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How do I automatically install applications as part of the unattended installation?
John Savill
January 8, 2000
2 Min Read
A. A utility is supplied on the NT distribution CD calledSYSDIFF.EXE which is used to create a file containing files and registrychanges needed for an application or set of applications to be installed. Touse SYSDIFF just copy it from the CD to your hard disk
Insert the NT CD-ROM
Move to the :SupportDeptoolsi386 directory
Create a directory on you local hard disk (e.g. SYSDIFF)
Copy over SYSDIFF.EXE and SYSDIFF.INF to the directory
Alternativly there is a newer version available as a fix fromftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/fixes/usa/NT40/utilities/Sysdiff-fix/,download sysdiffa.exe for Alpha, sysdiffi.exe for Intel.
The basics behind SYSDIFF is it creates a snapshot of the system before theapplication is installed, the application is installed and SYSDIFF is run againwhich compares the current system to the snapshot taken, and any changes to theregistry and files are saved. An example usage need to include the following
Create an initial snapshot of the system
SYSDIFF /snapInstall the application to the machine (e.g. install Office 97 :-) cool app)
Create a difference file based on the current system configuration and thesnapshot file
SYSDIFF /diff /c:
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