Can *datastore.xml be used to populate template.ini as a substitute for setup.iss?

Objective

Do a manual installation of SQL Server 2005 (which could be an upgrade from SQL Server 2000) and record the steps. Replay the steps for an unattended installation of SQL Server 2005.

Problem

There isn't a setup.ini file for SQL Server 2005. There is a template.ini for unattended installations of SQL Server 2005, but it doesn't obviously map to selections on manual installation dialog boxes.

Desired workaround

Capture the steps of a manual installation and use them to populate template.ini.

Relevant background for a potential solution

A manual installation creates log files. So does an unattended installation. But the unattended installation writes all of the log files into a single zip file.

What is important to know is that an unattended installation creates an additional file, a *datasource.xml file. This XML file is found in the zip file with all of the other log files. If you open this XML file, you'll see that the attribute names correspond to keywords in template.ini.

Potential solution

If a manual installation could be forced to generate a *datasource.xml file, then it should be possible to map the settings in the file to keywords in template.ini.

So, how can a *datasource.xml file be created? In post http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=359678&SiteID=1, Jeffrey Baker says "add LOGNAME=<path to cab> and run setup again". Unfortunately, these instructions are too vague. Where is this added? To the command line, to a setup.ini (if so, in which directory, and in which section should he addition be made?). I did lots of searches and couldn't find the answers.

Hi John,

In SQL2K we supported the option of "recording" the installation options to a settings file which could be used in subsequent installations. This functionality was not carried forward to SQL2K5.

Using the datasource.xml file, as mentioned above, is not a supported mechanism for creating an input template.ini file. You'll need to manually author the template.ini to contain the installation settings you wish.