Windows 2003 Enterprise Server Install Guide
Introduction
I enjoy messing around with the latest and greatest thing. Since 2003 is the latest coming out of Redmond, I thought I would give it a whirl. Here is a quick guide for installing Windows 2003 Enterprise Server Evaluation Version on your systems. Enjoy!
I purchased Windows 2003 Enterprise Server software directly from Microsoft as a "preview edition."
The cost is free for the downloadable version.
1) Shall we begin? (Image 1.1) After configuring the system for booting from a CD, the Windows Setup screen appears. At this point, Setup is loading the driver files it needs to continue with installation. |
2) Time Limited: (Image 1.2) The "Time Limited" warning screen appears with the option of Continuing Setup or Quitting. Press ENTER to Continue Setup or F3 to Quit and reboot the system. |
3) Welcome to Setup: (Image 1.3) The "Welcome to Setup" screen appears with the option of Continuing Setup, Repair a previous installation, or Quitting. Press ENTER to Continue Setup. You may also choose R to Repair, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system. |
4) Windows Licensing Agreement: (Image 1.4) The "Windows Licensing Agreement" screen, otherwise known as "EULA," displays the legal in's and out's of this particular software package. You may press F8 to signify that you agree with the terms, hit ESC if you do not agree and PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN to scroll through each screen. Note: If you do not agree to the terms, setup will quit and reboot the system. |
5) Hard drive partition information: (Image 1.5) Hard drive partition information is now displayed. This varies with each systems hardware configuration. This example already has a partition defined. I will choose not to use this and create a new one by pressing D. You may skip this and the next few steps if you do not have any partitions defined. At this point, the options include pressing ENTER to Install on the selected partition, D to Delete the selected partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system. |
6) Warning screen: (Image 1.6) After pressing D to delete the selected partition, a warning screen appears explaining the pitfalls of deleting it. This particular screen only appears when the partition selected to be deleted is formatted as a bootable system partition. Other partitions will display the next screen. I want this to happen, so I press ENTER to Continue. The options include pressing ENTER to Continue, or ESC to Cancel. |
7) Confirmation screen: (Image 1.7) A confirmation screen that displays the logical drive, what file system the partition is currently using, the size in MB and controller information. Options include L to Delete the partition and ESC to Cancel the action. |
8) No partitions have been previously defined: (Image 1.8) If no partitions have been previously defined, this screen will be displayed. You may section your hard drive in as many partitions as you wish by selecting C to Create a Partition and then entering in a value less then the total available. Here, I will Create a Partition in the highlighted, unused portion. Select the partition you wish to install to using the UP arrow and DOWN ARROW keys. Press ENTER to use the highlighted partition and Install, C to Create a Partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system. |
9) Enter in the partition size: (Image 1.9) Enter in the partition size in MB within the displayed minimum and maximum. I picked the default or maximum available here. You may choose ENTER to Create the new partition or ESC to Cancel the action. |
10) Continue to create partitions: (Image 1.10) Continue to create partitions until all space is used or the configuration meets your requirements. Note: a small portion will be unavailable to partition. This is normal. In this example, it is 8 MB. I chose drive C: or Partition1 to install the Operating System. You may choose ENTER to Install to the selected partition, D to Delete the highlighted Partition, or F3 to Quit and reboot the system. |
11) Format the partition: (Image 1.11) Since this OS supports NTFS, format the partition with it. If you do not, many folder and file security features will be unavailable. Note: If you are dual booting your system, a previous OS will not be able to read the local information. This is a fact with Windows 9x and Me. If you have a requirement to view this partition from another OS installed on the system, do not format it as NTFS. Also, the boot partition must be formatted with FAT32 if you wish to dual boot. I have found no problems accessing a NTFS partition mapped as a network drive from an older OS. Select what format you wish to use by pressing the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys. Press ENTER to confirm your selection and Continue or ESC to Cancel. |
12) Setup formats the partition: (Image 1.12) Watch the progress bar as Setup formats the partition, or get up and get a soda. It may take awhile. |
13) Setup copies various files: (Image 1.13) After the partition is finished formatting, Setup copies various files to support booting from the hard drive and continue on. |
14) Creates various information files: (Image 1.14) Setup then creates various information files required to continue on with setup. |
15) Press ENTER to Restart: (Image 1.15) The first reboot and the end of the blue background has arrived. If you are impatient, press ENTER to Restart before the 15 seconds expire. ENTER to Restart the Computer is the only option available. 16) Windows Server 2003 boot screen: (Image 2.1) The new Windows Server 2003 Family boot screen is displayed. 17) Windows Server 2003 Installation: (Image 2.2) If you have installed Windows XP Home or Professional before, this screen will look familiar. Take note, the color scheme has changed from "blue" to "gray." Sit back. It may be awhile. 18) Region and Input Languages: (Image 2.3) A little while later, you will be prompted with options of configuring your Region and Input Languages. The default was fine for me, so I selected Next. Options include Customize button, Details Button, plus the standard Back and Next. 19) Enter in your Name: (Image 2.4) Enter in your Name and optional Organization information, then select the Next button. Select the Next button to continue. 20) 25 digit Product Key: (Image 2.5) Thought you could get away from it? Think again. Enter your unique 25 digit Product Key that came with your CD or download, then select the Next button. 21) Configure the Licensing mode. (Image 2.6) I usually select "Per Server," but choose what ever License mode that you have purchased. Options are Per server or Per seat. Per server is usually used for a single-server network. Per client is used if all of the concurrent connections is higher than the number of clients or seats that you have. Complete explanations of all licensing options is available from Microsoft directly and beyond the scope of this guide. Select the Next button to continue. 22) Enter a Computer name and an Administrator Password: (Image 2.7) The "suggested" name for the computer is always really whacked out. Choose one that meets your needs. Enter an Administrator Password now. It is very important that you keep this information safe and remember what it is! Select the Next button to continue. 23) Not a strong Password: (Image 2.8) If the chosen password does not meet acceptable guidelines, a warning box will appear with suggestions on how to make the system more secure. Do it. "01Pa$$word" is still not a good choice, but it meets the criteria. Think of something secure and never lose or forget it. 24) Date, Time and Time Zone: (Image 2.9) Configure the proper information for the Date, Time and Time Zone here. Select the Next button to continue. 25) Network is installing: (Image 2.10) Faster development of applications, but still slow install times. Wait here while the Network is installing. 26) Network Settings Dialog: (Image 3.1) The Network Settings Dialog is next. Under usual circumstances, the Typical settings are fine, but I never choose them so I can poke around under the hood. I selected Custom settings here. Choose your method and select the Next button. 27) Custom settings: (Image 3.2) In the Custom settings, many options are abound. I cannot go into all of them here, but I will hit on the high points. With this configuration, I will not be using Network Load Balancing, so I left it in the default position of unchecked. 28) File and Print Sharing: (Image 3.3) File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks has several options not available with Windows XP Home or Professional. For this system, I will leave it at the default of Maximize data throughput for file sharing. 29) TCP/IP Properties: (Image 3.4) TCP/IP Properties contains the standard options. Adjust them for your particular needs as required. For now, I kept the default settings. Basically, it is using DHCP to configure TCP/IP. If you are using a static IP address, enter in the proper information here. Select the Advanced button to further configure your TCP/IP options. 30) Workgroup or Computer Domain: (Image 3.5) Workgroup or Computer Domain, that is the question. I am not going to set up this system as a domain controller, so I will place it as a member of a workgroup. Please, change "WORKGROUP" to something else. I hate defaults. :) Select the Next button after making your choice. 31) Install screen: (Image 3.6)  Every Microsoft OS states in the install screen that it is "the best ever." It is a big subject of debate whether it could get any worse. The system will reboot after all files have been copied over to the install partition. Now may be a good time to take a break. It may be awhile. 32) Windows 2003 is starting up: (Image 4.1) The moment we have all been waiting for, Windows 2003 is starting up "for the first time." Remember that quoted statement with Windows 95 setup? 33) Three Finger Salute: (Image 4.2) Hit the "Three Finger Salute" combination of Ctrl+Alt+Delete to login to the Administrator account. You did remember your password, right?!? 34) Log in dialog: (Image 4.3) Enter your password to login to the Administrator account. Select OK to continue. 35) Welcome Screen: (Image 4.4) A welcoming screen is included with tools to manage the server. The initial screen resolution is set to 640 x 480. You may select the popup balloon to raise that up to 800 x 600 automatically. 36) Manage Your Server: (Image 4.5) 800 x 600 is a wonderful thing. Now you can see all of the "Manage Your Server" screen. My choice was to check the box "Don't display this page at logon" in the bottom left. This concludes Black Viper's Guide to installing Windows 2003 Enterprise Server. I hope this page helped you out or gave you a sneak peek at what is to come. |