I want to simplify the installation of Windows 2000 and service packs on my company's computers. Under Windows NT 4.0, such a process is cumbersome. I've heard that Win2K lets you install service packs to a disk-based installation point (e.g., on a network share) so that you can install both the OS and the service pack in one step. Can you tell me how to perform such an installation?
You can configure NT 4.0 Setup to automatically launch a service pack installation as a separate installation after the OS installation has completed. (This type of installation is called a chained installation.) However, NT 4.0 doesn't let you "roll up" the service pack changes into the base OS installation.
Win2K lets you perform integrated service pack installations. To perform an integrated installation of a Win2K service pack to an installation point, simply run the update.exe program that launches the service pack installation process. (Update.exe is in the service pack source folder's \update subdirectory.) However, if you downloaded the single-file compressed version of a service pack from Microsoft's Web site, you'll need to first extract the files to an installation point by launching the compressed executable file with the —x option (e.g., sp1network.exe —x).
Next, run update.exe with the -s:installation folder name option, which specifies the folder that contains a Win2K installation source. (Note that the base installation folder that you specify after the s: option isn't the \i386 folder but the folder directly above it—the root Win2K installation folder. Therefore, in my example, the x86 binaries for the Win2K installation reside in a folder called C:\w2kinst\i386.) For example, to upgrade a Win2K installation source (e.g., Win2K Professional, Win2K Server, Win2K Advanced Server), run the following command at a command prompt or through Start, Run:
update -s:C:\w2kinst
As the Windows 2000 Service Pack Setup window in Figure 1, page 174, shows, the service pack setup program then begins modifying the source folder so that Setup will install the equivalent of the base release plus the service pack.
This new service feature has two benefits. First, it lets you install new Win2K systems with the latest OS version (including all service packs). Second, the feature lets you add new OS components in a one-step process because it eliminates the need to reinstall the service pack after you use the original installation source to add the new OS components. As long as you point Win2K to the updated installation share point on the network, Win2K will receive the latest versions of those components.
I'm trying to edit Windows NT 4.0 System Policy Editor (SPE)-created files (i.e., .pol files) on one of my Windows 2000 Professional systems. When I fire up poledit.exe, the system hangs when it encounters one of the .adm files. How can I work around this problem so that I can use SPE again?
Your problem can occur when one of the .adm files (i.e., the files containing SPE templates) that you previously used becomes corrupted. To solve the problem, use a registry editor (i.e., regedit or regedt32) to navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Poledit registry subkey. In the right pane, you'll see one or more values labeled Template0, Template1, Template2, and so on.
You can either delete all these values or simply delete the value corresponding to the .adm file that is causing the utility to freeze when it starts up. (If you're unsure which policies correspond to which .adm file, the latter method might require some trial and error.) After you perform this deletion, you can regain access to SPE.
I have a couple of irritating pet peeves about my Windows 2000 and Windows NT systems. First, I inherited the systems from another user and I'm always seeing his name appear (e.g., as the suggested username during new software installations). The name seems to be recorded inside the systems somewhere; I want to record my name and organization. Second, my systems always display Win2K's Getting Started with Windows 2000 screen or NT's Welcome screen whenever a new user logs on for the first time. How can I deal with these annoying behaviors?
I'll first address the registered-owner question. During a typical installation, Win2K or NT prompts you to supply a username and company name for the system, then records the supplied names in the registry. Because many applications' setup utilities query this registry value for a username and company name, you'll probably see the originally supplied names whenever you install software.
The registered username and company name for a Win2K or NT system reside in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion registry subkey. Two subkeys of type REG_SZ—Registered-Organization and RegisteredOwner—represent the registered company and owner names, respectively. If you modify these values (e.g., to reflect a change of system ownership, change of company, or change of last name), future software installations that query these locations for a suggested username and company name will use the new values.
To disable Win2K's Getting Started with Windows 2000 screen on a per-computer basis, use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Group Policy Editor (GPE) snap-in. Go to Local Computer Policy, Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, System, and change the Don't display welcome screen at logon policy to Enabled. If you prefer to make this change directly in the registry, open your registry editor and navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer registry subkey, create a REG_ DWORD value (or edit the value if it already exists) called NoWelcomeScreen, and set its value to 1. (The default value is 0, which displays the welcome screen.)
NT gives you several options for disabling the welcome screen. The first lets you change the welcome screen display behavior for new users who log on to a machine in the future. (This method won't affect users who already have profiles on the machine.) Run regedt32.exe, and open the default user policy by navigating to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and using the Registry, Load Hive menu option. From the dialog box that opens, select the ntuser.dat file, which typically resides in the \%systemroot%\Profiles\ Default User folder. When the system prompts you for a name for the hive, name it Tips. (The name, which the system uses to assign a temporary name for the hive, doesn't really matter.) Within the Tips hive you just loaded, navigate to the SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer subkey. Under this new subkey, create two REG_DWORD type subkeys, DisplayInitialTipWindow and Show, and set both values to 0.
A better alternative for making this change is to build or edit the ntconfig.pol system policy file, which must reside in each domain controller's (DC's) Netlogon folder. Under Default User Properties/
Windows NT System, clear the Show welcome tips at logon check box, as
Figure 2 shows. You must make this change either for the default user policy or within individual user or group policies for the desired users.
An even simpler method for disabling the welcome screen is to rename or delete the welcome.exe file (i.e., the program that displays the screen) in the \%systemroot% folder (e.g., C:\winnt). This method will work under both Win2K and NT.
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