kelaniz

Definitely. 99% of the stuff I install, I've managed to tweak a way to do silently. But there's a few things, specifically apps (usually older) that *require* user input, newer apps that can't be made silent (Eudora 7 Pro), apps that I want to be registered/activated and configured (Photoshop CS2), and things that aren't supposed to be silent, like Windows recovery console. I've managed to get everything silent so far, but the global sleep did become a problem on the slower boxes. This hopefully fixes that. Kel

Yeah, the obsolete entries are the worst. I've already invested several hours going through an unmodified XPSP2 + IE7 install regdump, and comparing it side-by-side with my old IE6 tweaks to clean them up. There's a ton of changes. Typical Microsoft, they didn't catch and remove all the IE6 entries that have IE7 replacements. :/ But what bugs me the most is the endless variation in how MS handles regsettings. Like: [HKCR/Blah/Foo/Bar] "AllowSetting1"="1" "DontAllowSetting1"="0" "AllowSetting2"="yes" "DontAllowSetting2"="no" Pick ONE method and stay with it! And most of all, where changing a setting requires adding a nonexistant key while also deleting a completely different key/value altogether. Without a monitoring tool, the average person would have no way of ever figuring out what to do. Kel

nLite lets you remove some of those. I'm not sure if it removes all of them (it might). But you can still remove any leftover drivers and corresponding entries from the I386\txtsetup.sif file manually using notepad. I prefer notepad++ because it has color coding for MS-INI files. It's just easier to read. Just be aware that every driver has several references. To completely remove that driver manually, you'd need to remove all these entries. You could also delete the files from your source, but they're small (~10 to ~65Kb) and don't take up that much space. I'll use the Qlogic QLA1280 PCI SCSI Adapter for an example. Here's all the references for it in WinXP SP2's txtsetup.sif [SourceDisksFiles] ql1280.sys = 1,,,,,,4_,4,1,,,1,4 [HardwareIdsDatabase] PCI\VEN_1077&DEV_1280&SUBSYS_00061077 = "ql1280" PCI\VEN_1077&DEV_1280&SUBSYS_01068086 = "ql1280" [SCSI] ql1280 = "Qlogic QLA1280, 64 bit PCI LVD SCSI HBA" [Map.SCSI] ql1280 = "QL1280" [SCSI.Load] ql1280 = ql1280.sys,4 Removing just one of these entries will probably just break setup. I think at a minimum you must remove the entries in [sCSI.LOAD] and [sourceDisksFiles], and maybe [Map.SCSI]. To be complete, you should remove all entries for each driver you remove. Like I said earlier, I think nLite can get rid of most of these (if not all) with a few clicks. XP only loads about 35 SCSI drivers during setup, so if there are any remaining, it shouldn't be too hard to find them and clean them up. Be sure to back up the txtsetup.sif file before you begin any manual editing. nLite won't hurt it, but it's pretty picky about extraneous spaces and line breaks. Hope that helps a little. Kel

Thanks for the info, DL. It's funny... I hate it when batch files fail on an error, but I'd kind of like reg files crapping out. Sure, you can check for typos, (and I have). But as an editor in a former life, I know that 10 people can read a single paragraph 10 times and still not catch a glaring typo until the work is in production. Turn that paragraph into a 150Kb Mega-import file and... I'm sure you get my drift. At least there's Regmon and InCTRL to make the checking process easier. Also, you mentioned "the .reg-file structure (first two lines)" That's just the Windows Registry Editor version line followed by a blank line, right? Kel

Anyone know the way to accomplish this same wait in JScript? I've got a pile of ancient apps and utilities I have to install this way. They're also installed on boxes with widely varying speeds (Think VIA 800MHz to AMD ~3GHz.) Setting a reasonable sleep time fails if there's a delay. And setting it high enough for the slowest box makes all the other setups painfully slow. Kel

Very cool. Even with the non-native English, that "notorious" section is the most succinct explanation I've ever seen. You're sitting there looking at HKCR in regedit, and then you read "The HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT section of the registry does not actually exits(sic)" You learn something new every day. At 3:30am with sleep deprivation, it's almost a profound experience. Thanks for the link, CF. Even beyond the answer, it looks like a pretty handy site. Mr. Oetiker has a talent for technical writing. Kel

Hmm. Neither do I. Though Directory does seem to be more important. Even weirder, changes to Directory seem to apply instantly, whereas changes to Folder seem to be delayed.

Just had an idea and a question. When importing a pile of settings, if there's a typo or other error, does the import stop at the bad entry, or does it skip that entry and continue? I suppose i could test it, but if anyone knows, it'd save me the time The reason I ask is, if the import DOES quit if it hits a bad entry, I think it'd be a good idea to add a few check keys or a confirmation key at the end of a large import. So without having to watch at Registry Monitor (or another tool), you could tell if the import actually finished. You could place the check keys at the end of each section, and then check the registry after import to see how far it got. Something like this. The first 4 entries would be the section checks, and the last would be at the end of the .reg file: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\] "IE7 Settings OK"="Yes" "Visual Settings OK"="Yes" "Desktop Settings OK"="Yes" "pr0n Settings OK"="Yes" "Completed Import"="Yes" If importing just skips a bad entry and continues to the end, well...dammit! Nevermind. Kel

I posted part of this in the above 7-Zip context menu thread, but felt the need to expand on it, since it's such an annoying problem. So, without further ado... First question.. Does anyone know what exactly the difference is between these two items? [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\] and.. [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\] Specifically, what types of folders/dirs does each entry apply to? For example, I have a context menu entry for Flash Renamer (below) in my HKCR\Directory\Shell key. I also added the same value to HKCR\Folder\Shell to see if it made any difference, but it didn't do anything noticeable. [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Flash Renamer] @="Start Flash Renamer..." [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Flash Renamer\command] @="\"C:\\Program Files\\Flash Renamer 5.11\\FlashRen.exe\" \"/p %1\"" All my context menu entries appear only on folders that have at least one subfolder, but not on those without one. I can't figure out why that is. For example, in my F: drive (which also contains a backup of my build's $OEM$ folder) I have the following dirs: --F:\-- $ $1 $Docs $Progs Reg2Add Temp Mp3 DMW Misc Crap ---------- Now, If I right-click all of these folders individually, click properties, and check the type, they all say "File Folder". However, for the Temp and DMW directories, none of my \Shell entries display. Just the ContextMenu Handlers. The only difference between these two directories is, they have no subdirectories. If I add an empty folder, all the context menu items appear.The same behavior extends to subfolders. If the subfolder has no subfolder, no entries. That's incredibly annoying. Anyone have any idea why this is, or how to fix it, without adding useless directories to every folder I want to be able to manage? I can't find an answer anywhere, and I'm sure i'm missing something obvious here Kel

I have the same problem, I think. I see the 7-zip menu, and it expands with no options. I just tested the Empty Recycle Bin removals that you posted, and they remove the Empty Recycle Bin menu item from the Drive, File and Folder context menus. Desktop and blank areas inside folders still show it, though. That's cool as it fixes the problem. Instead of clicking a file and emptying the RB, just click the blank area NEXT to a file. Plus, that's one less entry to fill up the file context menu. As for the enormous registry dump you just pasted... *ahem* Never do that again. That's hell to scroll through It's usually safe to usually assume that any HKU/S-1-5-* entries are user-specific and won't work imported into a new box. There are exceptions, but for the most part, all the settings you need to worry about for exporting are everywhere BUT there. Look closely at the keys for the hugest ones and you'll see all they are is your start menu order and desktop item positions for various resolutions. Useless stuff. What you need is everything except those entries, specifically the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\* entries for the file associations. 7-Zip adds its handler to all the default filetypes it can work with. Usually those are in HKCR\.ext or HKCR\BLAH (avifile, txtfile, 7-Zip.* etc..) but for some reason, what you pasted is in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\7-Zip.* They're there too, but I think the ones that matter are in HKCR\ No idea what the copies in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\* do. That's a new one for me. Kel Kel

When you remove it, you might also want to make sure these registry keys are either gone or set like the example below, just to be complete ; Windows Movie Maker - disables via policy WMM web codec download, web help and video hosting provider links [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsMovieMaker] "CodecDownload"=dword:00000001 "WebHelp"=dword:00000001 "WebPublish"=dword:00000001 KZ

Excellent. The Win9x* folders alone are 37MB. Gone!

Did you try all the MCI*.DLL's? There's about 5 or 6 of them and I know MCISEQ.DLL handles MIDI, but re-adding all of them can't hurt. KZ

Which of those folders can you remove and still keep the ability to upgrade or repair? Both would be done from the same version of XP, but Windows still calls it an upgrade, anyway..

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's wanted to check the Printer Support component in nLite (all those printer drivers have to take up some space,) but reluctantly left it alone because of the description "some files are needed for PDF printers". Well, maybe the attached file will help. That, or it'll make sure you never print anything on that install again! I went through all 1.5MB of NTPRINT.INF and made a list of the files needed to leave support for all the major brands, Fax, TTY Universal Print driver and (hopefully) PDF printers, and remove all the crap. The result was a list of 947 files you simply paste in your "Keep Files" list in nLite and check that Printers component for removal. I kept all entries from the following makers: Canon HP Lexmark And these components: Postscript Generic/IBM TTY Universal Print Driver (UNIDRV) Windows 3.1 Fax Driver Semi-major brands removed AGFA Apple AT&T Brother Citizen Compaq Dataproducts Digital Epson Fujitsu IBM Infotec Kodak/Eastman Kodak Konica Kyocera Lanier Linotronic Microtek Minolta NEC Oki/Okidata/Okipage NRG OCE Olivetti Panasonic QMS Radio Shack Ricoh Samsung Seiko Sharp Star Toshiba Texas Instruments (TI) Xerox ... and about 50 minor brands with less than 10 entries. This seemed to be the best compromise between saving space and not screwing myself by removing a device I might later use. The bulk of the printers XP has drivers for are foreign, off-brand, obsolete, business or high-end/specialty devices that 95% of us will never own, much less even know about. So, if you actually own a Bull Compuprint PM 1035e or a Mannesmann Tally T7040, you have my apologies. Also, most of the drivers on the CD are seriously outdated. Now that Vista's out, a whole bunch more will be. Those that aren't completely rewritten to be Vista-optimized will probably get updated so they don't crash Vista. Besides, most people that don't do their own OS builds usually update all their drivers immediately after a fresh install. So it makes sense to me that the only printer files that should be on the CD/DVD are those that are actual Microsoft files that affect PDF printers, the universal printer driver, and fax, if you use it. Anyway, the list is attached. I just paste the whole thing in nLite's "keep Files" section. If it doesn't work for you, simply create a new source, uncheck the printers component and delete the list of files from your Keep list. No harm done. If anyone has any corrections, or knows of a better list, let me know. I created this on a whim a few weeks ago and decided to share it. Also, the standard disclaimer for downloads. While I'm 99% sure this list keeps all the necessary files you need to add PDF and physical printers in XP, as I said earlier, I don't have a working printer to test it (Got 4 printer doorstops, though!), so I could only test a few PDF printers, and they worked fine. Still, there's no warranty or responsibility expressed, implied or accepted by me if you paste this list in and your build ends up causing lost files, hardware damage, headache, heart attack, fist-shaped hole in monitor, spilled coffee or global thermonuclear war. Ok? Hope this is useful to someone. -Kel Kelaniz_nLite_Printers_Keep_List_v1.1.txt

I do have that habit (not a nervous one, though), and in the last 10 years, I've only lost ~5 files I wanted back. If you have the RBin disabled completely (where files bypass it and are deleted directly), this tweak's potentially dangerous. But then again, turning on a computer can be dangerous. Otherwise, this simply gets rid of a huge windows annoyance. I'd like to see it added. KZ

Not sure I follow you.. Do you mean export that key and add it to my first run tweaks reg importer, or.. what? From what I've been able to see, clicking Show Small Icons in Start Menu (I use Classic Start Menu, btw) queries, sets and removes about 100 different keys. Obviously, most of those are other checkbox settings in that dialog. Unless I'm going blind, the Stuckrects key isn't one of them. Also, this setting applies instantly. So if that key is written on shutdown/cancelled shutdown, how would it affect the Small Icons setting? I'm pretty sure the Small Icons tweak in the collection works for the New Start Menu, but not Classic. That's the one that seems to be the troublemaker. I'll add this key to my tweaks and see what happens. I also just noticed that at some point after checking Small Icons in SM, Windows deletes this key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced] "Large_Icons"=dword:00000000 Maybe that has something to do with it? Arggh. One little annoyance that's keeping my DVD from finalization.

I have now, and that works great. Although it reverts to either 640x480 or 800x600 on the first GUI boot. But that's still pretty helpful., and makes setup look MUCH nicer.

Got a question, since you guys seem to be Hotfix Gods... I recently made a XP Pro SP2 build with the latest RVM updatepack, an IE7 addon, A RunOnce'd Office 2k3 setup and nothing more. then I booted and made a list of the 20 or so WinXP/Office 2003 updates that WU found to install. No Problem. Then, I slipstreamed those Office2k3 and WinXP hotfixes into their respective source. Now, when I boot this CD, WUpdate still pukes a big list of XP and Office 2k3 updates it wants to download. This would not be a strange thing, except... #1: All the updates in the list were slipstreamed. #2: Two of those said updates (KB928090 and KB929969) were actually in the RVM Update Pack, which we know works great. #3: QFEcheck and WinUpdatesList both say all those hotfixes are installed and 100% happy. Response: What in the holy freakin'...?! Below is the list I'm getting.. ---WinXP Updates--- KB905474 - Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Update KB917734 - Security Update - Media Player 9 KB923689 - Security Update for Windows XP ---Already In RVM 2.1.7--- KB928090 - Cumulative Update IE7 WinXP (RVM 2.1.7) KB929969 - Security Update for IE7 for WinXP ---Office 2k3 Updates--- KB894542 - Security Update for Publisher 2003 KB907417 - Security Update for Office 2003 KB914455 - Security Update for Office 2003 KB919029 - Security Update for Office 2003 KB920103 - Security Update for Infopath 2003 KB920813 - Security Update for Office 2003 KB923097 - Security Update for Office 2003 KB924085 - Security Update for Outlook 2003 KB924424 - Security Update for Office 2003 KB924885 - Update Outlook 2K3 Junk Filter KB929057 - Security Update for Word 2003 KB929058 - Workbook 2007 Portal Excel 2003 KB929060 - Security Update for Powerpoint 2003 KB929064 - Security Update for Office 2003 KB925251 - Slovenian Currency Euro Update for Office 2003 Any ideas? Many thanks in advance. Note: To anyone else who thinks they're being REALLY HELPFUL by PM'ing me with "Office aren't(sic) in RVM you dumbass" please be aware I do know that. That's not the problem. The problem is, these updates are all slipstreamed, two tools in WinXP show them as slipstreamed, the file versions match the slipstreamed versions, yet WU still wants to download and apply them again. Kindly learn to read ALL the words before spewing your uncanny grasp of stupidity in my direction. -KZ

Here's a few tweaks I use that work, and that I didn't see included in the collection. Apologies if any of these are already in there, I just didn't see 'em.. ;Places My Computer Above My Documents on Desktop [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}] "SortOrderIndex"=dword:00000054 ;Removes more Shellnew stuff like ADE, ADN, ADP, Briefcase, BMP, CSV, DOC, DOT, GIF, JPG, PSD, PUB, RAR,;RESBUILD, RTF, WAV, XLS, ZIP from New Documents Menu. [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.ade\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.adn\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.adp\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.bfc\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.bmp\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.csv\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dif\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.doc\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dot\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.gif\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.jpg\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mdb\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.psd\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pub\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.rtf\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.rar\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.resbuild\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.wav\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xls\ShellNew] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.zip\ShellNew] ;Sets HKCU to NO SOUNDS. [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes] @=".None" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Names\.None] @="No Sounds" ;Restores customized Task Manager Settings (You may want to find and export your own under this key) ;This has PID, Image Name, CPU, Base Pri, CPU TIme, Mem Usage, VM Size, Peak Mem, Mem Delta and User Name ;in that order. Settings are: Low update speed, Show 16bit tasks, Always on top, Minimize on use. [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\TaskManager] "UsrColumnSettings"=hex:1c,0c,00,00,34,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,78,00,00,00,01,00,\ 00,00,1d,0c,00,00,35,04,00,00,01,00,00,00,23,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,1e,0c,00,\ 00,36,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,5d,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,1f,0c,00,00,39,04,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,64,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,20,0c,00,00,37,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,78,\ 00,00,00,01,00,00,00 "Preferences"=hex:9c,02,00,00,d0,07,00,00,02,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,\ 1c,01,00,00,36,00,00,00,26,04,00,00,ce,02,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,\ 00,00,00,05,00,00,00,06,00,00,00,0b,00,00,00,0c,00,00,00,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,64,00,6b,00,68,00,77,00,6a,00,82,00,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,\ 04,00,00,00,05,00,00,00,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,01,\ 00,00,00,02,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,05,00,00,00,06,00,00,00,07,00,00,00,08,00,\ 00,00,0b,00,00,00,0e,00,00,00,ff,ff,ff,ff,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,\ 00,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,\ 04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,68,\ 00,00,00,28,00,00,00,49,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,3d,00,00,00,49,00,00,00,45,00,\ 00,00,3f,00,00,00,44,00,00,00,3c,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,\ 00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,\ 27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,00,00,00,27,\ 00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,09,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,05,00,\ 00,00,08,00,00,00,06,00,00,00,07,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\ ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,4f,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00 ; Display details view in Windows Explorer [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Streams] "Settings"=hex:08,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,77,7e,13,73,35,cf,11,ae,\ 69,08,00,2b,2e,12,62,04,00,00,00,10,00,00,00,43,00,00,00 ;IE Disable Dr.Watson in Internet Explorer [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main] "IEWatsonDisable"=dword:00000001 "IEWatsonEnabled"=dword:00000000 ;Turns F-Lock and Print Screen keys permanently ON for Microsoft keyboards ;For boards with F-Lock key, F-Lock stays on, so you can use the F1-F12 keys standard commands ;instead of using the MS-assigned annoying and potentially dangrous Undo, Redo, Delete, Close, Etc.. ;Prime example is F2, which with F-lock off, becomes Undo. Boy does that suck. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout] "Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,1a,00,00,00,3b,00,3b,e0,3c,00,08,e0,\ 3d,00,07,e0,3e,00,3e,e0,3f,00,3f,e0,40,00,40,e0,41,00,41,e0,42,00,42,e0,43,\ 00,43,e0,44,00,23,e0,57,00,57,e0,58,00,58,e0,3b,e0,3b,00,08,e0,3c,00,07,e0,\ 3d,00,3e,e0,3e,00,3f,e0,3f,00,40,e0,40,00,41,e0,41,00,42,e0,42,00,43,e0,43,\ 00,23,e0,44,00,57,e0,57,00,58,e0,58,00,37,e0,52,e0,00,00,00,00 ; Sets Keyboard Repeat rate to fastest setting, and the repeat delay to 0 ; Use if you think the default keyboard repeat delay is WAY too SLOW. [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard] "KeyboardDelay"="0" "KeyboardSpeed"="31" ;Sets 24Hr Clock, AM,PM = a,p, 2 characters in year Short date (M.d.yy = 3.19.07) and date separator ;changed from a slash to a dot because I like it. [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\International] "iDate"="0" "iLZero"="1" "iTime"="1" "iTLZero"="0" "s1159"="a" "s2359"="p" "sDate"="." "sShortDate"="M.d.yy" "sTime"=":" "sTimeFormat"="H:mm:ss" "iTimePrefix"="0" Enjoy, and let me know if you have any problems with those. BTW, has anyone found a "Small Icons in Start Menu" tweak that actually *works*? I've tried about 5, and none of them work. I've looked at the changes in Regmon, and it seems clicking that option in the Start Menu config doesn't just change values, it adds and removes entire keys, all of which must be done for it to work. -KZ

Thanks once again for more excellent info. Seriously, what do you want for Christmas? I tested the script you originally posted, and had some problems. Seems no matter what I did, the script couldn't find any of the files it referenced, even if they were in the same directory as the script. I tried including the actual path (D:\wpi\kel\apps\ACDSee\), the variable-controlled path (%CDROM%\wpi\kel\apps\ACDSee\), putting just the program name, and even calling the .js from a .cmd file that set the working dir to the script's location. FYI - The installer is on a CD, which on my VMware test machine has a C: HD and D: CD-ROM. The path is D:\wpi\kel\apps\ACDSee\ACDSee_3.1.exe I'm installing this using WPI, and it uses the variable %CDROM% which = D: Even when I replaced %CDROM% with D:, it couldn't find the file (ACDSee_3.1.exe) No idea why.. Here's the script you posted, and the modifications I made. var WshShell = WScript.CreateObject ("WScript.Shell"); WshShell.RUN ("%CDROM%\\wpi\\kel\\apps\\ACDSee\\ACDSee_3.1.exe /S"); //running EXE with silent switch WScript.Sleep(23000); //time taken by the installer to unpack and install its files WshShell.SendKeys ("%{F4}"); //this is Alt+F4 to close whatever active at the moment Funny thing was, when I ran it locally, it worked. Just didn't on the CD (My source dir was F:\kelxp\wpi\kel\apps\ACDSee\) In the end, I used a bit of the code you provided, plus a few other bits I found scattered around various forums, and here's what I ended up with. It works like a champ, though I don't have ANY idea why this is any different: var WshShell = WScript.CreateObject ("WScript.Shell"); var path = WScript.ScriptFullName; // path to this script var CDR = path.substring(0,2); //extract DriveLetter: from the path WshShell.RUN (CDR + "[url="file://\WPI\Kel\apps\ACDSee\ACDSee_3.1.exe"]\\WPI\\Kel\\apps\\ACDSee\\ACDSee_3.1.exe[/url] /s"); //exe to run... WScript.Sleep(24000); //Sleep 24sec for the installer to finish WshShell.AppActivate("C:\\Profiles"); //part of or whole name of the running Window WScript.Sleep(800); //Sleep 800ms to allow for delay in window becoming active WshShell.SendKeys ("%{F4}"); //Send Alt+F4 to close active window WScript.Sleep(4000); //Sleep 4 sec to allow for delay in window close. Cross fingers. WshShell.RUN ("taskkill.exe /F /FI \"WINDOWTITLE eq C:\\Profi*\""); //In case previous command fails somehow WshShell.RUN ("taskkill.exe /F /IM Acdsee*"); //In case installer does not close when window closes. So, it works, although why the original doesn't is a mystery that bugs me. The shortcut creation code works perfectly. I've added that in various places to create at least 80 shortcuts that I need. So, MANY thanks for that. Offhand, do you know of any way to use a similar script to click an option on those atypical dialogs that you can't switch between the selections with TAB, or hit any specific key to access the command? Just curious. DVD is looking great now. All these minor annoyances are gone, thanks to your help. Now I just need to make another build with whatever updates have been released for my addons, and fix a problem where Windows/office update still wants to download hotfixes I've already slipstreamed, and I'm done... I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel...After 5 months and 367 revisions. KZ

I've been testing this in VMWare, so I'm pretty sure no additional video drivers are being loaded. I even ried using the 12noon reschange.exe tool that (I think) comes with WPI. However, it doesn't work, even with the -force setting.. (says refresh rate not supported) I just had another box break, so I'm gonna test the DVD for real, and see if reschange works on real hardware. I'm thinking It *should*

All I do is have a SFX installer copy the themes into the Program Files\WinRAR\Themes\ folder, with each theme in its own subfolder. WinRAR sees them when you run it. KZ

Just an observation: In the readme, it says that Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extension is one of the vital services that should be set to automatic, or at worst, manual. In my experience, that service is not only not vital, it's completely useless and can be safely disabled. I've left it disabled on (at least) 500 systems over the years that ranged from domain/web/file/print servers to all types of workstations. Never had anything even try to access it, much less any problems from disabling it. Since it doesn't seem to frivolously start, leaving it on manual is probably safer than disabling it, but I'm somewhat of a control freak, so I just really like seeing all that MS crap with "Disabled" next to it and know, at least on some level, *I* still control my box, not Microsoft. -KZ

This I know. That was just a random observation that if I did set the sleep time too short, the installer would be killed too early, with obvious consequences. Since I'm doing all the testing of my DVD on VMware, program start and install times are somewhat different than they will be on my production box. Add to that, the installer's completely silent. It'll take 2-3 tries to dial it in, which isn't a problem. I know I could just set a safe sleep time, allowing for any delays, and that's what I'll probably end up doing. Just want to get it reasonably close. If I happen to be attending an unattended install, 12 consecutive 30 second pauses would definitely add up Thanks for the extra tip. The script you posted works perfectly for this purpose, and takes care of a few other issues I didn't cover in this post. THis is good. Now the only two things I have left to work out for this DVD are, 1. Create a similar script to automatically click the Confirm button for a program with a forced "Do you want to Install?" dialog (Can't be bypassed with a /SP- switch.) And 2. Find something to create additional start menu shortcuts that an installer doesn't create, but that one's no problem, as I believe there's a command-line utility in the XP Resource Kit that will handle that. Thanks again for your help and fast reply, mazin. -Kel