INFO: Determining NIC Parameters for Setup Using Unattend.txt (163554)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
This article was previously published under Q163554

SUMMARY

When preparing to deploy Windows NT, you should test the network adapter to determine its functionality. During the testing phase, the network adapter settings will be determined and documented for use with a Windows NT answer file. The following information assumes that an installation of Windows NT with the adapter to be used is available. Just as, in most cases, manually installing Windows NT requires prior knowledge of the network adapter configuration, the answer file similarly requires this information for automation.

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: Modifications to .inf files incorrectly can cause serious, system- wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from modifications of .inf files can be solved. Use this method at your own risk.

Determining an adapter's parameters can be accomplished via the Regedt32.exe utility supplied with Windows NT 4.0. Every installed network adapter has two keys in:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services

These keys are <ProductName> and <ServiceName>, and they specify the option name for the card and the instance of the card, respectively.

To find out the values of <ProductName> and <ServiceName>, check the following registry values on an already installed computer using the same adapter that you will be using:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkCards

ProductName: REG_SZ:<adapter_string>
ServiceName: REG_SZ:<adapter_string>

The string assigned to ServiceName is what is needed to locate the parameters for the instance of the network adapter installed. These parameters can be located in the registry under:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\&lt;ServiceName&gt;\Paramete

All non-string values found in the parameters key for the adapter have to converted from hexadecimal values to decimal values for the unattend file. The names of the parameters and non-numeric values can be directly translated to the unattend file.

Examples

NOTE: A semicolon is used to comment a particular line in Unattend.txt. 
[NetWork]
InstallAdapters = AdaptersList

[AdaptersList]
; DECETHERWORKSTURBO = DECETHERWORKSTURBOParams
; EE16 = EE16Params
; J2573A = J2573AParams
IEEPRO = IEEPROParams

;[DECETHERWORKSTURBOParams]
;InterruptNumber = 5
;IOBaseAddress = 768
;MemoryMappedBaseAddress = 851968
;BusType = 1
;BusNumber = 0

;[EE16Params]
;BusType = 1
;Transceiver = 3
;BusNumber = 0
;IoChannelReady = 2
;IoBaseAddress = 784
;InterruptNumber = 10

;[J2573AParams]
;BusNumber = 0
;BusType = 1
;AdapterType = 0
;BusType = 5
;MediaType = 1
;IoBaseAddress = 768
;InterruptNumber = 5

[IEEPROParams]
BusNumber = 0
BustType = 1
AdapterType = 0
BusType = 5
MediaType = 0
IoBaseAddress = 768
InterruptNumber = 5

For more information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

155197 Unattended Setup Parameters for Unattend.txt File

143134 Oemsetup.inf Modifications for Automated Windows NT Setup

155099 Creating Network Component .inf File for Unattended Setup

156876 Using UDF Files with Windows NT 4.0 Unattended Setup

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:8/9/2001
Keywords:kbinfo kbSBK kbsetup KB163554
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