Whimsy

All this talk of space and time.. What would Hawking say?l

Microsoft has already pointed out a few reasons itself - the GPL is viral, which means that,if any Windows components relied on GPLcode, it would become opensource by extention. Mac OS X is popular, but not mainly because of it's BSD base. Sure, the BSD component is a selling point, but Aqua, the GUI, sells more copies that another UNIX-like Distro. Besides, Linux has been available for the Macintosh for a longtime already. To the average Macintosh user, Unix, Linux, and the like make no difference. And for the record, Aqua is still closed source. Linux has proven stability, but to it's credit, so does NT. The most compelling reason that companies have to move to Linux is licensing costs and security response time; Most companies don't care that you can slim Linux down to fit a floppy disk and use it for routing on a P90, but MS only updates their products once a month. And that's because Sysadmins requested it! The closest thing MS will consider is what they've already done - Give Services for Unix away. They might add a compatibility layer simular to the OS2 and POSIX features, but the GPL might hamper this. Just my three cents.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE FOLKS!

Actually, Windows NT's command Console has always had a superior command line set to he DOS/9X series. They are far more flexable, and have a lot more features. As for Longhorn, it's said to include the SFU (Services for Unix) libraries integrated, with include native win32 ports of common unix commands, including grep and the like. The most concise resource I've found for windows NT scripting was the command "help", followed by "commandname /?". Help lists them, and /? details them. Example: c:\> Help [list of commands] c:\> if /? [Detailed info] Addiitonally, the MSDN has pages dedicated to advanced scripting, but this alone works out better than you'd expect.

Ok, I should have explained the usage more clearly In my particular case, I have a Windows XP DVD, Windows XP CD, and some common folders that are used in Windows 2000. I tend to skip patches (Darn me) that are Windows-version dependent. So in this particular case, I have one copy of each relivant version of windows, and about 4 different 'profiles' that I stick with (And a lot of free time to test the initial 'builds'). So this program allows me to create several ISOs in one pass using a minimal amount of disk space. For instance, if I had to make an XP DVD and an XP CD, I could either keep 2 sets of directories that I would have to manually manipulate, or I could create 3 CMD files, and save about half a GB. My code would look like this: BEI.CMD @echo offcall qcdi_winxpdvd.cmd call qcdi_winxppro.cmd qcdi_winxppro.cmd @Echo offtitle Preparation phase... rem configuration Section. Customize the builder here. set building=Microsoft Windows XP Professional, SP2 set buildfile=CDI_winxpsp2.iso set cdsdir=wxppro set bootsect=wxppsect.bin set vlabel=XPPROVOLS2 set usekey=0 set pkey=produ-ctkey-goesh-ereok-duder set oemdir=.\profiles\sp2beta call !prepare.cmd movemode call !qcdi.cmd call !prepare.cmd cleanupmode qcdi_winxpdvd.cmd @Echo offtitle Preparation phase... rem configuration Section. Customize the builder here. set building=Microsoft Windows XP Professional DVD, SP2 set buildfile=CDI_winxpdvd.iso set cdsdir=wxppro set bootsect=wxppsect.bin set vlabel=XPPRODVD set usekey=0 set pkey=produ-ctkey-goesh-ereok-duder set oemdir=.\profiles\xpdvd call !prepare.cmd movemode call !qcdi.cmd call !prepare.cmd cleanupmode It's not for all situations, but I expect someone will find it useful. It's geared more for "administration".

(sorry admins and mods, I couldn't find an appropriate forum for this, and it seems to apply here) Hey, everyone! I'm back, after a long time to playing and testing stuff, and I bring you... QCDI SUITE!!!! WTF Is it?!?! QDI Suite allows you to manage multiple CD Images for Mom, Dad, Sis, or Fido, while using one main distribution directory! You can have one copy of the XP CD on your hard disk, and 8000 profiles for the $oem$ folder, and as long as they share a few common traits, you can have it . Why was it made? I used Bart's cd making tool garage, and decided a Screwdriver was all I needed Plus, I liked the simplicity in cdimage (Not included). I recommend it gets used with my other happy fun application, WPI, or another post installer, since this will let you have one common winnt.sif. I might create a version that will move a custom winnt.sif over, but I'm in the middle of some exciting developments in my wacky go-kart of life! I want to thank [bM]Crusher, for some really nice comments he made to me about WPI, which inspired this release. If you like this, then thank him. This program is hard Please read the readme. If you can't read the readme, than don't use the program. It says it needs cdimage software! Get cdimage.exe. I didn't supply it, and never will. I demand a better version! I found a bug, and you better fix it! I don't intend to create a new one, unless god comes down himself and requests it. And even then, he better inspire me with the best anything ever. As I said, I'm terribly busy lately. If you make a better version, that's your perogitive, but you can't rip it off and call it yours, and it should be hosted with the 'original' version. Wow... I get all queesy when I'm about to hit the post button... Let the flames BEGIN! qcdi_scripts.rar qcdi_scripts.rar

Desktop resolution please =) (seems like it was a "rejected" desktop they would have included in XP, or else it's coming with the next version of Windows).

Another thought: Are you including your old $oem$ folder? All the updates, including media player, are in SP2, so there is no need to update old windows components, including those that are not system files.

Bloody showoff >: ( I use a combination of tools. I have a builds folder, where I keep all my magical windows directories, and have a slightly modified version of BCD, along with some CMD files. I use winISO to check incase I messed something up, and I have Daemon tools to mount the image. I can then burn it with Nero as I see fit. I also have a buildall CMD file that will generate all my CD Images for Windows 2000 and XP. It's ahabit I intend to cultivate, incase I ever become a network jocky (Or get a job )

It's very possible. I will skip the details. Create a boot CD with Windows 98's boot files. Edit the [menu] part to add the new entries. Optionally, you may want to set the CD-ROM Drive to a specific drive letter. Get the autoexec.bat to run setup based on teh menuconfig you created. You will want to use the most recent windows 98 version for the CD, since previous versions apparently had a bug with being booted from a CD. Avoid Windows ME because the Autoexec.bat file might need a different name, and there will probably be version conflicts with Windows 98 files. I recommend adding /is /ie /ib /im to the setup launcher line, because odds are that if the disk survived the format, scandisk is just going to be a waste of time. Plus you don't need a boot disk If you want my opinion, there is no reason to have both 98 and 98 se, and Windows 95 is just redundant. As for ME, enough has been said . Good luck in any case!