CyberDrac

Someone is working on something like this over at SourcForge ... they are calling it StepOS, and is Stepmania running under ReactOS ... that's as much as I know about it. CD

Great to hear it, it seems peculiar that there are so many reports of long install times using 4Gb and subsequent issues, but I'm guessing that it may be mainboard specific issues, although it seems peculiar that a patch was issued without mentioning that it wasn't an issue with all installs. I am awaiting delivery of a new mainboard and am hoping that this will cure related issues relating to speed, maybe it will mean that I won't need patching as well, either way I'm glad to hear that the issue isn't universal. CD

Other than being a wonderful description of how to integrate hotfixes into a install DVD, I'm not sure where it fits in with the particular situation I find myself in. Are you implying that a hotfix integrated version using this method would work better than a vLite integrated version, and that it wouldn't experience the interminably long install time when 4Gb of memory is installed with a 64bit installation? I have re-read the page at that link a couple of times and am probably being dense at failing to see the connection, could you elaborate? Regards CD

It has been reported that installations of Vista where 4Gb is installed take dramatically longer than installations where 2Gb are installed, and that post install BSODs are common until a hotfix patch (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929777/en-us) is applied from Microsoft. Has anyone tried slipstreaming this fix, and if so does it fix the extremely long installation times and allow the machine to boot without a BSOD, or would I have to resort to installing with 2Gb, hotfixing, and then installing the additional 2Gb? Regards CD

I also would like to do something along the same lines, except that since I have a Compact Flash reader built into my machine and intend to use a 4Gb CF card to carry an nLite install. However I would appreciate any advice on how to make either part or the whole of the CF card bootable. I have spent some time googling, and have found mention of installing onto CF cards for CarPCs and Media Centres, but nothing about installing from a CF card. The closest I have found it a command line to be run after booting into a BartPE environment. Regards CD

I am getting a dialogue box on startup stating explorer.exe - Entry Point Not Found x The procedure entry point SHCreateThreadRef could not be located in the dynamic link library SHLWAPI.dll OK and then it will sit at the desktop wallpaper with nothing else happening, it will respond to Ctrl-Alt-Del but not much else ... and ideas or suggestions as to why this might be? or indeed a method for launching the uninstall procedure from a run command? Edit 1a: I am re-running the installation program to see if it has any effect. Edit 1b: Same result Edit 2a: BTW way is there a command line to restoring to a restore point? Edit 2b: c:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe Edit 2c: hasn't worked, I'll go back even further with my restore point and try again (this means that it may not have anything to do with XPize 4.0 beta 2 and just coincidental that it occured after the beta was installed - my apologies but any suggestions would be welcome) Edit 2d: the restore from yesterday's point created for a automatic system update has fixed the problem, this may be the fault on it's own, or it may be a combination with XPize, I will try and recreate the problem. Edit 2e: reinstalling XPize 4 beta 2 Edit 2f: after reboot the same symptoms manifest themselves, I'll system restore to pre-installation again and see if it starts working again Edit 2g: the system restore to remove XPize 4 beta 2 has brought my machince back to functionality Edit 3: Well for me at least this latest version isn't working, of course I am quite happy to preform any tests and answer any questions about my system and it's configuration to get this sorted, but I'm off on holiday in 24 hours so make it quick , at least now I know I can get it back working again. Regards CD

OK ... sorry for the idiotic question ... I have just installed XPCreate, I have run it once (it created the directories), I ran it a second time (it downloaded some files) but it complained about not finding the ISO bootstrap image or something similar, on the website it has a utility for extracting one (or I guess that is what it is for) but do I extract it as files or an image into the boot folder? CD Edit: I googled it I think I have my answer now ... sorry. CD

I have disks somewhere with Windows 2.01 (I think) ... and I did have disks for Windows 286 & 386 (a lesser known variant) somewhere but I'm buggered if I can find them anywhere. I also have some very old versions of DOS lying around however the only ones I can put my hands on are 5.25" DOS 5.0 although I have a Research Machines version of DOS 3.12. CD