Kjhe

Hi, I have two questions regarding registry tweaking a W2K setup. 1. By default Windows 2000 will open your Folders from the previous session when you log on. How can I stop this from happening? Is there a Windows 2000 setting for something like PersistBrowsers which does this in XP? 2. Is there a reason why modifying some values in HIVESYS.INF does not do anything? For example I can set "CrashDumpEnabled" to 0 (none) there but after installation it will show in REGEDIT the original setting of 3 (64k dump)? What am I doing wrong here? Thanks in advance.

I've personally never liked the orb, and find it useless. I prefer Office 2003 style. It might be plain but it beats hunting around for what you want, although the ribbon interface has much better usability in simpler programs, such as that implemented in Wordpad and Paint in Windows 7. For the uses of Office 2007 however, everything is just too cramped. And while we are on the subject of Office 2007, was there a reason to break almost 10 years of compatability (1997-2006) with the .doc format to create .docx? Personally I have set it so my Office saves to the older 2003 format so everyone can easily open it without needing to download compatability packs just to read a document.

You can start by with a little fiddling around with the palettes on a standard graphics editor with a resource hacker for ntoskrnl.exe. Here is a guide to do it with Paint Shop Pro 7 (you can download an evaluation version of it if you look around) http://www.thetechguide.com/howto/xpbootlogo/

When it asks you if you want to boot from cd, just press a key, when it gets to format or keep hdd partition, just delete the offending partition and recreate it. If you have no boot from cd option, check your BIOS settings to make sure your cd is your first boot device.

Windows Live 2009 cannot be installed by default on Windows Server 2003. You will encounter an os_check error when attempting to install it, with both the standalone and web install versions. Here is how to override it for both versions. You will need a resource editor. I recommend Resource Hacker. You can download it from here: http://angusj.com/resourcehacker/ Visit the Microsoft Live download website. http://download.live.com/ Note: To download the standalone version you will have to first cancel the "Save As" prompt after clicking "Download", and click "Try Again". Open your Windows Live 2009 installation with Resource Hacker, and navigate to CONFIG\CONFIG0\0. Search for the string (Ctrl+F) "workstation" and replace it with "server", then click "Compile Script". Finally, save your modified install somewhere and run it. Simple!

I've tried previously editing the original layout.inf directly but keep getting error 57 about extra data expected from the catalog right after entering GUI setup, so decided to leave that alone and reference it instead, with all the new file into a new layout file. All the necessary files are added to txtsetup.sif, sourced straight from the XP CD txtsetup.sif. I will try this, and tell you how it goes. I would have expected them to be "on" by default? EDIT: Have just tested this, and it still produces the same error at T25, with same file request. Added to WINNT.SIF: [Components] games = on freecell = on hearts = on minesweeper = on pinball = on solitaire = on spider = on zonegames = on

I was looking more for some ideas to fix the %cdname% issue as an3k rightly pointed out, as that is what the problem actually is, not the filecopying. As stated previously, Games are installed correctly (including into the Start menus) once the I386 location has been provided, but I would like something that fixes this to provide a true unattended install. However, if all else fails, I will try and give this idea a go (decompress everything?) as a workaround. Thanks anyway for your suggestion!

I've double checked the txtsetup.sif file and there doesn't appear to be anything out of place, all the files are referenced in there as they should be, sourced straight from a XP CD. I shouldn't be needing to edit layout.inf should I?

Can this be done? I am aware of the guide to add the appropriate strings into the sysoc.inf file and install from add/remove inside windows, but is it possible to do this automatically during an unattended windows 2003 install? So far I have identified all the appropriate files needed by the games and put them in the I386 folder, added the new files to be copied in txtsetup.sif and dosnet.inf and have made a seperate layout.inf file for the new files, as well as changing the LayoutFile of each games inf file to point to the new layout.inf. The infs have also been added to the sysoc.inf file. It has worked up to the point of copying all the files over to the correct spots, but the unattended install still has trouble finding the files during the "Copying Files..." stage. Specifically, the error is "Some files on %cdname% are needed. Insert %cdname% into the drive selected below, then click OK" and it is looking for freecell.exe, freecell.ex_ when i check what it is looking for. If I correctly identify the I386 folder for install, everything else goes smoothly and the Games appear correctly in the start menu. Any advice on what is actually the problem or tips to fix it so it truly becomes unattended? Attached is the custom layout file for the new files. Referenced in games.inf, igames.inf, pinball.inf. Copy present in dosnet.inf, listed in tonxtsetup.sif with correct filesize (probably not important, only layout.inf files seem to be checked). TXTSETUP.zip GLAYOUT.INF

Beauty, thanks!

On a related note, I noticed that in an W2K3 Enterprise install CD, a directory called PRINTERS (29.6 MB) appears in the root directory of the disk. This does not exist in the XP CD. Does anyone know if it is safe to delete and under what circumstances should you leave it?

Just discovered by myself how to make the CD2 notification disappear. It appears the CDKEY used is "recognised" as a R2 key by the installation and thus brings up the dialog, and does not appear to be the result of differing files on the CD itself, whether a R1 or R2 CD was used.

Does anyone know how or where to disable the notification to insert the second CD after the first login or what triggers it in an W2K3 R2 install? Thanks!