fdv

Indeed. I've read that dlls "puke" a lot of stuff into the registry, but by physically removing them from a running installation, wouldn't that lead to the child keys becoming "dead links", thus ending as targets of any reg-cleaning program ? I don't think that a regclean program necessarily "knows" that any given key is "owned" by any given DLL. It's probably just a risk you take whenever running regclean software. Another key is to rip out whatever junk is in the HIVE*.INF files. Unregistering a dll will sometimes take some reg entries IIRC. As an aside, in 2k, there is no functionality that requires a dll to be registered and then doesn't care if the dll is deleted. This is the pivotal argument of a fellow who claims that letting DLLs install in the OS, registering them, and then deleting them in that order is really, really important for XP. Not only is this not the case in 2k, but it's easy to mod an install to copy a file over, reg it, then delete it before first bootup (my fileset has that functionality, though no one will ever use it, it's there.) Deleting from a running install? I can't explain why it is, but if you install Win2k (or XP for that matter) intact and then delete stuff, you can end up very quickly with a nonfunctioning system. For example, SHDOCLC is part of IE. In an intact install, deleting it creates problems that you don't get when you don't install it (and other IE dlls) in the first place. I like your idea of tracing functionality and dependencies. Although I recognize that you're doing your own thing here and have no intention of stepping on toes, I do hope that you'll have a peek at my files so that you can save yourself a little work and time. Now if I could just find a way to fiddle with files so that 2k would boot from CD... (yeah, I know, I know, but one can dream)

I believe in full disclosure, I guess? Just bein' fair

You might look into this to help you get a head start on what to rip from 2k. The INF files I make available help as far as removing IE is concerned. A key to minimizing the registry is preventing certain DLLs from registering (keeping them from copying is of course the right way to go.) You might find this easier than parsing the work of nLite, which doesn't really "show" you what it's doing.

One of the ways I accomplished what I did was to remove all printer drivers (since in Win2k they are 10 years old now anyway) and copied over the file list from TXTSETUP to LAYOUT. TXTSETUP and LAYOUT both copy files. nLite edits TXTSETUP and leaves LAYOUT alone, so you're still copying files that nLite removed from TXTSETUP (I hope that makes sense). As long as you run a global replace ",_x," to ",," then you can copy the file list from TXTSETUP into LAYOUT and the files nLite removed will not be copied at all, adding some speed. I see in nLite that removing Printers also removes the files necessary for things like virtual PDF printers (or so the nLite warning says) so you might want to tread with caution there. Although my fileset does not have this complication, I really don't know what files to put into the "keep" box to retain virtual printer functionality and still drop all of those useless printer drivers which, in XP, are now 8 years old or so.

AFAIK there is no "act as root" (sudo) capability for Windows shell commands. (It would be great if one could use 'runas' on Explorer!)

It's fairly rare to find something. Remember the help subsystem will be gone too but there is free software for that -- several choices. I'll list below what I have installed on my system that works without any problems: Adobe Creative Suite 2, Aida, catchcolor, DAEMON Tools, Defraggler, exescope, FileZilla FTP Client, GNU PG, html-cleaner, IrfanView, Java, jkdefragger, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, Microsoft Office XP, Mozilla Firefox, Mythicsoft Agent Ransack, Nero, nlite, Notepad++, nrg2iso, Orca, PDFCreator, proxomitron, QuickTime Alternative, Quintessential Media Player, reshack, resorceextractor, TClockEx, The Bat!, THE Rename, uTorrent, VideoLAN, VMware Workstation, willypad, WinMerge, WinRAR, xnews, xvi32, and all of the Sysinternals/MS utilities. These are my regulars. There is a lot of stuff I've used without problems like Office 2003, for example, or Soundforge that I do not use any longer. I used to run PCAnywhere, and that requires IE6 and patches (you can still use my fileset, it only needs IE6 system files). That OCX control you cite shouldn't be a problem. So far the only IE dependent piece of software I have not been able to use has been AVG Antivirus.

I never understood why no one ever dared bother with LAYOUT. To be honest I always assumed no one could quite grasp the whole "replace ,_x, with ,," concept. My fileset is the only place you'll ever see this (a duplicate file list shared between TXTSETUP and LAYOUT).

Sorry, man. The BartPE / UBCD4WIN aren't compatible with XP64. http://ubcd4win.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=7274 I'd advise getting an XP32, however you need to, say via ebay or somesuch, or perhaps a company that has massively upgraded to Vista. Buy yourself a cheap 4 gig flash stick, put the XP32 on it, add the UBCD4WIN software, and keep it handy so you always have a way to update and build a PE CD anywhere you go (or just keep a CD handy but those scratch).

Before I do though, I get a reg error in the error log for fdeploy.dll Why would this be? It's in the right place. Any ideas? I'd like to get that squared away.

That file was a driver file, not a codec.... My mistake. So I have taken it out and will reupload. Thanks for spotting this Martin...

To clarify, this is an IE file configuring IE on first run of Windows. Nothing secret or damaging is going on.

I might be wrong, I can't recall with crystal clarity -- but this is what happens when one of the Internet Explorer DLLs is registered, and I forget which one. If you REALLY need exact details, then log your install: - download REGMON - Create a $OEM$ folder next to i386 in SOURCE - Put REGMON into SOURCE\$OEM$\$$\system32 - Start your install - In the GUI portion (after the reboot shows the Windows splash screen and goes into GUI setup), hold down SHIFT and hit F10 - In the command prompt, type CD\WINNT\SYSTEM32 - Now type REGMON - Click save right away, and save the log file to the desktop - IGNORE any errors you happen to see, if any - Be sure to click "Save" now and then so none of it is lost - When the install screen comes up, make a note of where the REGMON log is at If it happens after a reboot but before desktop launch (it might, I forget!) then you'll have to set an autorun key by editing one of the HFSLIP inf files (TommyP could tell you which one runs stuff before the very first time the desktop starts).

Hi all, I am wondering if this works on XP as well. I ran across this by accident and was asked if it works in XP but I don't use XP. If you want WFP shut off, just specify invalid paths in the registry, like so: HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon","SFCDllCacheDir",,"z:" HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Windows File Protection","SFCDllCacheDir",,"z:" When these lines are inserted into one of the HIVE inf files before installing, this shuts WFP off. No DLLs to hack. There will be an error message in the Windows log saying WFP cannot find a valid path. Anyone wanna try? BTW for any reg change to take effect, Explorer must be restarted.

AFAICT... the bugs are fixed. Even the stupid BMP association bug. Bug 2, Explorer settings, so far for me seems to be fixed. FWIW I can't recall ever having that bug when I used IE6 hotfix files. But then again when you use IE6 hotfix files, you cannot use the "Open containing folder" function after a search, which I use probably 50 times a day. http://www.vorck.com/data/fdvfiles.zip (No more SP5 in the filename as I agree, it was misleading). The fileset is much larger because I included wallpaper. 1. It's not that much larger. Even on a low bandwidth connection, it's 2.7 megs as opposed to 880k so it won't take that long. 2. I like the wallpaper I added, it gives set 9 some "pizazz." Or something. 3. If folks don't like it they can always delete it no harm done because everyone knows how to change Windows wallpaper, even newbies. 4. It's a forest scene and very calming. My main choice would probably have offended some

1. You should not need 827675. 1a. I no longer get the USB reconnect bug, but at some point, I added an undocumented USB hotfix (sorry I can't recall which!!!) 2. It happens to me too. I always thought it was a bug in a hotfix. No idea. 3. Happens for me too. I will make a fix. What a pain, stupid little bug.

Thanks guys I will make these changes. I;'d forgotten!

"is it possible to made an batch file that can add this to the registry of the an unpacked iso file. then how." An unpacked ISO? If your ISO is unpacked and you have direct access to the files in I386, you could add these lines to an INF file like AXANT5 for example, then recreate the ISO. That's what I did, personally. I use HFSLIP, by the way. I don't know of a way to add registry values with a batch file, but I know it can be done.

Interestingly enough, these are optional keys! One does not need to add them. Windows apparently "knows" the location of the dllcache anyway. By including them and specifying them I am only giving users the option of changing the paths to Z. As for T-13, SFC should be on at that point anyway, to answer the specific question you asked. So in all cases there is no -real- need to specify. Trivia: apparently, a UNC path will not work in 2k but MS documentation says it will in XP. That functionality sure would be convenient for a group of users. I'm purely curious, is this known about generally at all on other sites?

I ran across this by accident. If you want WFP shut off, just specify invalid paths in the registry, like so: HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon","SFCDllCacheDir",,"z:" HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Windows File Protection","SFCDllCacheDir",,"z:" When these lines are inserted into one of the HIVE inf files before installing, this shuts WFP off. No DLLs to hack. There will be an error message in the Windows log saying WFP cannot find a valid path. I don't know if it has to be done before install or if it can also be done after. I actually like WFP so I'm not going to bother finding out. But if you want to disable WFP without hacking DLLs, there you go. I apologize in advance if this is well known.

All bugs including WFP and "Insert your now" are fixed. A few last tests and I am set.

Recall that my last few filesets disabled WFP, and I was trying to figure out why, because I wanted it ON by default? I found the answer. Oh boy... it was staring me in the face. Two keys can shut off WFP. By default these do NOT exist in a Windows install. I had added them to HIVESFT. HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon","SFCDllCacheDir",,"%SystemRoot%\System32\Dllcache" HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Windows File Protection","SFCDllCacheDir",,"%SystemRoot%\System32\Dllcache" If you want WFP shut off, just put invalid paths there, like so: HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon","SFCDllCacheDir",,"z:" HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Windows File Protection","SFCDllCacheDir",,"z:" No DLLs to hack. This shuts WFP off; it will generate an error message in the Windows log saying WFP cannot find a valid path. I don't know if it has to be done before install or if it can also be done after. I actually like WFP so I'm not going to bother finding out. But if you want to disable WFP without hacking DLLs, there you go. Anyway, this flaw is fixed, as well as the Insert Your CD Now flaw.

Hmm, tain, you might have to help me with the software you use -- I want to see if my latest works with all the stuff you use. May 27th set It was an epic battle getting this to work....

Hi guys I have been MAJORLY experimenting with removing the three above. I knew about the WBEM errors in the setup log, that's no biggie. But I encountered all sorts of weird stuff when trying to install all sorts of software (I have been testing a LOT of packages.) The install makes use of WMI files. Windows will install, but you'll get a persistent media installer error. As in, it won't go away. Even if you disable all media devices. Also, some codecs fail to register. VMWare makes use of some performance counter files. Even if your counters are shut off. If all of the removable storage manager management console files are removed, setup throws errors. I like the management apps for Defrag and Physical Disk Manager. But to avoid the management console throwing errors, it's a random assortment of DLLs you need to keep. It's often been said one doesn't need WBEM. And I am inclined to agree. But some installers check for files there, creating a lag in installation, like Adobe Reader. In addition, some files like FRAMEDYN are needed. Which I always knew. But sorting out what is and what is not needed as far as WBEM goes could go on and on and I don't want to delay. A word about "registering and then deleting" files. Some folks think that you should let files install so DLLs can be registered, and then delete them later. That's an interesting theory, but I see problems with that: if you ever need to re-register the DLL, which one was it? What a pain. Also, there's little sense in letting a DLL crap up your registry with hundreds of keys if you only need a few. Also, I simply have not found any files that software has needed the registry value of but not the actual file itself except for Dreamweaver and MLANG. Not on Win2k, anyway. Nevertheless, i have created FINAL1 and FINAL2 inf files so that you can install a DLL, register it, and then delete it all automatically. I don't really know of any dlls other than MLANG that would benefit, but you now have that option. (I added the MLANG reg keys so you're all set anyway) So, it ends up that I am going to end up restoring some files that I wanted chopped out. The plain truth is that I need software like VMWare. I have marked the files in TXTSETUP so that you can easily find what goes where, but overall, it's easier on you if you leave a lot of WMI and some of performance and a few WBEM files. Printer drivers will be removed. I am doing some final stuff now. Here is a list of changes in set 9 overall so far. I need to clean some things up. Sorry for the delay. ** Things that were added or fixed. - The fileset works with DriverPacks now - WINHTTP.DLL. This file is NOT necessary, but sometimes it's absence generates an error on shutdown. The error can be ignored, but people keep asking me about this, so it's back. - FLTMGR.SYS. File System Filters were never in this fileset, because they don't need to be, since the Post-SP4 Rollup adds them. Nevertheless I needed to include these three files in the setup files for my own use. If you don’t slipstream the Post SP4 Rollup, you will get filecopy errors (which you could ignore). - Added hardware and disk manager icons to SHELL.INF which show up on the start menu (hey, it eliminates half a dozen clicks) - Removed RSVP.exe and related files (video and audio streaming QOS, and I can't find any software that uses it) - Fixed a small dll regfile bug in scripting inf (regfiles was under the wrong header) - Added final.inf to delete files just before finishing the install. This allows you to copy files, register them, and then delete them, keeping the registry data the files added. So far I have not seen any need to do this, but a sample file is included to show you how it works. - Moved a bunch of components to "add-" files. For example, to add Outlook, right click and select install (on your NEW windows install). - Reboot.exe added because sometimes it's handy. Also added to start menu. This little exe is a "Right f***ing NOW" reboot and will NOT wait for ANYTHING. It is immune to hung apps and services. - MLANG reg keys added to HIVECLS.INF for dreamweaver ** Services. - Performance Monitoring service set to disabled (was manual anyway) - Removable Storage Service is now set to Manual instead of Auto - Utilman service disabled (special needs utilities are still individually available) - Win32 time service now autostart - Remote Registry Service added to Safe Mode: Networking ** Things that were removed. - Agent - Speech - NetOC (Network Optional Components) removed from SYSOC (did NOT install by default) - msmq (Message Queuing) removed from SYSOC (did NOT install by default) - I'd commented out some obsolete drivers and their hardware strings from TXTSETUP in Set 8, and in this ver I've commented out the actual driver files from copying - A few random files here and there were added that I'd missed, such as a bunch of .asp files, all NetDDE files, drwatson (the 16 bit ver), finger.exe, win87em.dll, Upwizun, sendcmsg.dll and sendmail.dll - The last stragglers in the help directory have been removed - Those idiotic 'web' and 'Connection Wizard' directories are gone (I did it by denying the system permissions to them. This trick doesn’t work for ROCKET, etc.) - Send to items gutted except for floppy (hold off on asking why, someone will eventually find a way to replace the CLSID with a USB device) - Disabled Performance Counters for PerfDisk, PerfNet, PerfOS, RemoteAccess, RSVP, Spooler, and TapiSrv in HIVESYS.INF - Removable storage (service and MMC snapin), I have decided, is going for good, as is the 'Logical Drives' MMC snapin, which has absolutely zero usefulness. - WBEM is mostly out. I actually used to use it, so I'd left it in, but I don't anymore, and by popular vote it shall be gone. Some of the files like FRAMEDYN are needed. - Entertainment group removed (it was empty anyway) ** Stuff that got shuffled around - HIVESYS now has settings for the Win32 Time Server Service, and sets timeserver values. You have to start this service manually. - HIVESFT has versioning info at the top of the file - Moved some settings from SHELL.INF to HIVEDEF because they honestly make more sense there - Moved the Zone fix from AXANT5 to HIVESFT because it also makes more sense there - AXANT5 had some dupe registry entries already present in the HIVE files - Version strings added to IE.INF to make changing fake versions easy, also added WinHttpRequest Component reg entries - Printer driver files are transitioned to the bottom of TXTSETUP and LAYOUT and will eventually be moved to a separate INF, but don't worry about this right now - Active Directory keys from a HIVE file have been grouped separately - I tried once to edit the path environment setting. I tried again and appear to have succeeded this time... I added WINNT\SYSTEM. This is the perfect place to put little utilities like Process Explorer. To use it, uncomment in SHELL. ** Problems with this fileset - There is a BMP / paintbrush file association error. Just double-click to associate and you're fine.

As Martin says, you'll need to make edits to fileset files. The biggest ones are all of the HIVE files. I have never seen a non-ENG distribution of Win2k, so I don't know how Microsoft handles that, but for the most part, if the [strings] sections of your HIVE files are in Korean, you could copy them over mine. There are a few strings I have added, so you might get the odd % variable in a name, but that's the quickest way to accomplish translation. Please wait for fileset 9 before you start your work! I am very close to finishing it. (BTW, I am for removing decade-old printer drivers from the install so the install goes faster. This does NOT affect your ability to add printers to the OS... I just don't know of anyone using dot matrix printers anymore.)

Install goes faster if I remove printer drivers. Whatever drivers are in the DRIVER.CAB are left alone, but all of those hundreds of drivers in TXTSETUP and LAYOUT that end in 3,3 copy over but don't necessarily get used unless you have a printer from 1999 / 2000. There is an increase in setup time if I remove these. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR ABILITY TO ADD PRINTERS. This ONLY removes drivers that are, at this point, a decade old. Test set