Professor Frink

I noticed that there is a "SVCPACK.IN_" file in the Windows 2000 i386 folder. But does the "SVCPACK.INF" work the same way. Hmmm......

But this line will nix it, right? [Unattended] UnattendSwitch="yes"

I don't have a "Winnt.sif" file, but I have an "unattend.txt" (which is really the same thing, just an answer file). I already have [GuiUnattended] OemSkipWelcome=1 And I have [Unattended] UnattendMode=FullUnattended But I've never actually had UnattendSwitch="yes" (OK, I never really knew about that line ), but it never came up before. I'll put that in and see what happens......

After all this work, there is a chance that I might not be able to use Windows XP in my office. So I'm creating a Windows 2000 unattended installation, just in case. But I'm wondering if these things work the same with 2000: Putting registry tweaks in a file and calling it with "cmdlines.txt" (particularly, the part where the tweaks are applied to all users) Calling up patches through the "svcpack.inf" file. And if so, can I continue to include WMP9 and DX9? I'm not going to ask about specific reg tweaks, because that is a huge list. I'll leave that for another day. Thanks for any help you guys can provide!

mbouchard: Nope, no CD. This is done purely through the network. But regardless of network settings, why the heck would that "welcome" screen come up? Has that ever happened to anyone else?

-bump-

It's XP -- I just like to call my Windows folder "WINNT". I guess it was inaccurate to say "different subnet". What it's doing is connecting to a small switch, which in turn is connected to a second network adapter on the server. Sounds convoluted, but it has to be that way (it has to do with the building having the ports locked down by MAC address). So the gateway is the IP address I have set for that second adapter -- by default I just call it 192.168.1.1. And the PC's IP address is 192.168.1.3. I hope that makes sense. By going this route, the domain is not recognized, so I just do a workgroup (I'll add the workstation to the domain later). But that doesn't explain why it should give me that welcome screen....

I have been testing and re-testing my unattended installation for weeks now with no real problems. Up until now it has been through the network, with the workstation being added to the domain and everything. So the one line of my unattend.txt looked like this: [Identification] JoinDomain=Domain Name DomainAdmin=Domain account username DomainAdminPassword=******** But I now need to run it off of a different subnet, so the domain is unavailable (although I can still connect to the server for the actual installation files). So the only things I changed in unattend.txt were the IP settings and the [identification] line, which now looks like this: [Identification] JoinWorkgroup=WORKGROUP So the installation starts fine, and even goes through the whole XP part. But when it comes time to reboot and auto-logon as the local administrator (for application installations), it stops at a welcome screen saying "Let's spend a few minutes setting up your computer" : Screenshot (linked due to large size) If I now hit the power button and let it reboot, it then does the auto-login and continues the installation. Obviously I'm doing something wrong, but I'm at a loss. Help!! EDIT -- If it helps, here is the entire unattend.txt, with any personal information blocked out: unattend.txt

This is based on a topic I started in the Hardware Forum: LCD vs. CRT monitors Let's say I go the LCD route, which means higher resolution, which means everything onscreen is smaller than my users are used to. Is there a "one-click" setting to make everything larger onscreen? Or would I need to go to one place for text, and another for desktop icons, and so on?

One more thing about Spywareblaster -- are there any sites I can go to to test it out? You know, a link to some page that is known for secretly installing spyware? In case it's forbidden to post a link like that, just e-mail it to me. Thanks!

Looking for more suggestions. Has anyone else experienced the same thing -- a blurry screen with 800 x 600 resolution? And the other thing I mentioned, regarding higher resolutions resulting in everything onscreen appearing smaller. I have two questions about that: Will that get exponentially worse as the monitor size increases? In other words, would text/icons on a 20-inch LCD appear even smaller than on a 17-inch one? If I use a high resolution, how would I make text/icons appear larger on the screen? Is there just one simple setting to bump up EVERYTHING, or are there a bunch of different things I'd need to change?

Hey, that Spywareblaster looks pretty cool. And it seems to be like Ad-Aware, where I can silently install it and automatically patch it with the latest definitions (via a batch file). But by default the protection is turned off -- is there some way to have it automatically turn on the protection? Also, is there any chance that I will have any problems/conflicts with Spywareblaster? Like any weird pop-ups during normal Web surfing, or anything else?

It probably sounds like a pipe dream, I know. But is there some way to customize Windows XP so that my users are blocked from installing certain spyware-infested programs (Hotbar, WeatherBug, etc)? I really don't want to flat-out remove all of their rights, because that would also be troublesome. EDIT -- I just realized that I probably posted this in the wrong area. Mods, please move if necessary.

I just found out that she installed that Hotbar program. I wonder if that has something to do with it....

I never thought about clear type -- that would definitely change things. And FWIW, the bluriness I've seen was on other brands. I haven't actually tried out a 1703 yet.

For those of you testing out SP2 -- is there a reg tweak to turn off the firewall, since it turns itself on by default?

On the surface that probably sounds like a dumb question, but here's why I ask. This will be for all of the new computers in my office (about 150), where everyone is used to 800 x 600 resolution on their current CRT monitors. I'd love to go LCD, since we have the money in our budget, but I've played with a few in the stores, and they look like crap at that sort of resolution -- really, really blurry. When you increase the resolution it becomes crystal clear, but then everything on the screen is much smaller. I'm afraid that if I roll that out to 150 users that a lot of people will complain. So I guess my main question is this -- is it typical of all LCD monitors that the screen is blurry at a lower resolution (somewhere around 800 x 600)? And if that is the case, should I go for it anyway? The higher resolution/smaller screen -- is it worth it? Convince me! FYI -- These will be through Dell, so I am 99% sure that it would be a 1703FP. Also, a review from CNET

This is happening to a user in a field office, so I haven't seen it firsthand. It is Office XP. She says that pretty much every time she clicks the "Send" button, she gets a message asking if she wants to save the changes -- she says it's the exact same box you get when you close an open e-mail that you are typing, like this: I checked her Rules, and it is empty. Is there any other reason why this would be happening when she clicks "Send"?

I have created a custom Office XP package as explained here: http://unattended.msfn.org/xp/officexp_advanced.htm Plus I have tweaked it using the Custom Installation Wizard. The problem is that my agency's enterprise agreement has changed, and there is a different license key that we are now supposed to use. Is there some way to incorporate that into my existing proplus.msi package, or do I have to start over? That would suck, since I also have slipstreamed a bunch of updates into it.

I found another tweak that I need. Is there a way, via a reg tweak, to disable a video adapter in Device Manager? As I mentioned in this thread here: Bizarre problem with Print Screen in Windows XP my Dell Optiplex's don't disable the onboard video, they just make the video card the primary. But Windows thinks that I have two video displays running, which causes problems like that one. So is there a way to make Windows automatically disable that video adapter? The following keys were changed when I did it with regshot: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Hardware Profiles\0001\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7125&SUBSYS_00B41028&REV_03\3&29E81982&0&08\CSConfigFlags: 0x00000000 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Hardware Profiles\0001\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7125&SUBSYS_00B41028&REV_03\3&29E81982&0&08\CSConfigFlags: 0x00000001 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Hardware Profiles\Current\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7125&SUBSYS_00B41028&REV_03\3&29E81982&0&08\CSConfigFlags: 0x00000000 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Hardware Profiles\Current\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7125&SUBSYS_00B41028&REV_03\3&29E81982&0&08\CSConfigFlags: 0x00000001 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Hardware Profiles\0001\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7125&SUBSYS_00B41028&REV_03\3&29E81982&0&08\CSConfigFlags: 0x00000000 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Hardware Profiles\0001\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7125&SUBSYS_00B41028&REV_03\3&29E81982&0&08\CSConfigFlags: 0x00000001 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Hardware Profiles\Current\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7125&SUBSYS_00B41028&REV_03\3&29E81982&0&08\CSConfigFlags: 0x00000000 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Hardware Profiles\Current\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7125&SUBSYS_00B41028&REV_03\3&29E81982&0&08\CSConfigFlags: 0x00000001 But those are some ugly looking keys. Is all of that really necessary, or there a simpler way?

Thanks, MavereX, that was it! This PC (Dell Optiplex GX110) has onboard video, but I use a PCI video card. But the onboard video isn't technically disabled. Dell Optiplex's (at least the GX110 model) don't allow you to disable the onboard video in the BIOS. All you can do is make the video card the primary. I don't ever remember this happening in Windows 2000, just with my new XP setup. The fix was going into the display properties and unchecking the box for video 2 saying "Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor." Is there some way to incorporate something into my unattended install to either: 1. Keep that box unchecked 2. Disable the onboard video in Device Manager ? Hopefully I can automate this somehow, because I plan to run this unattended install on about 200 PCs.

This may not seem like the right forum for this problem, but I am asking for a reg tweak to fix the problem, so I guess it's OK. Anyway, "ALT-Print Screen" seem to work just fine with capturing the active window. But when I just hit the "Print Screen" button, it doesn't just give me the whole screen as it should, as you can see here: For some reason it gives me a split view with my wallpaper. What the heck? And if I go to my desktop and hit "Print Screen", it does the same thing: So it does it within different windows, and it does it with different paste methods (both Paint and Word). What is wrong, and how can I apply a tweak to fix it? Please help!!

Holy crap, I think that worked! I better run another install to make sure. Thanks! Now there is that stupid mini-bar to contend with..... but I'm pretty sure that it is something I'll just have to deal with. So is there any reason NOT to install WMP9? I haven't found any real problems with it yet.

bump for my last post regarding WMP9. Thanks for any input you guys might have!

I think I may have "fixed" it (at least so it doesn't appear in the Add/Remove Programs list). I do a reg tweak that removes the following Registry keys: [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\DEE62E1CB8CC1734C97CDAA885414B2B] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\DEE62E1CB8CC1734C97CDAA885414B2B\SourceList] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\DEE62E1CB8CC1734C97CDAA885414B2B\SourceList\Net] [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products\DEE62E1CB8CC1734C97CDAA885414B2B] [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products\DEE62E1CB8CC1734C97CDAA885414B2B\SourceList] [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products\DEE62E1CB8CC1734C97CDAA885414B2B\SourceList\Net] That removes the "IE5 Registration" listing from Add/Remove Programs. Is there any chance that I could be causing a problem with this, or should I be OK?