smilejack1

YES!!! That did the trick. Thanks so much, to both of you...

It didn't work. I saved the text as "Fix.reg" on my desktop & double-clicked. It asked me if I wanted to make the changes in the registry, I clicked yes, it said it had successfully made the changes, but when I rebooted, I still got Icons view.

Thanks. I didn't realize that was a link. Do the dashes before the first four registry keys mean I should delete them?

I searched. I was unable to find a solution.

As a not-particulary-sophisticated user, I'm deeply troubled to report that I am unable to attempt the fixes you recommended because "HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings" doesn't currently exist on my machine. I hope this is not proof that Bill Gates is the Devil, but fear that it is. It occurs to me, again as a not-particulary-sophisticated user, whether this is because, using nLite, I installed Docs & Settings on D:\...

I've just re-installed XPPro (SP3), and Explorer won't retain my view settings after I've applied them to all folders. I want the Details view, but it keeps reverting back to Icons. Notes: "Remember each folder's view settings" is checked. I have the most recent Windows updates installed. I've Googled extensively, and know this is a common problem. I've tried using TweakUI, the Kelly's-Korner tweak, and changing the bagMRU size values. I'm finding this quite maddening. All help will be greatly appreciated.

I posted this here because I doubt it's an nLite issue. This installation of Windows is 4 months old, and this behavior only began a few weeks ago...

My 4 month old install of XP Pro SP3 (slightly NLited) appears to not be retaining changes - it's is behaving as if I were installing new apps and updates in a virtual environment like Sandboxie or Returnil. The changes disappear when I reboot. Examples: I've installed the newest Windows updates (KB969947 and Nov Malicious Software Removal) several times, via both Automatic Update and the Update website. They install correctly, tell me to reboot, and when I do, they're gone. Avira updates disappear after every shutdown. Comodo Firewall recognizes my recently created home home network at every startup even after I set it to allow my computer to be accessible on the network. I have Returnil installed on my machine but it is not turned on. All advice is appreciated, as I assume I'll have to re-install if i can't figure this out, and I'd rather not...

Unfortunately, I've recently become unemployed, so I can't justify even $8 if it's not absolutely necessary. The rest of your advice, however, is very useful and I appreciate it greatly...

The part # is CT5807. According to the info here it's the Sound Blaster Audio Pci 64 Dell OEM. The sound quality on the tracks I record on my computer doesn't really matter - those are just studies. What I record elsewhere and mix on my computer needs to sound good. I'm guessing that the soundcard won't alter the quality of those tracks at all, however, as long as the playback is good enuogh that I can mix them competently. Thanks for the advice...

A friend just gave me a Dell Dimension 2400. It's old, but my current machine is much older. According to the Dell website, it has an Analog Devices 198x Integrated Audio sound processor, which I can't find much info about online. I also happen to have an old Creative Soundblaster Live card (the Dell OEM version) I could put in this machine. I'm not all that knowledgeable about such things, and I'm wondering which would be better from the following two perspectives: 1) Managing general sound tasks (like system sounds and YouTube videos and the like) while reducing the demands on general system resources. Doesn't the Soundblaster have it's own chip and memory, thereby freeing up the main processor and memory for other tasks? 2) Handling more demanding sound tasks like recording and audio mixing in Audacity and Band-in-a-Box. I don't do complicated recordings (I just record a few guitar and vocal tracks a track at a time). But I also record on a friend's digital recording studio and bring the tracks home to mix. I need reasonably good sound quality on these. All help is greatly appreciated.

I've used nLite once before with success. I'd like to make a much slimmer installation this time, however, and have a few questions. My computer skills are modest at best, so plain and simple English, where possible, will be appreciated. 1) If I remove a given Windows component - Dr. Watson, say, or Microsoft SideWinder support, or Remote Desktop - and then later find that I need it, can it be added to my Windows installation without too much fuss? Will I be able to install them onto my machine from the nLite disk I make, or from the install disk I use to make my nLite disk? or download them? 2) Regarding services: Does eliminating unnecessary services (I currently disable about 20 which are enabled by default) result in a performance gain greater than that which would be achieved by simply disabling those services? And, can these services be installed later if they become necessary? 3) Can anybody direct me to a webpage or two which has clear, simple, and reliable descriptions of the various Windows components nLite can remove, what they do, and what relies on them? I already know about BlackViper for services, but a great many other components mystify me (what the hell does Dr Watson do, anyhow?). I'm hoping to avoid Googling every last one of 'em. But I'm determined to prune every unnecessary line of code I can from this installation. All help is greatly appreciated...

For future reference: The NetBoot disk's version of DOS does not appear to have an xcopy function on it. I had to download xcopy.exe from a different source and access and run it from my desktop machine. Just in case anyone else is in the same boat...

It took me a few more months than I expected, but I got the installation files onto my Toughbook via xcopy (took a couple hours' worth of fiddling and Googling dos questions to make it work), and the installation worked. Converted to NTFS via convert.exe, and we're off to the races. Thanks for the help...

Thanks for all the help. Work obligations will prevent me from attempting to implement the recommended procedures for the next few days. But I'll be back if I need more help, and if I manage to achieve my goals without more help, I'll put post up concerning how I did it, just in case anyone is curious. Thanks again...