document updated 16 years ago, on Apr 9, 2008
There are four ways of installing Windows:
- boot from the standard installation CD
- use slipstreaming to create a new customized CD/DVD, which can be used many times
- modify a copy of the installer on the hard-drive, and run it directly from there (/i386/winnt.exe) (akin to "one-off on-hard-drive slipstreaming")
- Microsoft's RIS (remote installation services) (copious details here)
(additionally, IT folks often use Ghost to load a standard image on)
Internal, enumerated
From the standpoint of internal documentation and slipstreaming, these are the kinds of installs that are referred to:
- text-mode: the typical end-user way of installing something
- unattended: typically what's started up via winnt.exe
- sysprep: a Microsoft variant on Ghost?
- RIS: remote installation services
LOTS OF GOOD INFO