The Remote Boot Floppy Generator (RBFG)

If client machines don’t support booting from the network then RIS provides a utility called the Remote Boot Floppy Generator (RBFG). Using a remote boot floppy a client machine with a supported network card can boot from the network allowing it to be installed remotely.

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The RBFG utility is located on the drive on which RIS was installed. Double-click on My Computer. Open the Drive on which RIS has been installed. Open the RemoteInstall Folder. Open the Admin Folder. Open the i386 folder. Double-click on “rbfg” to open the Remote Boot Floppy Generator. The Remote Boot Floppy Generator utility will appear. To view a list of supported Network Adapters, click on Adapter List. Verify that the adapter is on the list and click on OK. To Create the disk, insert a floppy and click on Create Disk. Once the disk has been created it can be used to boot remote clients.

Installing Clients

Be aware that installing Windows using RIS will completely wipe any data that is currently on the drive. Once the RIS server is up and running, the clients are ready to be installed. N.B. You may need to configure the computer’s BIOS to boot from the network.

Allow the computer to boot from the network by either using the Remote Installation Boot Floppy or setting the computer to boot from the network. If the computer is compatible then this screen (or similar) will appear. The computer will attempt to contact a DHCP server. If the installation fails at this point, the problem probably is with the DHCP Server. All being well, the computer will receive its IP address from the DHCP server and the TFTP service will start. The client installation wizard will be downloaded to the client. An RIS server has been located. Press F12 to boot from the network. The Client Installation Wizard will appear. Hit Enter to continue. The Wizard will then prompt for the username and password. This username password must have the correct permissions for joining clients to a domain.  A warning box will appear stating that the hard drive will be formatted. Press Enter to continue. The Installation information page will appear showing the computer’s name (set from before), GUID and the RIS Server. Hit Enter to begin the installation.

Setup will resume as if booting directly from the CD-ROM. Once installation is complete the client machine will automatically be a member of the domain.