Installing Third-Party Video Drivers with Txtsetup.oem Unattended

ID: Q166028

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

By default, Windows NT 4.0 unattended setup uses a detection method to determine which video driver to use. If no video driver can be initialized, the default VGA driver will be used.

The following types of video adapters are known not to be automatically detected in Windows NT 4.0:


MORE INFORMATION

To prepare for the installation of an OEM video driver, perform the following steps:

  1. Copy the I386 directory from the Windows NT 4.0 compact disc to a server, and then share the directory.


  2. In the I386 directory, create an $OEM$ directory.


  3. In the $OEM$ directory, create a Textmode directory.


  4. Copy the OEM video drivers to the Textmode directory created in Step 3(XXXXXXXX.dll, XXXXXXXX.sys).


  5. Create a Txtsetup.oem file and place it in the Textmode directory. This file tells Windows NT Setup how to install the DLL and SYS drivers, and how to configure the registry.

    To simplify the creation of the Txtsetup.oem file, copy the example provided and save it as Txtsetup.oem.

    The following is the format for Txtsetup.oem. In most cases, this file requires very little modification: 
    
[Disks]
d1 = "OEM Video Disk",\OEMVideo.tag,\ 

[Defaults]
DISPLAY = S3Virge

[DISPLAY]
S3Virge = "S3 Virge - OEM"

[Files.display.S3Virge]
driver = d1,s3virge.sys,s3virge
dll = d1,s3virge.dll

[Config.s3virge]
value=device0,InstalledDisplayDrivers,REG_MULTI_SZ,S3ViRGE
value=device0,VgaCompatible,REG_DWORD,0

    This is a standard Txtsetup.oem file that installa the S3 Virge video driver that is supplied in the Drvlib directory on the Windows NT 4.0 compact disc.


  6. Add OEMPreInstall = YES to the [Unattended] section of the answer file.

    This is used to tell Setup that the $OEM$ directory is going to be used during setup. For example: 
    
[Unattended]
OemPreInstall = Yes


  7. Ensure that the NtUpgrade value in the Unattend section of Unattend.txt is not set to Yes. 
    
[Unattended]
NtUpgrade = yes

    If NtUpgrade is set to Yes, the installation appears to run normally, but the OEM drivers will not be installed. If you need NtUpgrade set to Yes, you can perform the following steps to automate the procedure:


    1. Use the RunOnce key as described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:


      2. ARTICLE-ID: Q167012
      TITLE : Setting Control Panel Tools to Start After Unattended Setup
    2. Place the command "Rundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL Desk.cpl @0,3" (case sensitive) in the Run-once key to bring up the desktop tool and have it open to the Settings tab.


    3. You can then create a script that installs the OEM drivers.


  8. Add the [DisplayDrivers] section to the answer file. 
    
[DisplayDrivers]
"S3 Virge - OEM" = "OEM"

[Display]
BitsPerPel = 16
XResolution = 800
YResolution = 600
VRefresh = 60
AutoConfirm = 1


  9. Add the [OEMBootFIles] section to the answer file. 
    
[OEMBootfiles]
S3VIRGE.SYS
S3VIRGE.DLL
TXTSETUP.OEM

    The example provided is only part of the answer file needed for a complete Windows NT 4.0 unattended installation.


The following is an example for the Matrox Millennium drivers supplied by Matrox from its download service. Steps 1-8 above are the same, the difference being the name of the driver files, option name, and the registry options. 

[Disks]
d1 = "OEM Video Disk",\oemvideo.tag,\ 

[Defaults]
DISPLAY = MGA64

[DISPLAY]
MGA64 = "my mga64 driver - oem"

[Files.display.mga64]
driver = d1,mga64.sys,mga64
dll = d1,mga64.dll

[Config.mga64]
value=device0,InstalledDisplayDrivers,REG_MULTI_SZ,mga64
value=device0,VgaCompatible,REG_DWORD,0

The following is an example of the required information needed in the unattended answer file: 

[Unattended]
OemPreInstall = Yes

[DisplayDrivers]
"my mga64 driver - oem" = "OEM"

[Display]
BitsPerPel = 16
XResolution = 800
YResolution = 600
VRefresh = 60
AutoConfirm = 1

[OEMBootfiles]
MGA64.SYS
MGA64.DLL
TXTSETUP.OEM

NOTE: This method of installing video drivers will only install the video driver itself. Additional utilities or applications provided by the manufacturer will have to be installed through other methods. Contact the video driver vendor for information on automation options for their products.

The products listed here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

For the latest information on Windows NT deployment, download the Windows NT 4.0 Deployment Guide from the following location:
http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/
For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q155197
TITLE : Unattended Setup Parameters for Unattend.txt File

ARTICLE-ID: Q178275
TITLE : Unattended Installation Using AGP Video Cards 


Keywords          : kbsetup ntsetup ntdriver ntreskit NTSrvWkst 
Version           : winnt:4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: February 13, 1999