johnhc

zZolaa, I have had just a quick look, but wanted to reply. I have to run, but will look more later, including your links - thanks. Couple of questions - are you installing on HW or a virtual machine (which one)? Have you adhered to the tenets I pointed out in my first reply? Have fun, John. EDIT: I see you have removed a bunch of stuff, which is OK as long as you realize in many cases, to get them back requires creating a new ISO. Having said that I ran across this fix for the "Application compatibility patch" error in Event Log. It appears you can fix that problem, if it is yours, without rebuilding. I see no drivers and no hot fixes - why? Have fun, John.

zZolaa, please post a screen shot of the Event Log entry. Also, please attach (not paste) your Last Session.ini. Make sure to always start with a fresh copy of your CD files/folders, do all your work in one nLite session and integrate only one SP. Please report when you have a solution, so others can benefit. Enjoy, John.

neonnlarry, it looks OK to me. I run XP x64, so I am not familiar with 32 bit updates. I always recommend that WMP11 be integrated by nLite. This results in a true single pass. Assuming Boooogy's SlipStreamer is installed on your system, then when nLite sees the WMP11 installer in your hot fix section it simply calls it. Just place the installer in your hot fix section, followed by all updates to WMP11. I would also suggest you run your ISO on a virtual system such as VirtualPC, VirtualBox or VMware server - all free. Saves a lot of frustrations, but does not check out drivers. I can install my system on VMware Server in less than 15 minutes from an ISO file. If you have trouble with this build, I suggest you remove all your hot fixes except for WMP11+updates and IE8 AddOn. Please let us know how it goes. I looked a little at flat install and it looks like it will lead to the same problem as installing from the CD under Vista. If we could figure out some way to get past that, you could copy your nLited folder to your Vista machine and install from it. Enjoy, John.

Sotcr, I will say it one more time. Please start with a fresh copy of your source and run nLite only one time. Also do no use WMP11 Slipstreamer after you run nLite on the same source. NLite will see your WMP11 installer and automatically call WMP11 Slipstreamer as long as it is installed on your system. SIMPLY place the WMP11 installer, followed by WMP11 updates in your hot fix section. That simple - NO repeated runs. When you have done this, please report your results and attach your Last Session. Enjoy, John.

b3l, I think there are many posts here concerning this. After you DL the driver, then extract it (I use 7-Zip). Locate the applicable .inf files and point nLite to them. By applicable, it is meant that it is for your OS and the HW you have. Sometimes drivers contain support for several OSs and maybe HW setups. We would have to look at drivers that had buried .exe files. Some of these can and/or may need to be extracted. I have no idea what Toshiba Rotation utility is, but the only thing that goes in the driver section is drivers not applications. Catalyst drivers can contain Catalyst Control Center (CCC). This is not a driver and needs to be separated and installed like an application. Enjoy, John

Sotcr, great title, thanks. I see I have "My Network Places" in my Start Menu in both my nLite install (VMware Server) and my real machine. I don't remember how it got there in my real machine, but it is specified in my nLite Last Session for my VM install. I am running XP x64, but not sure this makes a difference. I suggest you experiment and let us know your results. I also strongly suggest you try a virtual system if you are not using one. VirtualPC, VirtualBox and VMware Server are all free. Enjoy, John.

neonnlarry, I guess that makes sense in a corporate sort of way. Fernando 1 also suggested to update your optical drive firmware. I have done this, a few years ago, for what turned out to be a HW problem. It was not too difficult. I went to the manufacturer's site and DLed the firmware and a utility. Updated with no sweat - still had to RMA my drive, great since. Have you looked at the flat install? Enjoy, John.

docmorris-17, what is the status of this problem? For the fun of it, I have been tying to understand how INF files work and how nLite uses them. I have learned much, but still have much to learn. I have some questions concerning your problem. I see now that nLite.inf size can very greatly. My latest is only 980 lines, still larger than yours but reasonable. In my run with the 23,000 line one, I have many language removals. How some of the sections get run, I think I understand but not all - still investigating. I am running XP x64 and my nLite.inf looks somewhat different from yours. I do not have any BitReg sections. Did you add these? Have you changed the file at all after nLite runs? If you are interested in pursuing this, please let me know and I am sure I can learn something and possibly help in the process. Thanks and enjoy, John.

Sotcr, me too. Did you see the request to edit your topic title? Just edit your first post. Thanks, John.

phryder, did you not read my first reply? I suspect nLite or any other application cannot and will not write into a Read Only file - notice "file" not folder. Your basic process will not work, because you should always run nLite against a fresh copy of your CD files/folders. You can use the Last Session to preserve the exact state of any nLite build. When I build something I really like, I copy the Last Session files from the source folder into a save folder and rename them - make sure both files have exactly the same first part of the name. Here is my standard inculcation: Please attach (not paste) your Last Session.ini. Make sure to always start with a fresh copy of your CD files/folders, do all your work in one nLite session and integrate only one SP. Please report when you have a solution, so others can benefit. Enjoy, John.

Sotcr, I agree with GrofLuigi, but I would be stronger. I suspect all of your problems are probably caused by running nLite multiple times against the same source. I don't think you need Desktop-My Network Places icon-Show, but I could be wrong. IE8 AddOn should be fine - I use one. So I'll end with my standard line and ask you to try it and let us know what happens. Please make sure to always start with a fresh copy of your CD files/folders, do all your work in one nLite session and integrate only one SP. Please report when you have a solution, so others can benefit. Enjoy, John. EDIT: Please edit your thread topic and change it to something more meaningful. Thanks, John.

neonnlarry, I know almost as much about Vista as laptops. What happens if, with Vista running, you load your XP install disk? Does it auto start and give you the options to install? If it does not autostart, can you start it from My Computer (Computer?) If it will open, possibly you could install XP from here, it may be over the top of VIsta. There is also a method called installing from a 'flat' - install directly from an HDD folder. MS H&S site has instructions - have not used it. I do wish you the best. Have fun, John.

neonnlarry, I know almost nothing about laptop computers. Is there an IDE socket that you could temporarily attach an IDE optical drive? If so, perhaps you could borrow one. You could even buy one for a few bucks (maybe $20 or so at Frys or the like.) You could also consider using a USB stick. There is a forum here about installing from a USB stick. If you are interested, let me know because you will want to test to see if you can boot from a USB stick. I tried and my current machine will not. The test is easy to run, but I'll need to find the link if you are interested - let me know. I am glad we got your problem cornered, but sorry it appears to have you cornered. Please let us know where you are headed. I am off to finish my day. Enjoy, John.

neonnlarry, please see this thread, especially Fernando 1's reply. He is the expert here on this and has some BIOS advice. This appears to be a thorny problem. Please let us know what you learn. Good luck, John.

neonnlarry, I may have been beating the wrong horse. Your horse (Hot Fix section) needed it but I got sideways and assumed (falsely) that your SATA HDD could not be found. Can you boot the original CD on your SATA optical drive? I know some have had problems here booting from a SATA optical drive - try a search here. Adding drivers via nLite does not help, of course, since you can't even get it to boot. How are you writing the CD? Are you using the burner built into nLite? What kind of boot sector are you using? If you are not using nLite's built-in burner, give it a try with the default boot sector. You should never need to delete all Presets. There is a Blank and Init one at the top you can always start with. I hope you have not deleted them - if so retrieve them from your Recycle Bin. You can also uncheck "Load 'Last Session' on startup". If you see anything in your various tasks, then you are not running with a fresh source. Sorry I misunderstood your problem. Enjoy, John.

dr.zick, I think you should at least look at the warnings in the component removal section. For example, removing the CPU driver may be a problem, also battery support on a lap top. Finding drivers of your own to replaced removed ones may also be problematical. But I agree with g-force, give it a try and let us know how it works out. Enjoy, John.

neonnlarry, it begs NO question! After you remove ALL the items in the Hot Fix section, please let us know the outcome and we will look further if necessary. Also, make sure to always start with a fresh copy of your CD files/folders, do all your work in one nLite session and integrate only one SP. Please report when you have a solution, so others can benefit. Enjoy, John. EDIT: When you include bad stuff in the Hot Fix section, I would expect you to receive many, many error messages. You should get NO error messages from nLite. If you do, it is time to stop and determine the cause. John.

phryder, I think if you take a look, you will see most if not all folders are Read Only. If you uncheck Read Only, it only comes back. My only suggestion is to make the files Read Only. Enjoy, John.

Bryce, a starting point is to run CPU-Z (a free program, see Google.) It will give you some information about your Main Board and what kind of chip set it has. If it is Intel, then go to their DL page and find the proper drivers. Good luck, John.

neonnlarry, as I said before IE8 will not integrate and you need to remove it. If you do install IE8, then you will not need the IE7 updates. It also looks like you have IE7 updates but did not install IE7. It looks like you are trying to install applications via the Hot Fix section and this also will not work. I assume Install_Messenger.exe, and several others, is an application. There is a sub forum above the nLite one for AddOns and also RyanVM forum that discusses installing applications via the Hot Fix section. I suggest to get you going, that you remove ALL the items under Hot Fix and see if you can get a running system - essentially with only drivers. Please let us know the outcome. Enjoy, John. EDIT: I agree with g-force, below, that the .NET updates probably will not integrate. The install will not also. Forgot to say. John,

arpharazon, I failed to mention that you could remove the silent switches from the VistaCodecs install and watch it go. Some installers have /passive which does not ask for input but displays messages. Kurt_Aust is big on this. Enjoy, John.

arpharazon, it looks like you are making progress. Now comes the time for my confession. I have not installed an nLited disk on real hardware. I am waiting for AMD to come out with the CPU I want, then I'm ready to go. I do install VMware's audio driver via nLite and that goes fine. I know many people (including Kurt_Aust, I think) are regularly installing on hardware with good success. You might ask him (via PM) about this and the VistaCodecs problem. I usually watch his Run1 execute and can see when something goes bad and figure what happens. You ask a good question about applications on another HDD. I don't have any help for you but would think that many face this condition. I suggest you open a separate thread on this subject alone. You certainly can simply install them using WPI of Run1 during your OS install. Please do open a new thread. Automatic updates will run just as on any machine. When I install on VMware, I usually get a Windows Update pop-up with updates. Enjoy, John.

tetrapro, I guess I do not understand why you are using nLite at all. What could be easier to install drivers than to point nLite to them. I think the main emphasis here is to help people with nLite problems. If you choose to use the 'Simple method...', then I suggest you post in that forum. This is not the Unattended forum, but the nLite forum. Enjoy, John.

Thanks for your Last Session, neonnlarry. Yes, many people here have had trouble installing TO a SATA drive - search will show. There are threads above from Fernando 1 discussing such. Your Last Session shows several problems. You have integrated no SP and you cannot integrate IE8 in XP (MS choice - please see several IE8 posts here - search). You have included no drivers, much less text mode drivers. DO NOT use F6, as suggested by -X-, unless you disable OEM Preinstall (General Tab in Unattended - see help - ? in circle). You don't need F6 anyway if you include text mode drivers. Please make sure to always start with a fresh copy of your CD files/folders, do all your work in one nLite session and integrate only one SP. Please report when you have a solution, so others can benefit. Enjoy, John.

arpharazon, I don't think Kurt_Aust list has any Outlook updates. It probably does have Outlook Express updates, which should be included. Have you placed the KBs that will not integrate via nLite into your batch file? Please see his Run1 file. When you DL his WinXP-64_sp2+ folder (end of his first post), you will find a folder called Misc containing UpdatePrep.bat. You should run this batch file. It assigns the leading numbers and uses them to sort and delete hot fixes. Having them on the name is of no consequence to nLite - just a name. These kinds of questions are why I suggested you simply remove what I suggested, and see if you can get a successful install on HW. Please let me know. Enjoy, John.