DJ MyRinX

More sysinfo info would be usefull. For instance; what kinda Mobo do you got? (brand,type etc etc.)

What do you mean by automated? Do you want it to be the same for evey user on that pc?

If you ask me: Don't do anything with XP, i've tried to install XP on the same type PC. Not funny, loads of probs with drivers and so on. I would wait a few days for the RC of windows 7. Upgrade instead of downgrade. I've got the beta of W7 (7000 build) running on the (old) laptop, and works like a charm. Almost no probs with drivers (at least i haven't had one, nor have any of friends or "customers"). But if you are into challenges; go on! My 2 cents.

Idd, SteadyState, we use it on our public/guest pc's. Works like a charm.

@ Kelsenellenelvian: The warranty is only valid for drives that don't got some sort of stairs fetish, right? I don't think that there is any way Maxtor will accept this drive for any form of RMA, or should they? I always thought warranty is only granted to defect drives within the warranty period, and only to drives which became defect used normally. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

Combine the last posts of Spacesufer and Ponch. You need to open the case and remove the hdd. (If it still works you can buy new cases) • Product Description Maxtor Basics Personal Storage 3200 - hard drive - 500 GB - Hi-Speed USB • Type Hard drive - external • Form Factor 3.5" • Dimensions (WxDxH) 15.2 cm x 4.4 cm x 22.2 cm • Weight 1.16 kg • Capacity 500 GB • Interface Type Hi-Speed USB • Data Transfer Rate 480 Mbps • Average Seek Time 9 ms • Spindle Speed 7200 rpm • Buffer Size 16 MB • OS Required Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional , Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional • Power Source Included AC adapter • Power AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz ) • Manufacturer Warranty 2 years warranty It's just a regular 3.5" disk. When you demolished (read: gently took- a -part) the case, you can place the hdd in a pc which have the same connectors. After that hope for the best.

AMEN! Cause as we speak a Fujitsu-siemens drive (WD 1TB) is recovering @ 127.0.0.1 (active@ recovery ftw!) bigger isn't always better. edit Keep it on-topic guys! edit 2:Way of topic: want to laugh or cry.... check the log file.. RECOVERY.zip

Replacing the hdd for another one and trying to save the case, is, imho not even an option. The prices of spare hdd's and new external drives are almost the same, so don't even bother to save the case. The prices in the Netherlands are around the €100,- for a 1TB drive. (about 80 GBP) Been google-ing: for 85 pounds you got a new 1TB external drive same as a spare hdd oops: lingo/reading problem... Replacing the inside of the hdd with another identical sounds like a nice project if you got the money and time to spare... and got loads of patience. Your talking about that the hard drive contains music and movies. Those are replaceable (at least most of them). you know how..

That could be just the problem Deasly. Do you have this problem from day 1?

Most of the times it is just a normal hdd with a nice looking case around it. So if you've disassembled it, you could try to make it a slave hdd (with jumper) and connect it to you pc. Edit: Did you try Open Sesame to break the sealed case? You need to open the case some how... but first of all give us some more info about the hdd. Starting with the type... etc. etc.

It's an external drive. So it could be just the case which is broken. Have you tried to remove the HDD from the case? When you do remove it, you could connect it to an other pc. First try to find out if the HDD really has got loose parts inside. ( shake it a bit GENTLY) If the it does have loose parts in side your probably F*^d , but you could still try to recover files, connecting it to an other pc. Good Luck. Edit: Answer is yes you could... While i was typing this post you came up with a possible solution your self.

[offtopic] CharlotteTheHarlot nice explanation, thanks! [/offtopic] As a user myself i would go for a fresh install on a NTFS formatted partition/hdd. why? The size of the (visual related) files are getting bigger and bigger, and you probably will be having more and more problems with the 4 GB limitation in the (nearby) future. Paraffin's post sounds kind of crude, but a fresh install takes about an hour or two to be completed (if you got the right drivers and such) "Charley's" suggestion sounds like a nice project though, if you got some spare time. jaclaz suggestion sounds like a winner as well. edit: didn't see jacklaz post

This might be usefull This might be usefull as well. Windows XP Service Pack 3 Deployment Tools, including updated sysprep.exe make sure that all the files needed are placed in a folder @ c: C:\SYSPREP\

Be carefull with installing unlocker. It comes with some "nice extras" if your not careful (ebay bs), which is possible to skip though. I must say that it helped me out a lot. If that doesn't do the trick try Kindovic suggestion. Ubuntu's live cd works like a charm.

Duchess, did the reg key posted by Nois3 solve your prob?

i did found this info: Key name: OEMBackgroundBitmapFile Values: <file name> [,<resource id>] Description: This key specifies a background bitmap to display. If this key has only one field, it is assumed to be a bitmap (.bmp) file located in the folder in which Sysprep.exe resides. If two fields are specified, the first field is the name of a dynamic-link library (DLL) and the second field is a decimal number that represents the resource ID of the bitmap in the DLL. The DLL should be located in the folder that contains Sysprep.exe. I just don't know where to put it in the sysprep.inf

Tnx IcemanND.

hello peeps first of all, i'm a n00b with sysprep. i did some reading the past 3 days but still got some questions about sysprep. first of all, i know it's possible to add a custom pic as background image starting up a pc which was sealed using sysprep. (no win xp logo but our own) but how do i add it in the .inf? the location of the pic is c:\sysprep\sysprep.jpg i don't want to make 1 image for all our pc's, do i still have to consider some probs with the HAL? here's my .inf created with setupmgr.exe, are there some things i need to be aware of? [GuiUnattended] EncryptedAdminPassword=NO OEMSkipRegional=1 AdminPassword="................................." TimeZone=110 OemSkipWelcome=1 [userData] ProductID=xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx FullName="." OrgName="Peterson" ComputerName=* [TapiLocation] CountryCode=31 [identification] JoinWorkgroup=PS [Networking] InstallDefaultComponents=Yes [unattended] OemSkipEula=Yes TargetPath=\WINDOWS [branding] BrandIEUsingUnattended=Yes [Proxy] Proxy_Enable=0 Use_Same_Proxy=0 [Display] BitsPerPel=32 Xresolution=800 YResolution=600 Vrefresh=60 Thanks a lot! edit: i only want to make an image of one type of pc, do i still need to make a drivers directory?

i'm not sure ingeborgdot but you can always try to change your key to the one you got with the sp3 disk. you're not able to change it during the install of sp3. download a key changer @ http://ryan.ript.net/xppid/ make sure you got your sp2 key as well, if it doesn't work you can always change it back. for the second time, i'm not sure. If you're in a hurry i would have tried it.