target disk.
Upgrade Considerations
- Check hardware compatibility
- Check application and driver support/backward compatibility
- uninstall incompatible software or hardware
- Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) is a catalog of tested Windows devices and drivers
- Aka Windows Logo’d Product List (LPL)
- Backup files and user preferences
- Obtain third-party drivers
Unattended Installation
An unattended installation uses a script or configuration file to input the choices and settings that need to be made during setup.
- called an answer file in Windows
- often use an image deployment
- image is a clone of an existing installation stored in one file
- can contain base OS, config settings, service packs, updates, apps, etc.
- can be stored on DVD, USB, or network share
- useful for consistent software and config
Boot Devices
The installation boot devices refers to the way in which the setup program, answer file (if used), and OS files or system image are loaded onto the target PC.
- may need to change the computers boot device priority
- for network boot, computers need preboot eXecution environment (PXE)