I have run into this same problem with my unattended installs (made using nlite, which roxx btw). From what i can gather about the problem (which is not much, despite it's consistent circumstance it seems very obscure) it looks like it comes about when the dotnetfx folder is modified, .net framework is removed, or the mediactr folder is modified or removed. in other words, the second CD, which essentially contains the components that differentiate win xp pro from win xp media center, is the one causing the problem. this is why the problem is usually associated with xp pro to MCE upgrades. I'm going to try again with a new unannatended install WITHOUT modifying anything from CD2 and ill see what happens. I'm also going to sacrifice a live goat at the full moon and see if that fixes the problem, because with MSFT software you never know.
