Scripting installations of SQL Server 2008 is much easier than it is with SQL Server 2005 because of the ConfigurationFile.ini. Even if you don't script your installations, you should review the contents of this file to verify that the installation transpired as intended. Although it is possible to script a SQL Server 2005 installation, you can't capture an interactive installation and replay it. When SQL Server 2008 is installed, a ConfigurationFile.ini file is created in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Log\yyyymmdd_hhmmss. To use ConfigurationFile.ini with the installation wizard, select Advanced and Install based on configuration file. If you need to make changes to the file before performing another installation, it is a best practice to make a copy and work with the copy. From an auditing and compliance perspective, each installation's ConfigurationFile.ini file should be preserved in its original state as verification of the initial state of the SQL Server installation.