Johnny Faster

I give advice on an Tech Support Forum and a great many of the posts are from novice Users that have problems that are not only beyond their ability to fix themselves, but are either beyond the ability of someone else to help them with or would require WAY too much time and effort.So I am always looking for general, easy "one-shot" fixes for people. I have come to the belief that a combination of nLite and Ryan's VM pack make an ideal, easy-to-use XP disk that can be used by computer novices to repair problems that might otherwise need professional (paid) help. Specifically, the use of an nLited disk to run sfc. I understand that the primary purpose of nLite's creation may not have been as a repair utility for novice Users, but I bleieve this is an important area where nLite can be very useful. My understanding of the "sfc" function (I may be wrong, feel free to correct me) is that sfc replaces the installed XP system files with uncorrupted versions from the disk. When I run sfc, the pop-ups are so numerous that it "feels like" NONE of the system files are being replaced. I don't know if this is the case, but that is what is percieved at the time. Nor am I clear on which pop-up menu option to select. Selecting either "Continue" or "Cancel" both results in yet another pop-up, and after 20 consecutive pop-ups, I cannot tell if I am doing anything at all. I think the full-inclusion of the sfc function into nLite would be a very valuable resource not only for myself, but for any User that has a problem with their installation and would like to avoid doing a Repair Install. Could whatever impediments to the "seamless" operation of sfc from an nLited disk be removed in some future version of nLite? Respectfully, Johnny Faster I didn't understand this. Could you please clarify ? Respectfully, Johnny Faster

Answering my own post, I think I have found some of the answers, but am looking for confirmation. First, I think the "unattended" install didn't work because I read in the nLite "help" blurbs that you have to have ALL the required fields filled in, or the "unattended install" will error and prompts will come up. Also, the "Repair" option doesn't look like it will appear in when "unattended install" is selected (duh!). You have to select that specifically, which (I assume) then precludes any kind of unattended install. True ? There was a section that dealt with SATA drivers. While not specifically referring to integrating SATA drivers, it did say you had to disable some part (can't exactly recall what it was) or the installation of SATA/RAID drivers will result in a corrupt system file error message. I disabled that part, just to see if the next nLite will work with the incorporated SATA drivers. The absence of a Windows Recorvery from the XP installation from the nLite disk is still a question, as is the inability to run "sfc". Again, any help appreciated, Johnny

I started using nLite about a year ago. the first thing I learned (back then) was that nLite had a problem with the command-line "sfc", but there was some indication then that it was going to get fixed. The other night, I made an nLite disk specifically to run "sfc/scannow" in order to try to resolve a conflict with my IDE Controller. A basic disk, with just my SATA drivers incorporated. First, when I inserted the nLited disk while running XP and ran sfc/scannow from the command prompt, sfc did not like the nLite disk and choked on every single file. So I decided to do a Repair Install. Not only did XP not recognize my SATA drive (it specifically told me it didn't), but even the "unattended" features didn't work. I used the most-recent version of Ryan's VM pack, in case that matters. Has the "sfc" problem been fixed ? There was a place in the customizations that mentioned it. What about SATA driver integration ? Are there known problems with that ? Any help welcome, Johnny

Thanks Zxian for the suggestions. I've already tried BartPE. Can you tell me a little more, such as how they compare to Bart's and to each other ? I (sort of) like Bart's but wonder if there isn't something better. Which of the two would you recommend I try first ?

Thanks dhdan, for the nice tip. You've made a convert. I made a bootable "ultimate" CD for windows and it worked fine first time out ! No interent though. Maybe I'll have to fiddle with it. Boots VERY slow. Runs okay. Some of the tools look better than what XP has. Nice Desktop. CD was easy to make, easier than slipstreaming. But then I took all the defaults, so I can't say how involved you can get once you get into the customizing. But overall a great find. I've already posted the link on my favorite Tech forum.

I just spent about 3 hours slipstreaming and other gyrations only to find out that my "bootable" XP disk runs straight to Install XP just like any other. I want to make something like that Linux disk that runs right off the CD, for when I am troubleshooting people's computers that may have malware. Can this be done ? Can this be done using nLite ? I use Nero as my software, so it would be most helpful if suggestions were "aimed" for this software. Thanks Johnny

I wouldn't cut what could be a perfectly good cable. there are dozens of other reasons why this mouse could be bad.

Can someone tell me how to use Unlocker Assistant when the file and it's parent directory are hidden. I've enabled "show hidden files" and "hide system files" is disabled, but I am still unable to "grab" the files and their directory for deletion. Thanks.

Nope. Thanks, answered my question.

(Bump) 46 views and no help ? SOMEONE has to know this stuff. Please help, still wondering. Thanks in advance, Johnny

Greetz! I am familiar with nLite, having used it a couple of times making an integrated XP disk. This is how I learned you could get "stand alone" O/S updates (something like "for networking professionals"). I've started a small computer repair business and believe I need to have all of these files available (on disk or usb drive) in order to fully updated newly disinfected machines before exposing them to the internet. When I did XP, I cam here and asked for help in identifying all XP updates. Now I would like to identify those for Win2000, but for a different reason. Just now I Googled a bit and found a "SP4 Rollup" update for Win2000. I assume that if I start with this, I should be up to a certain point, but would like to know how many more there are, and what they are, if possible ? I only saw about 5 others mentioned while Googling, and need to know if this is all there is. Thanks in advance, Johnny