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hehe I think I'll quote myself: Please prove me wrong Then again, they may have put the file avalible again - dont see why not if you cant even download mm20enu.exe Regards, Nath

*bows* Most kind Virindi, I aim to please Regards, N.

Well....heres a few pointers - hope they help: 1) your DLURL is blank....if you are manually going to add the hotfixes then fine i.e. SP2, in which case you didnt need to clear the URL, you just change DLAUTO to NO...but if you are wanting the hotfixes and updates for SP1, you should leave it as is really. Maybe its something to do with this. 2) Also, where is XPCREATE installed on the HD? Make sure that you havent got spaces in any part of the directory structure leading up to the installation directory i.e. H:\INSTALLS\XP\XPCREATE would be acceptable where as H:\My Installs\XP\XPCREATE or H:\INSTALLS\XP\XP CREATE wouldnt be acceptable. 3) When you install XPCREATE, remember to run the xpcreate.cmd installer, not anything else and then once its made the directories, dont change their names or delete them. Just adjust the xpcreate.ini to what you need (generally, all you need to change for a basic install is the XPSOURCE settings. 4) Above all else, remeber to start off with the failsafe hotfix list and try and make a simple build before you try anything more complex. Not only will it help you see whats happening, it might help you understand the processes that take place better 5) Always use an original XP CD media because if your using an custom CD/pirated/royalty-OEM restore cd, they are very likely *not* to work. My brain is falling asleep now....good luck, and maybe posting the logfile would be useful but thats not for me to say Best Regards, Nathan H.

whoops...sorry I thought there was a proper update to 1.1 out - as I havent got 1.1 installed, it aint gonna show up on my machine tho hehe Cant remember where I saw it. Oh well...never mind hehe Regards, N

could it be that its adding the SP1 updates into it as well and creating a freakily massive iso? just a thought... N.

ahhh sorry....didnt understand your meaning - gotcha now tho sooooo...... if you can add the .net framwork 1.1, what about the SP2/version 2 that there is about....can that be added to the XPCREATE build? Regards, Nath

@GM: hehe I've edited the other post now - yep, you're impression is quite correct from the instructions I've been told by our county IT helpdesk on advising me about it. I've edited the other post and the one before you one here (trying to keep one step ahead of you - impossible I know hehe )

xiaodown: Just a comment on something earlier you said.... If you have a local copy of this file already somewhere (make sure its the exact one) copy it to the SVC-X2m directory and make it read only. Then the downloader wont be able to delete it - you may get a 'access denied' message appear but it should work still ahhhh...it seems they've released 2.1 and may have changed the location of the files. Take a look at: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloa...es/default.mspx I cant seem to find a direct download link for mm20enu.exe anymore hmmm....doesnt even seem to be listed in the windows update catalog lists anymore (searched the Windows RTM, SP1 and SP2 lists). Guess they expect you to update to SP2 for this now - v2.1 inc in SP2) bah! Regards, N.

xiaodown: hehe Dont blame you...lucky my app server at work is local hehe It seems a long winded way (for a install server - surely they/you can set one up locally ) so no wonder you dont use it.Anyhow, as this is for newbies I dont think we should carry on talking about this here but by all means PM me if you want to carry on talking about this - for now, I'll simply say that some amazing things can be done with using just a cd (as I'm sure you know) and would save you less work - sysprep is very easily possible from a cd install....I'll stop there but as I said PM me if you want to "chat" more on it I take it you havent used the Windows Update Server (SUS) which you can set up locally on a 2000 server and get it to download all or a custom set of updates for XP & 2003 (it may cover 2000 as well - I dont have one running at work myself but the county network which I access has one and, well, not sure if they know if its working yet hehe) which you can then use as a local windows update service. I've set up some of our admin clients to point to it which is very easy - pm me if you need a few details on that. again...a different discussion Regards, N.

I'll give them a try and let you know After the success of SP2 last night, I'm sure I can give it a blast now The files (im fairly sure) are the same ones as they were previous to SP2 as when I updated my SP1 machine with SP2... (it didnt work the first time - so had to uninstall SP2 - as it requested after detecting that it hadnt installed itself properly - I then got rid of a few programs for good measure, and tried again and lovely lovely success) ...ahhhh...it lists them to install! Maybe i never installed them in the first place....I'm gonna try installing the local downloaded ones from the SP1 updates and see if it installs them and then doesnt list them in windows update.... EDIT: Success!!! I tried journal viewer & HighMat and now only the Dotnet package is there to install in the optional updates! Will try...if I'm still awake...to combine all three in a build with SP2 to see what happens...will let you know. Regards N

If you use sysprep and reseal the pc (as oem's should hehe ) by default, it will ask for the product key when the end user loads up the pc again for the first time Trying to get the local retailer I help to understand this and....I think he does - finally uses sysprep (I should be on commission from microsoft methinks hehe) I'm sure there are numerous details of sysprep elsewhere on the msfn forums about this - i dont want to go into detail here as GM might shout at me hehe * at GM* hehe Regards, N.

well you could look at the topic http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=165329 but yep, that seems about right! There are no critical hotfixes for it yet, only the HMTCDWizard, Dotnetfx, and setup (journal viewer) but not really needed unless you use them. I chose to disable the downloader as for some reason, i was getting SP1 unpdates downloading even tho I'd already put the sp2 update into the relevent directory. Clean install of xpcreate and this time it was fine...strange... Anyhow....if it works for you, then great and the short answer is: Yes! Thats as it should be Regards, N.

whooops...indeed youre right... But can you add them? ie. Why add the directX one when its 9.0c is installed? (guess you have to work for microsoft to answer that hehe) [[ **** you're quick btw GM ]] Nath

Regarding no hotfixes for SP2...what about this?.... Go to: http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/catalog/en/default.asp Choose Windows XP SP2 from the list, leaving the Advanced Options as they are (all ticked).... There's a good number of things that appear but not quite sure if they are relevent..... i.e. Managed DirectX - not the directx 9.0c that comes with it hehe any thoughts? Regards, N.

Few questions: 1. Are you using the latest version of XPCREATE? Have you tried the "failsafe" build first? 2. Is this a original XP CD? 3. If not, has this already been customised & built before? 4. Is this a SP1a CD with SP1 trying to get integrated into it (or something similar)? Just a few thoughts... Its 4am here ....*yawns*... Regards, N.

@ihei: It would help if you said where you were from i.e. US, UK, etc... Also depends what you plan to do with it i.e. if its just for a file/logon server, then all you need would be the std version of server 2003. and how much you've budgeted for it, etc. If you can find it cheaper, the Small Business Edition (Std) which you can get bundled with some servers (or seperately) HP/Compaq were bundling it with some of their servers models a few or so months back - try looking/contacting a decent supplier like Insight (UK or US) for offers - Dell or IBM might have similar good offers I myself choose to get the server's basic and bought the licenses seperately and depending on your requirements & "situation", the prices fluctuate considerably i.e. the education price I have are completely different to normal buisness & public sector pricing. I got the Getting Started guide book instead of the CD(s) (supplier's fault) but managed to keep it for free. Its handy to get a "big picture" of what you can do and achieve and a few howto's on things. Wouldn't have got it but makes slighty interesting reading, even if they dont know simple english lol Anyhow, good luck with your choice - as a server choice, I luv it, even minor issues can be solved with paitence, searching and time. Also, if you have a fairly decent machine you can spare, you could always register and download the trial as "mendipjohn" mentioned as see how you get on with it. Bear in mind not to use it as a final solution otherwise you'll have a nasty surprise after 180 days hehe (it shuts down after you've started it and logged on...as I remember - dont think you can upgrade from the trial and why would you really, knowing its a trial hehe) @MSNwar: I would suggest you do strip this topic of useless posts (no offense guys 'n' girls) as its not particually useful to beginners to wade through general chatting really powerzone: If your refering to the book you buy, best look elsewhere as if you're after it for free, you know thats illegal, however if you dont want to part with £££ or $$$ then you have a look at: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documen...-us/welcome.asp and there's plenty of resources at: The Windows Server 2003 Homepage (sorry for a such a long post everyone....anyone I missed??? ) Regards, Nathan.

I'd just like to quote the homepage of XPCREATE: "XPCREATE is a utility program that will combine an original XP distribution and assorted hotfixes and updates to produce an up-to-date XP Distibution CD" As you'll notice, it *doesnt* say that its primary goal is a unattended setup of windows xp. This said, it is possible, although I admit, I dont know whether using multiple .sif files will work (I havent used multiple sif files but have used a single one on the cd). If you want the sif file on the cd however, you need to place it in the FILESCD directory, creating the i386 directory like this: <yourxpcreateinstalldir>\FILESCD\i386\winnt.sif It will then be incorporated into the building of the cd - I believe that this needs to be done *before* you start the creation process (but its been a while and I'm not 100% certain there). I dont whether you can use additional answer files on a floppy disk as well as placing one on the cd (seems quite likely for obvious reasons) but like GM said, you'll need to consult the unattended section(s) of the MSFN forum or Microsoft's site. I dont think the xpcreate process would change anything to prevent the normal proceedures from taking place. There has been other mentions of unattended setup's on this section of the MSFN forum, although I'm not sure if they/we've mentioned using more than one answer file. Good luck & please let us know if you have success - I'd like to know the answer myself in the question of more than one answer file Regards, Nathan H.

Hi all Skimming thru this quickly I'd just like to add this: Volume licensed products can be "OEM" installed - by whatever custom methods are needed, just like the OEM equivelents. However, a volume Product key *WONT* work with OEM media, any full product version (as I recall) or vice versa. Putting simply, only the following will work: - OEM Product key = OEM Media - Volume/Select Product Key = Select Media - Full Retail Product Key = The Full Retail Media I think this applies for most, if not all of the many windows OSes out there so providing you followed this rule, if you still get problems when using XPCREATE and unattended installs, I suggest that you double-check your other settings. Remember to use a failsafe XPCREATE build before you add more. Note: I also use select products in my educational work place. Regards & hope this helps, N.

Hi GM (God...I wish I had time to check back with you all here myself so I'm a few months outta touch) Unless I've missed this...and I probably have... Just wishing you a enjoyable holiday (if you havent already been & come back from it already hehe ) as after all this work for nowt, you certainly deserve it. All the best bud... Best Regards, Nath.

@Bilou_Gateux Just to let you know (although I'm sure you all do know this already) but I read that the XP SP2 release date has been put back to Q3 this year (october '04-ish) instead of next month so integrating it may well be completely different when the time comes. Think there's something on the M$ site...haven't had a look yet (too busy installing new 2003 servers at work and converting the existing users to the new servers - much fun) Regards, Nath.

hehe Ditto N.

lol @ "flakey"

On a customised XP CD, $OEM$ goes at the root of the CD... ....it would only go inside if you were doing a network install of XP. The drivers may have not been picked up for many reasons - one would be that you can't simply put the driver file(s) there and expect it to automatically install them, you need to add entries in the winnt.sif file I don't think they would be picked up at all by any other means but I could well be wrong regarding that but the $OEM$ folder shouldn't reside in the i386 folder definately (unless its a network install) Regards, N.

Maybe I should have put.... N.

Thought not hehe I'm quite one for getting it all right - a perfectionist (or should that be... wannabe-perfectionist lol) Cheers, N.