jguderian

@RogueSpear - I assume your using RIS in a corporate environment. Have you run into any problems using the RVM pack? Im debating whether using this is a good idea as opposed to simply downloading the newest hotfixes, and either adding them to svcpack.inf, or cmdlines.txt. It seems that you cant upgrade on top of previous versions of RVM, so it seems awfully limiting. Not to mention the time required to go through the RIS conversion process to update it. Having said that I am quite interested in the process, and the update packs that have been created. Im just curious if youve run into any stability issues, or otehrwise that should be noted. Good work on AutoRis. Its a great automation tool.

@Historic Do you have any idea why the registry keys for the toolbar etc. that you added wouldnt be applied during the install? I created an admin install point, and then applied your transform to it within Orca, and saved a new 'transformed' .msi which I then distributed via SMS 2003. It installs fine, and I dont get the EULA and the update button is gone, but it appears most of the registry addons that you provided didnt take effect? Just curious if you had any idea why? Thanks for your help.

Thanks for the input. I use GPO software installation only for Office XP, and I really like how quick it is. Since Ive got SMS 2003 Ive somewhat moved away from GPO's for software, but to be honest I like the GPO installations better than SMS for newly installed PC's. I'll consider this for the .net & java. I just dont have a lot of time (or expertise)to create new installers that are GPO compatible. So I somewhat grab the "pre-made" stuff from these forums to include in either SMS or the pre-install of a new build. Just out of curiosity. Do you create a policy for each piece of software, or do you include the software within one of your already made GPO's? Im just curious from a design perspective. For now, I may just edit the svcpack.inf file prior to running autoris. You know the weird thing is, I did remove the corresponding .pnf file, and I had RIS create a new .pnf file from the modified svcpack.inf file, but I still got that pesky NIC problem. Its as if my decompressing the svcpack file invalidated the image as a whole. Its not necessary for the svcpack.inf file to be compressed, so Im not sure why this didnt work. This is odd to me, because Ive always been able to add NIC drivers to the image without causing problems. Thanks for the response.

RogueSpear: Do you install the .net & java switchless installers from Ryan VM with your RIS install? After your script successfully completed with the RVM pack integrated I tried to expand the svcpack.in_ file, and make the appropriate changes for .nt & java. I then copied the svcpack.inf file back to the RIS image, but now when I boot to the RIS image it says that I dont have the necessary NIC drivers. Is this even possible using RIS? If so, what am I doing wrong? Thanks for your help.

RogueSpear: I just finished testing the Integrator & **edit to remove referenced s/w** against a XP SP2 slipstreamed install from my F: drive, and within the C:\Ristemp folder that I run autoris from. The integrate process that I ran from the F: drive worked, but the one from the C:\ristemp folder did not. I got the "access denied" messages again referring to the C:\Windows directory. I went through the same process on the C: drive as I did on the F: drive, so Im not sure what the difference is. This obviously is not your problem, so I'll post this in the RyanVM forum for the integrator beta. I appreciate your patience, and help. Now I can actually use your script for my RIS install!

Without the integrator involved in the AutoRis script, everything works fine. I can boot to the RIS image, and I dont get the NIC error. With the integrator, I still get the integrate.log file with all the "access denied" messages, and I was able to boot to the RIS image without error at the point AutoRis asks (During the .PNF creation). After AutoRis completes I can boot the RIS image without any errors (The NIC thing must have been a fluke). After it copies all of the files to the workstation, I get the following error: The following value in the .SIF file used by Setup is corrupted or missing: Value 0 on the line in section [sourceDisksFiles] with key "SP2.cab." Setup cannot continue. So it seems clear to me that the integrator is causing this problem, but Im unsure why? If I run the integrator seprately I get the same access denied issues. Im still uncertain why the integrator is trying to do anything to my local workstations Windows directory? Any ideas?

The RIS server is W2k server stabdard SP4. My workstation is Windows XP SP2. I am running AutoRIS out of C:\RISTEMP. My user Id that Im running all of this from is a an enterprise admin (domain admin). I have permissions to everything. I was going to try AutoRis without the RVM integration, so when I do this I can post back with results. Im unclear why the integration is looking at my workstations Windows directory? Thanks for the help. Im looking forward to using AutoRis, its a great utility, and I appreciate your effort.

I have been trying to use AutoRis with the 1.3.1 update pack, and I dont think it has worked for me. Im basing this assumption from the RVM_integrate.log file that says "access denied" to everything. Also the percent complete goes from 1 to 100 very quickly. Ive been unable to boot to my SP2 ris image after AutoRis does its magic. It tells me that the NIC driver is missing or corrupt even though its there and unmodifed by me. These systems are running the 3com 3c920 which is supported natively. Ive also tried with the **edited to remove referenced s/w**, and I get the same "access denied" with its log file as well. However I was able to boot the ris image without the NIC error, but I encountered a different error. Unfortunately I didnt write it down, but it said there was an error in my .sif file on line 0 within section "LocalSourceDisks", and it referenced sp2.cab. Im pretty close on the verbage of this error, but I know its not 100%. If I duplicate it, I'll post the exact message. Is this normal within the log? I can boot the SP2 image before AutoRis runs, so Im not sure whats going on as far as the NIC goes. Ive had to resort to the hotfixes being run from the $OEM$ (yuck) folder, until I get this sorted out. Ive attached the log file in question. Any help would be appreciated. RVM_integrate.zip

Roguespear, I have been trying to use the AutoRis script, but have been unable to get it to work. The instructions are written very well, and it all makes sense, however when it gets to the RVM integration it errors out. I am using this version of integrator: RVM_Integrator_1.0RC8.exe I know your instructions say to use minimum V1.0 RC13 Beta 5, however Im downloading the above version straight from Ryan's site. I get an error that is being thrown from the integrator (perhaps due to version), that states: Invalid # of Parameters: 2 is an invalid amount of parameters. Please check your syntax. I have verified my .ini quite a few times. Then after I close the error, and get past nlite, if there are no files in the NIC folder, it errors out, and says "file not found" My bigger concern is with the integrator. Any ideas? Thanks for this handy little program, I will quite a bit of use out of it, as I do nothing but RIS installs.

Here is my scenario: I have been installing Acrobat 6.01 using an .mst file that removes the updates option within tools, and gets rid of all the adverts. 6.02 has been out, and I need to implement it. What Im looking for: A good way to upgrade the above installation to 6.02 and keep the modifications done. I have downloaded RyanVMs package, and it extracts, but then it just kind of stops. I get no errors. I was under the impression that the new .msi based reader installs would uninstall, or upgrade previous versions. I didnt create the .mst file Im referencing, and Im very unfamiliar with how to create a new one properly. Anyone have any ideas, or good information to point me to? I use SMS to deploy apps, so if anyone has any information relating to that technology, it would be welcomed. Thanks!

I use RIS to perform all of my unattended machine builds, and have been very successful doing this with both Win2k & WinXP for dekstops. However we recently accuired several Dell Latitude C640 systems that will have Windows XP installed, and use the synaptics touchpad driver. When the synaptics driver is referenced in my winnt.sif file to install the installation takes over 2 hours to complete. When the driver is excluded, it completes in about 45 minutes. During the build it just sort of hangs on the 12 minutes remaining section of the install, however I still get HD activity as if it doing something. Is this a known problem, and does anyone have a fix. I know Windowx XP natively supports the touchpad, but it would be nice to install the real driver for the added functions to this device.

Well it appears that my problem was the Synaptics touchpad driver. When I remove it from the winnt.sif file the installation finishes in about 40 minutes. Anyone have any idea why this one driver would cause such a long installation? It always installed correctly, it just took forever! Thanks!

File names aside is there anything that sticks out that would make this build take forever. All of these drivers currently load with the long file names. I know this isnt an 8.3 naming issue as I have always had this naming scheme with Windows 2k, and it has always worked just fine. As for my 001 mistake, I have the folder, but I forgot the 001 on the nic driver in the winnt.sif file... Oops. Thanks for pointing that out. Im still at the end of my rope on this one, and am having the same problem. I suppose based off the answers that I am going to have to do a trial and error test by eliminating the drivers one at a time. This is something I wanted to prevent. If anyone has any further ionformation please post it. I will also post any solutions that I may find. Thanks!

I dont know which driver is causing the problem? Id rather not have all my drivers installed in the GUIRUNONCE. I wanted to avoid testing each driver individually, but it appears that may be what I have to do. I am open for more suggestions, however..

Well I posted a previous question related to this problem, but I thought the slowdows for my Unattended RIS install was due to a hotfix, however after doing a little more troubleshooting, it appears that is not so. Within my Winnt.sif file I am obviously installing drivers for my devices on a Latitude C640. These drivers all come from Dell with the exception of the touchpad. With the "OEMPNPDRIVERSPATH" in the winnt.sif file my install can take almost 2 hours to complete. It just gets hangs on the 12 minutes remaining mark for over an hour. However when removing this line in the winnt.sif file, it cruises along, and completes the install with all hotfixes, and all post-installation processes in about 45 minutes. I have absolutely no idea why this line could be causing me so many problems. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions. [data]floppyless = "1"msdosinitiated = "1"OriSrc = "\\%SERVERNAME%\RemInst\%INSTALLPATH%\%MACHINETYPE%"OriTyp = "4"LocalSourceOnCD = 1 [setupData]OsLoadOptions = "/noguiboot /fastdetect"SetupSourceDevice = "\Device\LanmanRedirector\%SERVERNAME%\RemInst\%INSTALLPATH%" [unattended]OemPreinstall = YesFileSystem = LeaveAloneExtendOEMPartition = 0TargetPath = \WINDOWSOemSkipEula = yesOEMPnPDriversPath = "Drivers\000_C640IntelICH3M.chp;Drivers\_3c920.nic;Drivers\002_C640ATI7500M.vid;Drivers\003_C640Crystal.aud;Drivers\004_C640PCTel.mdm;Drivers\005_C640Synaptics.mse"DriverSigningPolicy = IgnoreInstallFilesPath = "\\%SERVERNAME%\RemInst\%INSTALLPATH%\%MACHINETYPE%"LegacyNIC = 1 [userData]FullName = "%USERFIRSTNAME% %USERLASTNAME%"OrgName = "%ORGNAME%"ComputerName = %MACHINENAME%ProductID = [GuiUnattended]OemSkipWelcome = 1OemSkipRegional = 1TimeZone = %TIMEZONE%AdminPassword = "*"AutoLogon = YesAutoLogonCount = 1 [GuiRunOnce]C:\Windows\Setup\SetupXPNote.exe [Display]BitsPerPel = 24XResolution = 1024YResolution = 768VRefresh = 75 [Components]chat = OFFclipbook = OFFdialer = OFFhypertrm = OFFobjectpkg = OFFrec = OFFiis_common = OFFiis_inetmgr = OFFiis_www = OFFiis_ftp = OFFiis_htmla = OFFiis_doc = OFFiis_pwmgr = OFFiis_nntp = OFFiis_nntp_docs = OFFiis_smtp = OFFiis_smtp_docs = OFFiisdbg = OFFfp_extensions = OFFmsnexplr = OFFnetcis = OFFnetcm = OFFnetcps = OFFOEAccess = OFF [Networking] [NetServices]MS_Server=params.MS_PSched [identification]JoinDomain = %MACHINEDOMAIN%DoOldStyleDomainJoin = Yes [RemoteInstall]Repartition = YesUseWholeDisk = Yes [OSChooser]Description ="C640 Latitude Custom Development Windows XP Professional SP1"Help ="Automatically installs Windows XP Professional SP1 without prompting the user for input."LaunchFile = "%INSTALLPATH%\%MACHINETYPE%\templates\startrom.com"ImageType =FlatVersion="5.1"

I appreciate the repsonses, and have realized that there really isnt much of a difference in speed between the two methods. I finally got the svcpack.inf method to work by changing the svc pack names to an 8.3 file name. One of my quesitons was; why it took so long at the 12 or 13 minute mark to complete the install. It could take well over an hour to get through this part, and I dont have all that many patched to install. This question didnt really get addressed, and that may be becasue Im using RIS. I did find something out however. It appears that if I install a machine without the "OEMPNPDRIVERSPATH" entry in the winnt.sof file, the installation cruises without any problems, and is done in about 30 minutes. Does anyone know why this would be causing such a problem? I have included my winnt.sif file to take a look at. [data] floppyless = "1" msdosinitiated = "1" OriSrc = "\\%SERVERNAME%\RemInst\%INSTALLPATH%\%MACHINETYPE%" OriTyp = "4" LocalSourceOnCD = 1 [setupData] OsLoadOptions = "/noguiboot /fastdetect" SetupSourceDevice = "\Device\LanmanRedirector\%SERVERNAME%\RemInst\%INSTALLPATH%" [unattended] OemPreinstall = Yes FileSystem = LeaveAlone ExtendOEMPartition = 0 TargetPath = \WINDOWS OemSkipEula = yes OEMPnPDriversPath = "Drivers\C640ATI7500M.vid;Drivers\3c920.nic;Drivers\C640Crystal.aud;Drivers\C640IntelICH3M.chp;Drivers\C640PcTel.mdm;Drivers\C640Synaptics.mse" DriverSigningPolicy = Ignore InstallFilesPath = "\\%SERVERNAME%\RemInst\%INSTALLPATH%\%MACHINETYPE%" LegacyNIC = 1 [userData] FullName = "%USERFIRSTNAME% %USERLASTNAME%" OrgName = "%ORGNAME%" ComputerName = %MACHINENAME% ProductID = [GuiUnattended] OemSkipWelcome = 1 OemSkipRegional = 1 TimeZone = %TIMEZONE% AdminPassword = "*" AutoLogon = Yes AutoLogonCount = 1 [GuiRunOnce] C:\Windows\Setup\SetupXPNote.exe [Display] BitsPerPel = 24 XResolution = 1024 YResolution = 768 VRefresh = 75 [Components] chat = OFF clipbook = OFF dialer = OFF hypertrm = OFF objectpkg = OFF rec = OFF iis_common = OFF iis_inetmgr = OFF iis_www = OFF iis_ftp = OFF iis_htmla = OFF iis_doc = OFF iis_pwmgr = OFF iis_nntp = OFF iis_nntp_docs = OFF iis_smtp = OFF iis_smtp_docs = OFF iisdbg = OFF fp_extensions = OFF msnexplr = OFF netcis = OFF netcm = OFF netcps = OFF OEAccess = OFF [Networking] [NetServices] MS_Server=params.MS_PSched [identification] JoinDomain = %MACHINEDOMAIN% DoOldStyleDomainJoin = Yes [RemoteInstall] Repartition = Yes UseWholeDisk = Yes [OSChooser] Description ="C640 Latitude Custom Windows XP Professional SP1" Help ="Automatically installs Windows XP Professional SP1 without prompting the user for input." LaunchFile = "%INSTALLPATH%\%MACHINETYPE%\templates\startrom.com" ImageType =Flat Version="5.1"

I am currently using RIS on a Windows 2k server to deploy both 2k & XP. I am using the $OEM$ file structure and cmdlines.txt to installl hotfixes. I have read differing opinions of svcpack.in & cmdlines.txt, which leads to my 3 questions. 1. What is the difference between svcpack.inf & cmdlines.txt & which should I use in this environment? 2. If svcpack.inf is the way to go, how do I use it? I have added all of the hotfixes (which are in 8.3 name format), into the file, and updated dosnet.inf, but the install skips right over everything. Am I missing something? 3. When using RIS to install the OS for XP SP1 it takes over 2 hours to complete an install. At the 12 minutes mark it basically takes over an hour to complete. Any reason for this? It seems to install fine with the ristndrd.sif file, but Im unsure what the problem is, in my custom .sif file. BTW: Windows 2000 works very well in this configuration, and installs from start to finish in about 45 minutes including office. Thanks for the help!