Hi, i have read every tutorial out there, i am going crazyyy. Im trying to make a custom XP Home Disc. I have tryed copying files from an original HP OEM disc & Also an XP installation I downloaded. <-- Obviously not at the same time!! I have also tryed all methods using an OEM XP Pro Disc also. Incidently i have successfuly merged SP3 using the MS Deployment tool. I have used the manual extraction method (incidently in one of my 1000 attempts i have used Nlite also) & have added my winnt.sif file saved to my i386 folder as below: [Data] AutoPartition=0 MsDosInitiated="0" UnattendedInstall="Yes" [Unattended] UnattendMode=FullUnattended OemSkipEula=Yes OemPreinstall=Yes TargetPath=\WINDOWS FileSystem=* UnattendSwitch="yes" WaitForReboot="No" DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore KeyboardLayout="United Kingdom" [GuiUnattended] AdminPassword=* EncryptedAdminPassword=No OEMSkipRegional=1 TimeZone=85 OemSkipWelcome=1 [UserData] ProductKey=X00XX-X0XXX-X0XX0-0XXXX-XXX0X FullName="USER" OrgName="Home" ComputerName=PC-HOME [Display] BitsPerPel=32 Xresolution=1280 YResolution=1024 Vrefresh=85 [TapiLocation] CountryCode=44 Dialing=Tone AreaCode=01379 [RegionalSettings] LanguageGroup=1 Language=00000809 [Identification] JoinWorkgroup=MSHOME [Networking] InstallDefaultComponents=Yes [Branding] BrandIEUsingUnattended=Yes [URL] Home_Page=http://www.google.co.uk [IEPopupBlocker] BlockPopups=No FilterLevel=Low ShowInformationBar=Yes [WindowsFirewall] Profiles = WindowsFirewall.TurnOffFirewall [WindowsFirewall.TurnOffFirewall] Mode = 0 [Components] msmsgs=off msnexplr=off [Shell] DefaultStartPanelOff = Yes DefaultThemesOff = Yes [GuiRunOnce] %systemdrive%\install\start.cmd ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In my folders directory i have at root - $OEM$ - This is parrallel to I386 & setup.exe ect. In $OEM$ directory is Folder "$1", and in there is "start.cmd", and also another folder named "Applications" (which includes all my progs). So the directory layout is $OEM$>$1>INSTALL>APPLICATIONS. My start.cmd file is as follows: @echo off TITLE JLM-Computing -WINXP Additional Software Installation ECHO. ECHO Hang Fire Whilst I Install Anti-Virus ECHO Microsoft Office ECHO Tune Up Utilites ECHO And All Windows Updates, hold tight ECHO This might take a while depending on ECHO Your System Spec........ ECHO. ECHO Removing useless shortcuts... DEL "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Set Program Access and Defaults.lnk" DEL "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Windows Catalog.lnk" ECHO. ECHO Installing Net 2 Framework ECHO Please wait... start /wait %systemdrive%\install\Applications\net2\netfx.msi /qb ADDEPLOY=1 ECHO. ECHO Installing Net 3 Framework ECHO Please wait... start /wait %systemdrive%\install\Applications\net3\Dotnetfx3setup.exe /qb /norestart ECHO. ECHO Installing Kaspersky Anti-Virus ECHO Please wait... start /wait %systemdrive%\install\Applications\Kaspersky\kis.en.msi /QB /norestart ECHO. ECHO Installing Office 2003 ECHO Please wait... start /wait %systemdrive%\install\Applications\Office2003\office.exe ECHO. ECHO Installing Adobe Reader 8 ECHO Please wait... start /wait %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Install\Applications\adobe\AdbeRdr80_en_US.exe /sAll ECHO. ECHO Installing Sun Java VM ECHO Please wait... start /wait %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Install\Applications\java\jre.exe /s /v/qn ECHO. ECHO O.K Cooking with gas ECHO Restarting the PC in 1 minute... shutdown.exe -r -f -t 60 -c "Windows XP will now restart in 1 minute, this will give enough time for the shortcuts to update and for the shell to fully load before it\'s ready to restart!" EXIT winnt.sif & start.cmd are the only 2 files i have added / modified. I am using the CDIMAGEGUI program to create my image, all with default options. Also i am running windows Vista 32bit. Also, i am using VMWare to test my installations, i have not yet used or burnt a cd. These are my 2 problems: 1> During the Windows Installation, every time without fail i will get an error saying that my autoinstallation settings are incorrect. As a result i have to entre my windows licence code & click continue. After this the whole installation continues completly un-attended and after 15 minutes my system starts up and logs on. Problem No 2, THE MAIN PROBLEM ( the one that has nearly led to me jumping off a large bridge): Once windows loads up and auto-logs on it installs the VMSoftware, and then...... NOTHING!!! It does not even attempt to install any of my programs, there's no cmd/bat screen, no setup screens, no nothing!! Now heres the funny thing, if i go into my C: drive, i would have thought to expect to see a folder there namded "Install" in there along side windows/documents & settings ect. , but as you guessed, there is nothing!! I have gone to folder options and displayed hidden files but still nothing. I know that my start.cmd script works because if i go into my Virtual CD drive (set to my custom XPSETUP disc) and copy over the "Install" Folder located in $OEM$/1$ to my C: , and then run start.cmd - WALLA, The Command Prompt opens and all programs install like a charm. SO, my brain is telling me that the $OEM$ folder isnt getting copied over during the windows install. Why would this be?? And does it have something to do also with the XP KEY not going in automatically? I have tryed copying the $OEM$ folder to I386 but still no joy there either! No matter what i do my "Install" folder will not get copied over to C: during installation. (I have done a search for it also) I will be the happiest man alive if someone has the answer to this extremely annoying problem, as i have quite litteraly spent the last 4 nights trauling through forums and reading up on every guide and tutorial out there.