Microsoft® Windows® Desktop Deployment Resource Kit

Best Practices

The following are best practices for creating Windows XP Setup answer files:

• Build a library of template answer files. Build and test answer files in a lab. Once you’ve verified them, you can confidently reuse them in your projects, and testing them is easier since you only have to regression test your changes.

• Use Windows Setup Manager to get a quick start on complex answer files. Windows Setup Manager isn’t ideal if you already have a library of answer files. But it’s a great tool for capturing a computer’s current configuration in an answer file. Windows Setup Manager is also a necessity when configuring specialized network settings, since these sections are error prone and Windows Setup Manager can capture a computer’s network ...