Create a SharePoint Slipstreamed Installation Source

Creating a slipstreamed installation source for SharePoint and MOSS is quite straightforward, and in this post we’ll create a slipstreamed installation source for MOSS with SP2;

Choose a folder in which to create the installation source: F:\Sources\SharePoint Server 2007\SP2slipinst

Copy or extract your base (standard installation media without any other slipstreamed updates) WSS or MOSS installation media to that folder as shown below. If your installation media is compressed, you can extract it using this command (using the MOSS installation as an example):

OfficeServer.exe /extract:F:\Sources\SharePoint Server 2007\SP2slipinst

The service pack updates, and any other cumulative updates you want to slipstream into the installation source, will be extracted and copied into the \Updates folder as shown below.

The order in which you extract and copy these updates to the \Updates folder is important. The order goes something like this;

1. Extract and Copy WSS Service Pack Updates
2. Extract and Copy MOSS Service Pack Updates
3. Extract and Copy WSS Cumulative/Hotfix Updates
4. Extract and Copy MOSS Cumulative/Hotfix Updates

Extract and copy the WSS SP2 updates to your SP2 slipstream installation source by entering this command;

wssv3sp2-kb953338-x86-fullfile-en-us.exe /extract:"F:\Sources\SharePoint Server 2007\SP2slipinst\Updates"

After this has completed, take a look at the \Updates folder, it will contain the WSS SP2 updates.

Now do the same for the MOSS SP2 updates;

officeserver2007sp2-kb953334-x86-fullfile-en-us.exe /extract:"F:\Sources\SharePoint Server 2007\SP2slipinst\Updates"

After this has completed, take a look at the \Updates folder, it will contain the MOSS SP2 updates.

Perform the same procedures for cumulative/hotfix updates you want to apply to your slipstream installation, taking care of the extract/copy ordering for WSS then MOSS. 

Your SP2 slipstreamed installation source is nearly ready. Notice above the 2 files highlighted, if your installation source is for MOSS, delete the wsssetup.dll file.

The slipstreamed installation source is now ready to use or burn to a DVD.

SharePoint Installation and Configuration

Probably the most complete walkthrough I’ve seen so far of Installing and Configuring a SharePoint deployment is by Rodney Viana.

He’s done a video walkthrough in 2 parts;

1. SharePoint Installation Part 1
2. SharePoint Installation Part 2

SharePoint (MOSS) 2007 Service Account Requirements

What service accounts do you need for a SharePoint / MOSS Farm installation, or a simple single-server installation on your dev box?

The answers are many and varied, and the documentation from Microsoft tends to be hard to read and convoluted to say the least – you really really really have to want to trawl through it to get the information you’re after

As far as what service accounts you need, whether they need to be domain accounts or local accounts you can find out from the documentation (obviously), having done that, you can decide to really go to town and plan an elaborate service account matrix or you can use just 2 accounts.

I’ve gone for a middle ground approach (unless needs demand otherwise) and planned a simple set of service accounts, reproduced here, which you can either use as-is for a simple farm deployment, or you can build on for a complex deployment.

I’ve also provided a link to the simplest, most readable document from Microsoft, that I came across while researching my own service account requirements.

Anyway, here’s the links;

• MOSS Farm Level Service Accounts Matrix.xlsx
• MOSS Farm Level Service Accounts Matrix.xls
• Office SharePoint Server Security Account Requirements.doc (from the Office Website)

Software Restriction Policies Prevent this Installation

Recently came across this mysterious error message when trying to install VMWare Server 2.0 on a freshly built Windows Server 2003 standalone machine, after running the installer, an error message would pop up saying;

“Software restriction policies prevent this installation.”

Which was rather strange since this machine was not part of a domain and there were no local software restriction policies in place. The first workaround was to create a local software restriction policy;

1. Open Local Security Policy Settings
2. Select Software Restriction Policies
3. Right click the Software Restriction Policies node and select New Software Restriction Policy
4. Double click Enforcement
5. Select “All users except local administrators”
6. Click OK

You might need a reboot after this, alternatively, running gpupdate may also work.

However, unsatisfied with the workaround, I checked the event logs, searched some more and found knowledge base article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925336.

In summary;

“This problem occurs if the Windows Installer process has insufficient contiguous virtual memory to verify that the .msi package or the .msp package is correctly signed.”

I undid the software restriction policy installed the hotfix and the VMWare Server installation ran fine.