Johnhc:
Your example is correct.

TranceEnergy:
I don't entirely understand your problem, could you post a screenshot?

Imagine Add/Remove Programs in Control panel? You start it, and you see 2 entries for visual basic runtime files for x86 f.ex
Not just 1 entry. Sorry for bad writing. One other thing tho i have had much trouble with disk.sys since i bought new computer, always used xp pro x64 since it came out almost, and now have random disk.sys bsods. I was only wondering if there is some update that could cause instability on some part with disk.sys? It's driving me crazy. Not that i arent already. On Vista x64, no trouble, so it is the os.

One more thing, .Net framework 1.1 on x64, xp at least.
I know it will install and installer works great, tho small notice on install. Is not .net 1.1 needed because 2.0/3.0 does not contain it?
Also if i do not install .net 1.1 on xp x64 and i run CCleaner, then it will find missing registry keys for .net 1.1
At least thats what i remember it reports, it could be that ccleaner just doesnt understand like variables for windows paths f.ex %systemroot%. (tho it does understand that, but x64 has some folders 32bit doesnt have, and there may be 'conflict' in ccleaner there on x64 versions).

Kurt, Thanks again!
John

Kurt,
In going line by line through your RUN1_XP-64.BAT file, I came up with some questions and a comment:
1. You install Visual C++. Is this your preference or does something else need it?
2. You install VirtualBox and VirtualPC. My searching indicated that neither support x64 guest systems. Is this correct? BTW, I find VMware Server great!
3. The name of the DirectX installer is now directx_mar2008_redist.exe since the latest update.
Thanks, John.

On a sidenote Visual Basic 2008 runtime files have been out on the market for a while.
I havent downloaded the x64 version yet, so i dont know 100% that it exists, but i would believe so.
The directx installer here runs from %Source%DX9c\DXsetup.exe /Silent, which is from the extracted directx_mar2008_redist.exe.
No problems here installing that. I talk to friend who is a programmer and he uses c+ express 2008 edition, which he says is very popular.
Coding games demos etc. I am curious, if 2008 version contains backwards compability, and system can be patched so 2005 version is not needed.
But as i wrote in previous post, i think certain installers, ie the ATI drivers installer, forces the 2005 install anyway.

No new updates this month.

KB943729 (Group Policy Preference Client Side Extensions) still doesn't work properly with Windows Update, if it's still not working next month it will be dropped.

Added information on testing:
I use VMware Server for testing purposes, it's free but has some limitations (no sound for one) and requires registration. Before downloading and installing, use this tool to ensure that your processor will support 64-bit guests. Silent installation of Virtual Machine extensions is supported, there is a file "windows.iso" at "\Program Files (x86)\VMware\server" extract its contents and save them to \AddOns\VMware.

The good news for the month is that there is a new version of the WMP11 slipstreamer out (v1.2) that fixes the problems with XP x64 integration. So you can once again get your Boooggy on.


JohnHC:
1. Visual C++ is entirely optional, just like .Net, Defender, et al. I've restructured the download list to make this clearer.
2. You are correct in that neither Virtualbox nor VirtualPC support 64-bit guests. They are supported for installation in Run1_XP-64.bat because compared to VMware server they are about 1/5 the size, take about 1/10 the time to install and do not require registration. The most useful O.S. for a user of XP x64 to virtualize is Win 98se, for this VirtualPC 2007 is best (VirtualBox doesn't properly support 98se).
3. As TranceEnergy noted, you missed the part about EXTRACTing the DirectX redistributable, again I've made it clearer.

Trance Energy:
I haven't included .Net 1.1 because it isn't officially supported on XP x64, yes I know it can be made to work but as far as is feasible this guide will use only those programs / runtimes that are officially supported.
I was going to include the Visual C++ 2008 runtimes, but Microsoft brilliantly decided to give the file the exact same name as the Visual C++ 2005 SP1 runtimes. As I've come across a program that requires the 05 version (and won't work with the 08 one), guess which version gets the slot?
As I've never encountered your double entry problem (even on my ATI chipset laptop I use for testing), I don't think I'll be able to help you.

Kurt, Thanks again!
I indeed did not see the part about extracting DirectX.
I was just about to start looking at how to silently install VMware Tools, so thank you very much for that.
John

I used to use wmp ss 0.991 i think it was, with no problem, i deleted the old version yesterday so dont really know if it was 0.991 or 0.996 lol.
Anyway wmp ran just fine, tho i am currently moving more to using only portable firefox with media connectivity plugin, so to use vlc or mplayer instead of wmp.

One quick thing about wmp11 and its integration: upon finished install if i go into sysoc.inf file and delete "hide" from wmp11 files, i can remove certain extra files from add/remove in control panel. I dont know if it actually does anything, but it looks like it anyway.
I find the wmp11 network and sharing services or what they were called, bloatware, annyoing at best.
Maybe it could be made a registry file or something so the extra wmp crap can be deleted upon install or so.
I'm also hoping nuhi will take a better look at x64 after a while. the Iasjet service has been laying around as dead meat for ages now.
Ie the service entry and name are all there, except the service doesnt exist as its removed,that is on my test install showed here.

Kurt,
I have been installing a few items at a time (I have allocated only 4GB virtual C disk) using your procedures and have run into a problem with .NET 3.5. Somewhere in the middle of the install, my host computer suddenly restarted. I found nothing in my host System log or my guest System log. I copied the install file from the DVD to my guest DT. I checked the hash and it was correct, then executed it with no problems. A few steps into the install, it gave me a dialog about DLing 65 MB. It did not identify what was being DLed, but it completed (an told me I could close my Internet connection) and proceeded with no problems. I assume (perhaps falsely) that there is no Internet connection at the time your procedure is running. This all brings up a few questions:
1. What was it DLing?
2. Is this what crashed my host?
3. How can I get around this problem (assuming it repeats; only tried once) ?
4. Have you installed .NET 3.5 with no problems?

Thanks for any help.
John

JohnHC:
4GB? That's a bit cheap, I'd recommend at least twice that. I allocate a 16GB dynamic virtual HDD on a USB HDD attached to my laptop when testing. With the full application loadout that I test it uses 6GB.

To your host computer, your VM experiments just look like another application, admittedly one with more intense disk usage and deeper hooks than most. Probably the best comparison is to an Anti-Virus scan. In other words it's extremely unlikely that your host crashing has anything to do with the guest installing .Net 3.5

1. As the .Net installation was crashed midway, the installation would have been damaged. The download would most likely be something to do with the repair.
2. It did not crash the host, these are not the droids you're looking for...
3. Try again, hard to see how it's anything but a freak coincidence.
4. I've never had any problems installing .Net 3.5 in at least 10 trials.

All my install tests are done with the VM having no net connection and I recommend real installs be done the same way. Vista is a bit different in that it checks for driver updates as part of the install, hence installing while connected behind a router makes sense in Vista's case.


TranceEnergy:
The problem with the WMP11 slipstreamer was that WMP11 would not initialize in limited accounts (Boooggy said there were some other problems as well), so if you only run as an administrator, you wouldn't have come across the problem. Also the limited account problem was a regression bug, it didn't exist in version 0.96 or earlier of the slipstreamer (but KB941569 wouldn't integrate). That being said, I don't use WMP11 either, I use Media Player Classic (less resource use and I don't have a music library to manage).

The one thing I'd really like fixed is the Windows Update service when IE7 is integrated, my method of altering the link's properties, while it works, is a bit dodgy.

Ok thanks for clearing things up! I have sucessfully installed xp pro x64 sp2 all fixes all ie7 all wmp11, with dotnet3.5 at a 3GB virtual c disk with no problems. However, you MUST have Print spooler set to automatic! It will fail if not or crash or whatever, here it simply stopped half way with some obcsure error msg. I googled it and sure enough, Print spooler must be active.

Click to view attachmentKurt,
I installed the same DVD on the same VM and had no problems.

I do have a candidate for the crash. I began having DCOM errors show up in my System log after I installed VMware Server on my host. I have attached a screen shot. When I applied the fix, the DCOM errors stopped. On at least one occasion, my host rebooted while I was watching and a DCOM error (actually an identical pair) showed in my System log. I am now seeing the paired DCOM errors in the log on my guest VMs. I think the errors are in response to something VMware Server is doing. MS has a fix here: KB899965 (not an update).

You might look at your System logs on both your host(s) and guest(s) and see if you are having the same errors.

Thanks for your response.
John

I've taken a look at the event logs.

On the host there are some DCOM errors, but the times don't match to when I was installing XP x64 in VMware server (and they didn't cause a reboot either).

On the guest there are exactly the same paired errors (same ID numbers), but as far as I can tell they resulted in no actual problems (certainly no reboots). Checking the ID string in the registry returns "HWDeviceCustomProperties", not particularly useful.

Kurt,
I found the DCOM errors in my host log even when I was not doing much if anything with VMware. The errors began after I installed VMware. Most of the errors do not seem to cause a problem, but I have seen several reboots (2 or 3) and one when I was watching that was well correlated to the DCOM error in the host log. I seem to remember that I was was editing a file but VMware was running.
You are right, the 'HWDeviceCustomProperties' is not very helpful. I just Googled it and found a lot of people had problems with it including 'DCOM is crashing my system'. You have to use the GUID ({B1B9CBB2-B198-47E2-8260-9FD629A2B2EC} on both my host and guest) to access the DCOM Config page in Components Services. Mine is near the bottom with other items without a so called 'friendly name'.
I have seen no more DCOM errors in my host log since I applied the fix.
Enjoy.
John

Hey Kurt.

On the booogy website there's a link to all wmp hotfixes, about 10-12 that works fine to integrate. How come you only link to 4 of them?
Or is it that the rest is just bloat? I dont know really.

Partly it's a difference in objectives, the purpose of my guide is to have an install media that's fully up to date as far as Windows Update is concerned. That is, the main focus will always be on security related bugs and just for that there's well over half a GB of downloads already. OK, so I add some popular runtimes, but they're marked as optional.

Also most of the hotfixes listed by Boooggy are for fairly exotic circumstances, it's probably safe to say that the vast majority of users will never encounter the situations described (if it was a common occurrence then they would be pushed out by Windows Update).

Another reason is that there is no page at the Microsoft download center for many of the listed hotfixes (which goes against the open and standardized as possible philosophy of this guide).

This is great thank you! I've already tested it and so far everything looks in working order. Building a new system that this will be going on.

This is probably not the place to post this, but I would be interested in making a graphical update pack to xp x64, but i've constantly checked on xpize and there's no x64bit support because they dont have the required software sources or something like that to make it happen.

It would be neat if i could make custom icons and all for it and was hoping possibly there could be some tools to assist in this task?

edit: I did a test in vmware earlier today, and when having installed a *very* lite, tho still usuable x64 with only updates being ie7 as far as hotfixes are concerned, i was able to leave out a few hotfixes, this i tested, among them was 180-IE7-WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB938127-x64-ENU.exe,
However, i had removed lots from image. I just thought it would be neat if a small comment could be made that, especially true for example outlook express, that if you remove such stuff you may not need the hotfix. Saved me another 17mb compressed on iso =)

Also i was searching for nlite addon maker tool, because i wanted to make addon of latest amd dual core optimizer. Knowing you also have amd Kurt, perhaps you know of such tool. I found one version of Amd DCO nlite addon, but it was from 2006, and not current version AFAIK.

One more thing, trying to do a silent install of dotnetfx, .net framework 1.1 clean from ms, with /Q doesnt work as quietly as it does show the warning message that it wasnt made for x64 OS. The .net 1.1 service pack and hotfix work just fine with /Q parameters.
Would be neat if there was a way around this..

I would also like to see that you include a comment about .net 3.5's parameter for language install. If i , also tested, runs without it and have help service etc, languages intact it installs norwegian language pack here, at least if internet connection is active. Very annyoing for me.
It should default to lang:enu as that would skip any language pack installation. Less bloat is good.

New Installer for Microsoft MSI 4.5, 64bit individual version available.

Many programs use MSI as installer, and having latest version of this is good then i would assume?

Program link here contains link to x64 versions. Choose WindowsServer2003-KB942288-v4-x64.exe, 4.5 MB for xp/2003 64bit.

Silent install is possible. /quiet /passive /norestart for example.
Other parameters include /nobackup and /overwriteoem.

There's also a /integrate parameter, but how that would work i dont know.
If its ment to integrate with xp source and what not.

update: more info on new installer, apparently it is much better in several areas =)
One thing i liked, quote :
"One major bug fix which developers will appreciate has to do with prior Installers' tendency to clean up too much after themselves, often removing interim components that were necessary to later steps in the process. In a post last month to the Windows Installer team blog, one developer wrote, "When a patch added new content in the form of a new component and that patch was being uninstalled, we used to remove that content, even if that content is shared by other products. This is now fixed in Windows Installer 4.5."

Link to quote and info

New Microsoft Desktop Search 4.0 for Windows xp/2003 x64bit edition available.
WindowsSearch-KB940157-Srv2K3_XP-x64-enu.exe /q /u /z
/q is for quiet install, /u for unattended mode, /z for norestart.

Download link here

It install Windows Search service as seen in Vista.

Searchindexer.exe (26MB memory used by process) and WindowsSearch.exe (8MB memory used by process), are running after installation.
No reboot required. Might be needed for uninstall if you have not closed programs.

Depends on having Terminal Services installed. Do not remove if you want this program.

MDS 4.0 is not to be confused with indexing service, you dont need that installed for this to work, as far as i can tell.
Tested with /u /z parameters. Flawless install.

Open Al.
Sound dll files needed for some games to run properly. Might refuse to start if this is not installed.

Direct download link here
OpenAL Webpage here

Tested with "%Source%Myprograms\oalinst.exe /F /NU /S", dont need uninstaller imho.

/F or /f or -F or -f Bypasses any verification and version checking and forces the installer to install both the OpenAL32.dll and wrap_oal.dll components.
/NU or /nu or -NU or -nu Prevents an uninstaller from being installed.
/R or /r or -R or -r Use error codes to report OpenAL installation issues -- 0 for no issues (default), 1 for "reboot required", and 2 for "write access denied".
/S or /s or -S or -s The installation runs in silent mode. Nothing will be displayed.

Punkbuster silent install. PB is a service that installs itself into the os, providing anti-cheating service for online games.

pbsvc.exe /i --no-prompts --i-accept-the-pb-eula

Direct download link here
Punkbuster website (FAQ with link) here

Tested and works. However, if you have removed windows firewall with nlite, you will get an error saying couldnt get currentprofile.
Dont know how to bypass that one, except keeping firewall. sigh..

June updates

Deletions:
Hotfix\250-WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB941568-x64-ENU.exe
Hotfix\350-Windows-en-US-KB943729-x64.exe
Hotfix\390-WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB948881-x64-ENU.exe
Hotfix\400-IE7-WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB947864-x64-ENU.exe

Modifications:
Merge dotNET\ & Defender\ into RunOnce\ (as there are now several other core OS updates)
Rename Hotfix\800-*-KB925876-*.exe to 095-*-KB925876-*.exe (now just one of many optionals)

Additions:
Hotfix\
@ 040-WindowsServer2003-KB942288-v4-x64.exe [4,691,480] Optional, Windows Installer 4.5
@ 350-Windows-en-US-KB943729-x64_b9de932f286c62685fed238462a38d734b36ff18.exe [889,912] Forum Thread Optional, Group Policy Preference Client Side Extensions
@ 390-WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB951698-x64-ENU.exe [5,493,808]
@ 400-WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB950760-x64-ENU.exe [670,256]
@ 410-WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB950762-x64-ENU.exe [766,000]
# 420-IE7-WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB950759-x64-ENU.exe [37,173,808] Direct link to .exe

% EXTRACT the latest (Jun 08) DirectX redistributable to \DirectX_9c [78,559,776] Direct link to .exe
MD5: 938C77A3DDF6A8806E05BFAD71CA133D
SHA1: 9F6EFE6F4A40EA3E1615CC70EDAD72AFF95C737D

RunOnce\
@ WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB951376-x64-ENU.exe [831,024]
@ WindowsUpdateAgent30-x64.exe [6,880,112]

AddOns\
TweakUIPowertoySetup_amd64.exe [164,920]


I have to say that it inspires confidence when the version of KB943729 (Group Policy Preference Client Side Extensions) posted on the Windows download site is not only outdated but still not fixed after more than 2 months.


Added Windows Desktop Search and Comodo Firewall (requires 7-Zip) to the supported applications list but removed Orbit downloader as the latest installer launches an IE session.

TweakUI is a unofficial Microsoft powertoy that acts as a one stop shop for User Interface configuration. This is the (hard to find) x64 version, unfortunately it does not seem to have a silent install option.


HJW & TranceEnergy:
As I've noted previously, this guide will use the official Microsoft installers whenever possible and the applications installed by Run1_XP-64.bat will be ones I use or can test. This means I can't include all your AddOns and/or suggestions.

However, if you wish to designate one particular post or a separate topic as a repository for your additions, I'll link to it in the main post.

Great update Kurt!

Reason why i posted them programs with silent installer options is mainly because they are system integrated and doesnt go into any customizable 'program files directory' per nature.
I will consider making such a post as you say, and keep it clean. Perhaps later today.
In any case i will keep following your guide. A true timesaviour. Thank you so much!

A small reminder for anyone thinking of doing a fresh install, microsoft removal tool is updated every month, and june version is out as well, the 1.42.
I dont mean to be an jack a** but i see there is Adobe reader on the list, when Foxit PDF reader is so much more lightweight and faster, doesnt add it self to startup or anything.
There are several versions for download, i used the .msi version as it clearly allows to be installed with f.ex "/passive /norestart" parameters. Install takes 1 second on my puter.
From website:

What's New in Foxit Reader 2.3 (downloads here)
Foxit Reader 2.3 is just released. The new version 2.3 includes a multimedia player feature allowing Foxit users to not only read PDFs, but to watch and listen to the audio/video elements coming with PDFs as well


Cheers.

Kurt,
Thanks much for the latest updates.
I do have some questions:
1)Where do I find info on and the DL for TweakUIPowertoySetup_amd64.exe?
2)I see you have placed KB951376 outside of nLite. I assume that is because it won't integrate in nLite?
3)It is great you figured out how to silently install CFP, but I see the BO protection is not installed. Is there anyway to get this installed?
4)Not prompted by latest updates - It seems about half of my VMware installs do not have a Quick Launch bar capability (the folder is missing). I thought this was some tweak I was using in nLite but it is random. I have been building multiple ISOs with only your files or WPI files changing. Sometime Quick launch is available and sometimes not. I am beginning to think it may be the Shutdown at the end of RUN1 (killing some process that is installing the QL folder). Is there any other options? Perhaps placing the Shutdown in the commands in the nLite Runonce area without the /F?

Thanks again.

Enjoy, John.

Quick reply before I go to work:

1. Connect to the torent, it's in the \AddOns folder. Basic info here.
2. Correct.
3. Not that I know.
4. I haven't encountered this problem, but try removing the shutdown command and manually rebooting, see if it consistently goes away.

Kurt, an alternative way to install directx, while still using your batch file approach. Tested and seems to work fine in Vmware, going to try on real install. :

directx_jun2008_redist.exe /t:"%temp%" /q
pushd "%temp%"
start /wait DXSETUP.exe /silent
popd


As you can see, this bypasses the need to extract the redistributable file, as it does so on showtime.
pushd is command to specify which directory to go to, and popd will erase content of temp.
Of course, paths to files must be present. popd and pushd are windows commands.
So %Source%directx_jun2008_redist.exe f.example.

TranceEnergy:
You're right, that's a cleaner way to do it, or you could look at it as one less thing for the end user to have to do (& possibly stuff up).

The current method is a holdover from my Windows 2000 guide. In that guide I have UpdatePrep.bat delete all the x64.cab files from the extracted DirectX, this saves 27MB on the install media compared to the unextracted file. Of course as hardly any x64 boxes would only have a CD drive, space used on the install media is not a big deal like it is with W2K boxes.

I'll implement the change on the next update.


JohnHC:
Try the attached batch file (be sure to rename it back to a .bat file), I've modified the shutdown command so that it should allow the Administrator account to fully initialize. You'll also have to re-run nLite and drop the "Pause" at the end of the RunOnce commands (as below) and put the UNextracted DirectX installer at \RunOnce.



Define BO protection, as (thankfully) I can't smell you from here, is it perhaps already working?

Yes, i like it better this way, since fewer files on dvd and it's cleaner, at least i think so, it makes future managment easier.
I'm going to simply rename the directx_jun2008_redist.exe into mydirectsetup.exe so i dont have to edit the batch file for each directx update (and have to extract it and so forth every time)
A small detail yes, but such small details added together makes for a better install in the long run. Automated tasks are nice.

I think i also have found a good way to disable pagefile via batch file, and finally found out the right registry settings to perfectly disable mouse acceleration, if you're interested.
I'm so looking forwarding to a real re-install atm. Now if only booogy could add some removal options of DRM in wmp11, so i dont have to do it myself =), this is getting somewhere (i found also ways to remove several things i deemed not necessary for wmp to function, such as portable devices, network sharing, and so on.)

Kurt,
Thanks for your replies.

BO = Buffer Overflow. Learned this term on the Comodo forum.
I should have said SafeSurf. When Comodo is installed with the protection you will see ASKtoolbar, SafeSurf as well as CFP in Add/Remove. When the silent switch is used, I only see CFP there. The bad news is: if CFP is installed without SafeSurf, you must remove Comodo and reinstall to get SS installed.

I will try your RUN1 file, but since I have extensively modified your original file, I will just try the 120 Shutdown time and remove the Pause via nLite. Since I defined a user account in nLite, your program runs under it and not the Administrator account. My defined account has administrative privileges.
I would rather not have a timer dependency. If I remove the /F, will the Shutdown wait for tasks to complete or abandon the restart?

Probably is a good thing you are some distant away. My Radio Shack outdoor thermometer reported 109F yesterday and has already hit 100F today.

Thanks again.
Enjoy, John.

Well, I built an ISO with nLite with no problem and started the Install under VMware Server (using the ISO file as a virtual CD) and at about t-14, my system crashed. I reset and started up VMware install again and my system crashed when I was selecting the options to format the disk. I did not use VMware for a week because of the crashes I was having. I had moved form 1.0.5 to 1.0.6 to see if that would would help but it seemed to make it worse. Last Saturday, I removed 1.0.6 and installed 1.0.4 (since Kurt said he had no crash problems). I ran Saturday and Sunday with no problems. I opened a discussion on the VMware Server forum (posting my minidumps and VM logs) a couple weeks ago and have received no response. I also opened a Service Request against the Beta version (the install hung) at the same time and have received no response. I am going to have to retreat and think about this for a while. My system has always been very stable and this really surprises and scares me. I DLed the necessary SW to look at the minidumps and so far they all show the process to be vmware-vmx.exe. I should point out that I really don't know what I am looking at or for but I do see the tracks of VMware. I installed these tools on my VM so I have not looked at the last two dumps, so don't know what they show.
Enjoy, John.

Is there a reason why you don't include sp3? Is sp3 bad or something? I was just wondering since u said it was updated till June.

COKEDUDEUSF,
Are your sure you're replying to the correct forum topic? This topic is about Win XP x64 Edition and there is no SP3. SP2 is the latest Service Pact at this time and may the last for all time.
Enjoy, John.

Yes I'm sure. Look here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en
The date published is May 6.

Quote from the link you provide:

" * Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP; Windows XP Home Edition ; Windows XP Home Edition N; Windows XP Media Center Edition; Windows XP Professional Edition ; Windows XP Professional N; Windows XP Service Pack 1; Windows XP Service Pack 2; Windows XP Starter Edition; Windows XP Tablet PC Edition "


Where does it say 64 bit in there?

64bit XP is NOT the same as 32bit xp and never, ever will be.

Yo, CokeDude:
Try to think of Windows XP Pro x64 as Windows Server 2003 home edition, that's what it really is (note all the hotfixes are in the form WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB******-x64-ENU.exe). It uses the same code base Windows Server 2003 x64, just with the server extensions stripped out.

Windows XP (Home or Prof) -> NT kernel 5.1 x86
Windows XP Pro x64 edition -> NT kernel 5.2 x64

They are NOT compatible at the hotfix or service pack level.


JohnHC:
Never had problem like that, the only thing that comes to mind is some sort of weird driver conflict.

A few notes on that revised Run1_XP-64.bat file, my initial testing didn't include applications (OS only). As a result of testing with the full app loadout:
1. Increase the shutdown timeout to 240 (that's when my USB HDD settled down, if paranoid try 300).
2. Make sure start precedes it >> Start ShutDown /R /F /T 240
3. You'll have to add /NoRestart to VMware tools installation.

I've reuploaded the file with these changes.


Comodo Firewall has never been silent install friendly, version 2.4 had no silent install capability (someone made a switchless installer, but only by installing, repacking & using 1001 reg entries). With version 3 they said silent install would possible but provided no documentation as to how.

When asked on the forums one of the mods said to try the "-s", which only "worked" with the extracted installer and in reality the installer crashed when fed that switch. Note that a silent install friendly app will accept -S, /s & /S as well as -s, not Comodo, nor does it give any info when fed /?. As I have no way of knowing what is hard coded into the installer, for now what you get is what you get.

Kurt, while talking about firewalls, is there any alternative that will effectively replace windows firewall and sort of can act is it was it?
I'm trying to add windows firewall back in my preset, but it's been so long since i've used it i have forgotten all its dependencies. I have ALG with it, but Punkbuster silent install still doesnt go silently, so i am missing some
components, I am working on it now tho. Have also contacted EvenBalance who makes punkbuster, so hopefully it can be made truly silent, when - only time will tell.

The other alternative i see is if i had a program which could automatically click OK on the two error boxes, when windows firewall is not operational/missing. But i know of no such program that can do such a task via
command line interface.

Yep, sounds like you're looking at AutoIt type solutions. As for firewalls, GeeksToGo are heavily into security (esp. malware removal) topics, I'm sure your answer can be found there.

I chose Comodo Firewall to be supported as it's top rated and free, similarly Avast gets good ratings (& free). I'm limited to only supporting one of each type of security (2 anti-spyware) and other driver level software in order to avoid conflicts, also I've only got so much time for testing.

Kurt,
I apparently have a hardware problem. This morning I ran two passes of Memtest86 with no errors then brought up XP and ran Prime95 Stress Test. It showed a funny .5 roundoff error, more than the .4 it should have been. This sounds more like an algorithm error than HW. While I was searching for a newer copy of Prime95 (mine is over two years old), I ran a custom Stress Test from Prime95 and my system crashed. I have set it aside and will open it up and look around. The CPU temperature only got up to 52C but the core voltage dropped off to 1.43 from 1.48. I may have to boost the core voltage a little.

CFP: I found a post on the Comodo forum from Buhric saying he had found switches in CFPCONFG.EXE and said 'Theres plenty more sitches.... '. I replied and asked about SafeSurf switches but have received no reply. His post is here.

Is there any way to avoid a timeout? Does my idea of removing the /F have any value?
I have written a little AutoIt for the VMware Tools because of the restart that was coming with it. I will probably go back to your way adding the /NoRestart.
Enjoy, John.

John, i have to say, i looked at that thread you linked to, my jaw simply dropped to the floor of some of the responses there.
I really don't understand this attitude some people have, when you have a piece of great software, and there is a obvious way to make it even faster and simpler to manage,
and then the seemingly refusal to do so. I mean come on, it would take probably like a good 10 minutes, while sipping coffee, to repackage the program into a installer with msi to have silent switches and more.
I somehow suspect that there are corporate things which someone like me cannot understand, that has hindered the process, on again a level i dont fathom, as it anyways in the end goes against
user requests, and then ultimately making the software reflect poor in some way it shouldnt be. If people are to buy a product (tho it is a free version of it), i think its little to ask that i have
simple silent install possibilities and such.

As to your Prime95 situation, which runs single core, i would recommend Orthos which is a dual core program if that is what you have.
You will need to check affinity's of program if you have more then 2 cpu cores present in system.

One question:

I know there are several directx packages where the commercial goes only 32bit or only 64bit files included.
Being windows xp 64bit, would one not need to have both 32&64bit directx pack? I at least think so and dont quite see the point here.
Because even if you did just update 64bit directx side, you would then be stuck with non-updated 32bit directx.
Or is this just totally wrong?

TranceEnergy,
I agree with you about CFP. People have been asking for switches for some time now (years). I am surprised nothing has happened. I did place a request in the Wish-List topic to see if we can get some action on the next release or so.

I have an AMD FX-57, fairly fast but single core. I am doing the nLite and VMware Server work to get ready for an upgrade to a quad core Phenom if AMD will just get busy. I will keep Orthos in mind - thanks.

Sorry, I can't answer your DirectX question - hopefully Kurt can help.

Enjoy, John.

JohnHC:
If you think it's causing you problems, you can drop the ShutDown command, you'll just have to reboot manually. It's really just the equivalent of choosing Restart from the start menu without closing all your applications first. Properly written applications should have no problem with it.

I took a look at that post on the Comodo forums, it looks like a similar method to that used on v2.4. However, I have no intention of getting into repackaging switchless installers for this guide, partly because I don't want to have to say "Trust me".


TranceEnergy:
As I understand it you don't need the x86 aspects of DirectX on Win XP x64. DirectX is an API that interfaces to the x64 graphics & sound drivers, so as x64 systems don't have (and cannot use) x86 drivers, nuff said.

Kurt:

As you say Win XP X64 doesnt need the x86 side of directx, yet it is shipped with it is it not?
But that x64 cant use x86 drivers i know of course. I am just merely curious at this. I am sure that the people releasing these packs know what they are doing, but i would just like to see it confirmed somehow that it is indeed correct.

Kurt,
It was not my intention to suggest you or anyone use the process Buhric identified to create a CFP installer. I was hoping to hear back about the 'plenty' of switches he said were in CFPCONFG.EXE. I ran the switch finder against it and it found no switches. I guess I was also hoping that you had methods to extract switches when you knew the correct module.
Enjoy, John.

TranceEnergy:
DirectX update will install the x86 SDKs on XP x64, but of course only developers would ever use them. Similarly it installs the DirectX 10 SDKs (does the same on Windows 2000), you don't need them, but they do no harm either.

JohnHC:
Sorry to shatter your illusions, but I have no such tricks up my selves. If it's not documented, then all I can do is use trial & error with common switches.

Kurt,
Should the DirectX_9c entry still have EXTRACT on it?
Enjoy, John.

JohnHC:
Yes, as the main post has not been changed as yet. The alteration will occur with next month's updates.

FYI over @ RyanVM there is a updatepack for XP x64 http://www.ryanvm.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6400

I think we know about it.
Slight problems with it tho, it approaches updating only updates, not also IE to 7 (or newest). Whether we like it or not, IE is integral part of windows.
Currently Nlite does a kick a** job of integrating updates individually, so it's more suited to one's system.

If the maker of the update pack would either delete IE6 updates, or start using IE7 updates, it might be the better alternative. As it is now, it aint, imho.

I sent a PM to Buhric on the Comodo forum asking about the 'Plenty more switches' and he responded:

Unfortunately, still not very useful. We can only hope the CFP development team will do something.
Enjoy, John.