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OEMScan - Automated Multi Manufacture Pre-Activation Utility


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Yes this method will work on a multiboot dvd on your oem copies. I do want to make a couple modifications so you don't have to add the 100+ MB of file on each OS. Instead have a batch that is run during svcpack to run oemscan from within the oem dir on the root of the disk.

I know from my experiance that if you have too many oses on a dvd you can sometimes run into read errors. So of course... use trial and error.

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My question is whether the addons will work in a multiboot environ' (OEM Only) and are all the oembios files required thereby adding 100mb to the cd (doesn't matter about the DVD, plenty of room)

Removing the LANG folder inside I386 will free up alot of room. You can then use cdimage with the optimize option which should give you enough room on a cdr, but i havent tested how many sets of oembios files can be added before space runs out.

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II. Making changes to the OOBEinfo.ini file

OEM pre-activation can be preserved if changes are made to the OOBEinfo.ini file by ensuring that the %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\oobe\oobeinfo.ini file contains the information shown below but substituting the appropriate product key.

[Version]ProductKey =”XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX”

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechn...y/oempreac.mspx

If the above is true, would'nt one just need to add this file, along with the OEMBIOS files, inside each manufacturer's folder, enter the correct keys for each, and let oemscan copy over the oobeinfo.ini which would'nt require any physical key changes? Or have i totally got this confused ?

Does oemscan copy over anything you place inside the folders to system32 or will it only look for the four oembios files?

Edited by Randy Rhoads
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II. Making changes to the OOBEinfo.ini file

OEM pre-activation can be preserved if changes are made to the OOBEinfo.ini file by ensuring that the %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\oobe\oobeinfo.ini file contains the information shown below but substituting the appropriate product key.

[Version]

ProductKey =”XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX”

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechn...y/oempreac.mspx

If the above is true, would'nt one just need to add this file, along with the OEMBIOS files, inside each manufacturer's folder, enter the correct keys for each, and let oemscan copy over the oobeinfo.ini which would'nt require any physical key changes? Or have i totally got this confused ?

Does oemscan copy over anything you place inside the folders to system32 or will it only look for the four oembios files?

You' re right, this works. Thats the method I used all the time, BTW. Of course this needs the Windows Welcome page to be displayed and used so not 100% unattended automation. But I like it to make some individual changes to a system after the whole process, especially for entering the computer name and user name.

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OEMScan v1.21

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=82638

Validates the OEMBIOS.BIN/SIG/DAT files against the .CAT file before copying. If they're mismatched it won't copy them over.

Copies OEMBIOS.BIN/DAT/SIG to DllCache

Many thanks to severach for the help.

Shouldn't OEMBIOS.CAT be copied to DLLCache as well?

i believe DLLCache directory holds all 4 files, at least it does after a clean install using my original XP disc

[fs]

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@FreeStyler: The dllcache directory doesn’t store .CAT files. After running sfc /scannow it only copies the BIN/DAT/SIG files. Weird, I checked it on multiple new installs and never saw an OEMBIOS.CAT file in that directory

@vpn-user: The original OEMBIOS.CAT file is backed up to SystemDrive when it validates the OEMBIOS files being copied over. If validation fails it restores the original .CAT file. The file should be deleted if validation passes. Something to fix in the next release.

Edited by xehqter
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No, still beleive you are wrong here...

I just re-tested it with a orginal Dell XP Professional SP2 installation Disc, these are the files found 2 minutes after completing installation:

>Windows\System32\
-oembios.bin
-oembios.dat
-oembios.sig
>Windows\System32\dllcache\
-oembios.bin
-OEMBIOS.CAT
-oembios.dat
-oembios.sig
>Windows\System32\Catroot\{F750E6C3-38EE-11D1-85E5-00C04FC295EE}\
-OEMBIOS.CAT

Edited by FreeStyler
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@FreeStyler: The dllcache directory doesn’t store .CAT files. After running sfc /scannow it only copies the BIN/DAT/SIG files. Weird, I checked it on multiple new installs and never saw an OEMBIOS.CAT file in that directory

On a fresh install there will be CAT files in the dllcache folder. These files are just leftover from the install process and are not restored when rebuilding the dll cache. Any solution that replaces the OEMBIOS files should make sure that the loftover obsolete CAT in the dll cache is removed or replaced to avoid further confusion.

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@FreeStyler: The dllcache directory doesn’t store .CAT files. After running sfc /scannow it only copies the BIN/DAT/SIG files. Weird, I checked it on multiple new installs and never saw an OEMBIOS.CAT file in that directory

@vpn-user: The original OEMBIOS.CAT file is backed up to SystemDrive when it validates the OEMBIOS files being copied over. If validation fails it restores the original .CAT file. The file should be deleted if validation passes. Something to fix in the next release.

Actually at first I thought of the oembios.cat file at the root was a bug... but then I started to enjoy seeing it there. I can tell that pre activation was successful and I can check what the crc32 of that cat is so I know which fileset was used. So it's not that big of a deal in my eyes.

@Roguespear

At first I thought using detatched program would be the best approach... but oemscan works great the way it works now. The issue I had trying to run it during detached program was the fact that debug.exe does not seem to work around that time.

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@FreeStyler: The dllcache directory doesn’t store .CAT files. After running sfc /scannow it only copies the BIN/DAT/SIG files. Weird, I checked it on multiple new installs and never saw an OEMBIOS.CAT file in that directory

On a fresh install there will be CAT files in the dllcache folder. These files are just leftover from the install process and are not restored when rebuilding the dll cache. Any solution that replaces the OEMBIOS files should make sure that the loftover obsolete CAT in the dll cache is removed or replaced to avoid further confusion.

Yep, but i used a non Royalty OEM "OEMBIOS.CAT" on my dvd (the one that needs te be left in the /I386/ to succesfully install Windows XP) this file can be confusing as it has a different CRC as the one copied by OEMScan,

I agree with Bezalel, either:

  1. Delete the OEMBIOS.CAT file from dllcache
  2. Copy the matching into dllcache folder

Edited by FreeStyler
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but oemscan works great the way it works now.

Well I'm not about to argue with "if it ain't broke don't fix it" :D It was just that when I read the entire thread from start to finish, I never saw mention as whether or not anybody had tried it. Something that came to mind was that since DetachedProgram is defined within WINNT.SIF, I thought that perhaps it would have the potential to make things easier on those that use multiboot discs.

I don't use multiboot discs myself, but it's to my understanding that you would have a seperate WINNT.SIF for each of the various installs on that disc.

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@FreeStyler

::confused::

This falls under my “is it necessary category”.

Confusing to whom? The .CAT isn’t protected by WFP so it shouldn’t be in dllcache to begin with. If you feel it’s a major issue delete the file with a script. Other then making things “look nice” is there any value to this?

UPDATE: Its not worth the effort in arguing it will delete the file in the next release.

@Siginet

OEMScan doesn’t work via DetachedProgram?

Edited by xehqter
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