fdv

@PeterGau - a. Yes, my website replaces all other instructions. b. The Windows Genuine Advantage is optional, actually. You can simply go ahead and slipstream and then when you visit Microsoft's site, you'll have to download the Windows Genuine Annoyance Validation Tool and run it. It's no biggie. That it's not available is just Microsoft's way of saying "thanks" to all of its cherished customers it loves so much. You didn't hear it from me, but there are two registry values you can install that eliminate the need for this WGA, just Google around a bit for "17492023-C23A-453E-A040-C7C580BBF700".

Right.... Now.

@Oleg_II - I was able to duplicate the issues you had with Outlook. Strange that it's flaky now, it wasn't a few months ago, and I believe that the newest ie hotfixes are responsible (whether the IE5 or IE6 patches, it doesn't matter). Anyway, am revising and testing my files to just leave it out altogether. It could still be installed separately, I am retaining that INF as well as adding an optional INF for the IE core to allow installation of Maxthon <AHEM COUGH get mozilla or firefox gaddang it COUGH>. As for outdated versions... Microsoft puts older versions of some files in hotfixes. Perhaps by accident, perhaps because they didn't work at time of release, who the heck can guess, but it's one of the signs of an operating system division in decline. They just don't pay attention to fixing bugs, and releasing revisions of service packs (like NT4's 6a, or XP's SP 1a, or Win2k's broken rollup) proves that they put more energy into alienating existing customers than listening to feedback. It's widely believed that Gates suffers a mild Asperger's Syndrome, which is marked by a complete lack of interest in anything anyone else has to say and complete fixation with the sufferer's own extremely narrow interests. Unfortunately, that seems to be the Corporation's method of operation.

@kukris - there could be a lot of things wrong with the way you set things up (there are successful german language users) so please post the required troubleshooting info as a zipfile, as specified in the directions. most likely your hotfix folder contents have an IE5 patch, among other things.

Yup Nope There is a great (and growing) number of us who understand the components in the Windows operating systems very, very well.

ha ha!! i liked that... i don't think i could even bear 98 on that system. really, the best thing you can do is throw another memory module into it. as jaclaz indicates, there's a big difference between what's theoretically possible to use and what's actually useable. RAM really is everything. from personal experience using windows 2000, ie ripped out: pentium one 233 MHz, 32 MB RAM, swap is C drive - too slow to use at all pentium one 266 MHz, 196 MB RAM, swap is on its own drive - works just fine for email, browsing, etc (specs At0mic lists). even works fine for office and many other progs.

Mr. Nienhuis used my files to slim Win2k down, as you'll note from http://home.hccnet.nl/pr.nienhuis/Windows.html#VORCK I'd recommend that. My files will allow win2k to be installed on, well, anything; the minimum memory requirement's been removed. Without any digital signature checking on NT 4, you can also edit the heck out of TXTSETUP, LAYOUT, etc., especially SYSSETUP and try that OS too. Mozilla or FF for browsing in any case, of course, but you know these things

Oleg_II - MALWARE ALERT! msnm.exe information. I was wondering about this file because it's not familiar to me. I looked in my DELFILES and it's not there. I think you'd better run a spyware and virus scan on your system... redo things and run a clean install from known good sources. Somehow it seems like an .EXE you have contains malware. BTW on dialup connections, it is indeed RASPHONE.EXE. right click on IEACCESS.INF and select install. you need a few more files than MSHTML; this file should do it for you.

Hey folks, new version of my fileset here. synopsis: a few new regedits hfslip can slim down your ie-free win2k cd if you read instructions carefully registry cleaning now takes places at a better time to eliminate ie keys you can uncomment IEACCESS.INF inside of SYSOC and add html help and the ability to view web pages in explorer (a rudimentary ie), but i don't recommend it, it's just for html help addicts you might accidentally find that you don't need wga

Malonie, please ZIP and post: - the names of the files in your HF folder (NOT the files, JUST the names) - indicate if you are slipstreaming IE6 - indicate if you are using the FDV IE removal fileset - Your hfnetchk log - this is HFNETCHK -V -F C:\WU.TXT - You're not forgetting to put these into a ZIP file, are you?

Whoa. ****. This.... is very, very informative. This should be linked or crossposted in the RIS howto thread or a Win2003 FAQ.

@bireland - RIS guide. This might help you. nLite's problem with RIS, documented here, does not mention uppercase or lowercase filenames as BeenThereB4 posts. BTB4, if this is the case please post a thread we can get the filename case information from, thx

@lupo - indeed we do know about this we preferred to keep the DLL and use the newer .JS file because the .JS file has an exploit associated with it. The DLL seemed the safer choice when running IE 5 or 6 with currently-issued hotfixes. We appreciate the feedback and the info

@all IE removers - have a look at http://www.osbetaarchive.com/index.php?showtopic=7011&hl= it would seem that litestep and aveshell have been made to run on a windows system as the shell without explorer.exe. previously, this was only possible under certain circumstances with other software (samurai) but now it would seem that has changed. ie-free users who are interested in running windows programs but scrapping much of the os might find this project interesting.

@bireland - do you really need Windows Media Monitor Service? those two files are WMMS. you going to be streaming media with your server? if you are, adding this hotfix to your HF folder might, just might, help with this error. if you never want to see this error again, open up TXTSETUP and LAYOUT in your SOURCESS and comment out these two files with a semicolon (i am betting you don't really want to run the WM monitor service). @tripleX - your DigSig error is due to a catalog file, not the 'browsing of local network' fix. if it's an error in event log... trust me when i say (popular mantra here) you should set your machine up to make you happy, not windows happy as for other issues, be sure to post the requested info from "languages" in step 10: http://www.vorck.com/hfslip.html#10

anyone know if ie7 has "zones" like previous versions? from my site: zones were the major flaw in ie's previous versions. all of the MICROSOFT security advisories related to ie dealt with trying to keep the internet from crossing into the local zone via the system DLLs. non-ie browsers don't deal in zones. they can't act as activex containers. they don't have system DLLs like WEBVW.DLL or HSHTML.DLL that could allow html buffer overflows, permitting code to execute locally. (btw, as for people bashing ie... it kind of reminds me of a saying that pops up on slashdot occasionally. if an admin or someone knowledgeable tells you not to do something, it's probably better to stop what you're doing and ask why rather than hitting 'reply' and posting that they're wrong. there is a possibility that they may be telling you from experience, and you are repeating things that "everybody just knows," like the capital of kansas is kansas city. of course it isn't, but it's what a lot of people say. repeating it doesn't make it true, and repeating the Internet Explorer Is A Target Because Of Its Popularity Myth doesn't make ie secure.)

see os2fan's post under her "@fdv" notice.

@murvun, your file list actually looks ok at first glance. tommyp may want to comment on it. mdac as you might recall simply is no longer necessary. btw, you PM'd me but did not post here that your 'hang on bootup' issue has been solved now. this is true, yes? just wanted to be sure... some german language users following this thread might be left with the wrong idea. (if it's fixed and was due to error and not HFSLIP, be sure to go back and edit your post with the screenshot, etc. thanks) @all - i have a new ie free fileset on its way but tommyp is doing some testing. a few minor cosmetic fixes and a few new tweaks. still have yet to add that ie icon removal that pene suggested; microsoft keeps moving the registry entry! the issues with slipstreaming ie6 and using my files -- it can work, but after checking this out, i can say it confers zero benefit. might as well stick with ie5. my fileset completely rips ie out, whether 5 or 6, and adds reg keys so windows thinks 6 is installed. the issues os2fan points out result from an obscure inf addreg problem, which would only puzzle most users. so while it is entirely possible, there's no reason. oh, what's that i hear? what about the updated shell files? let me tell you about them.... at my site. read step 24 to find out why they aren't necessary. removing ie is like removing the door on a house. so all that extra activex and zone stuff in the new shell files isn't necessary, because activex controls can't execute from a website without ie, and since html cannot display in explorer, zone issues are no longer a concern.

hmm... let me break "hardware" down. motherboard - many manufacturers use modern chipsets that only have 2k / xp drivers. some will work with NT4 if you switch chipset and special controllers off in the mobo's BIOS, then install the OS, then bring it up to SP6a, then turn the features back on in the BIOS, then load drivers. sometimes Win2000 drivers will work on an NT4 box. Some mobo manufacturers even support NT4. my Abit pentium 4 board did. PCI chipset - this new PCI bus scheme, who knows. i have had no experience here with this new PCI architechture, i forget the name now (its late). you know, theone with the inch long slots as opposed to the older PCI slots that are longer. Sound, Net - should be no issues. these days its built in. go to the mobo manufacturer's driver page and download the drivers, expand them, and parse the 2000 drivers. are they generic -- will they work in NT? USB - shut it off in the BIOS and forget all about USB. sure, that old add-on for Win95 worked for NT4, but it was for version 1.x. Video - forget dual monitor support. any nice card... again, download the drivers and examine them. Hope this was a start in the right direction, and sorry if you knew all of this. nonsequitur: i am listening to the allman brothers right now. i love NT and have made my windows 2000 look exactly like it using NT4's icons and ripping IE out. NT 4 icon library DLL

Agreed, HFSLIP and then nLite is the definitive answer for OE removal only (and believe me, I know)

kreative19, you said in an earlier post that your log would indicate files in HF that you aren't using... but the logfile would say otherwise?? the files above, for one reason or another, do NOT belong in HF. some are outmoded, like MDAC or MS Java, and not so serious. some are cab files and are just in the wrong place. one's an ie5 hotfix and that will mess up ie integration. another, Q832894.exe, is an IE 5.5 hotfix!! so... can we ask you to be sure that the above files are REMOVED from your HF, and try running again.

Always be sure to search the nLite forum!

just a theory. open boot.ini. see if the entry for NT is either missing or incorrect. what happens when you switch the drive to a regular IDE controller? or you set the raid controller in the bios to be non-raid and just a regular controller, and then install and see what happens? more info here.

@Oleg_II - reducing source while removing IE with my files is coming also. (pretty straightforward, tommyp wrote me a batch file that moves all files i specify to a 'junk' directory.) i'll keep you posted. i also need to figure out an issue that os2fan had with slipstreaming ie6 _and_ removing ie. (that is only a missing files copy problem.)

@Oleg_II - wanted to address 3 things. i am about to upload a newer fileset for IE removal that: 1. will solve slow bootups when using my files 2. will allow easy installation of the Help System (or, as always, preventing it from installing) 3. will allow easy installation of Outlook and WAB (again, you can easily prevent it from installing) In general... I will say nLite is fantastic and I recommend it to all users, but it doesn't gut the registry's IE, DHTML, Fax, and other hundreds of useless keys, and my files do remove a few more IE-releated files. Not a competition thing, but my fileset really does accomplish junk removal slightly differently. Internet Connection Wizard - I'm not surprised you had problems, as with my fileset, it is not installed! My fileset assumes you set things up manually. In other words, you search for the Microsoft DUN (dial up networking) executable (I forget what it's called, is it MSDUN.EXE? can't recall its been so long... try searching for *dun*.exe) and do things manually without use of a Wizard. I did this because the fileset essentially brings Windows 2000 back to the good old days of Windows NT 4 when a "wizard" was something out of a Tolkein novel and not something you found on a computer getting in your way The Outlook problem - not sure. how did you install it? 1) using my standalone installer, 2) right clicking on the INF that I created after Windows was installed, or 3) uncommenting the INF file in SYSSETUP and installing it _with_ Windows? @os2fan - let me know what 2 files via PM if you can recall (were they trivial, like MIDI files or something?) i did not see this and i want to be sure i address it. @tomcat76 - taking a WILD flying leap guess here. any IE6 install is going to have this save delay from ANY application. Now that IE6 replaces shell files, one of the things it does is check what approved "zone" it is working with and this causes a pause in any application. the other thing that can happen is that if you use my files and you have removed or in any way tinkered with the History folder, explorer takes a long time to try finding it before displaying a desktop mini-icon as a valid save-to location. (Try seeing what I mean by using REGVIEW from systinternals--if History is gone or in ANY way tampered with, Windows wastes a LOT of time trying to call it). Just a thought.