jaclaz

A few points: "clicking" sound generally means that the head arm is "stuck". this has nothing to do with the "general" issue of the "wrong value flashed to HD firmware" which this thread is about the whole or at least the most of this thread is originated from the fact that with modern hard disks you simply CANNOT swap boards (and expect the drive will start working) don't trust connecting directly to the motherboard a drive if you are not sure of what you have done to it, it is much safer to use one of those pretty much inexpensive USB converters or an external case There are several forms of "voodoo" around the internet about how to "unhook" a stuck arm, but noone can tell whether they will work or not. Typically there are two school of thought: freezing the drive in a ziplock bag overnight before connecting it slightly tapping on the drive when connected An advised troubleshoot path would be: "fix" the electronic part as detailed in this thread until the drive is at least recognized, once you have the right cable the clicking sound is NOT normal and cannot be solved by the methods on this thread, you will need to search around for a solution for it elsewhere, see as an exampole the post just above this for the "trrrr" sound in any case, make sure that you have ready the "space" (an empty drive big enough) and the means (OS, software, cables, whatever) to save the data QUICKLY, should you be able to "revive" the hard disk, both the "freezing" and the "tapping" are not "solutions" are temporary workarounds and even if they work, they work intermittently and for a limited period of time jaclaz

I guess yes, though that is not written on their sales page: http://www.binaryresearch.net/products/the...tility/purchase From it it seems like the "CALL" starts from 5000+ seats..... jaclaz

Well, you won't need a "PATA slim line to desktop PATA", but you will need to buy a "SATA slim line to desktop SATA": i.e., you WON'T need any of these: http://stores.shop.ebay.it/gamesalor-com19...mp;submit=Cerca BUT you will need one of these: http://cgi.ebay.it/Slimline-50-Pin-to-SATA...id=p3286.c0.m14 at least for the SONY+SLI "bezel brackets", the Plextor includes the adapter, but the drive is PATA. SLI has a sata one: http://www.slidirect.com/DIGISTOR-5-25-DVD-Writer-Slot-Load (this should be "complete" and need not any other adapter) In other words, all slimline CD/DVD's use a particular connector, a 50 pin one that carries both DATA and POWER, and need an adapter to be connected to a "normal desktop" with SPLIT POWER and DATA cables. Yep , there are four "mechanics" : tray with caddy (obsolete) tray tray with "hooks" like some laptop/slimline have slot (practically only slimline available) AFAIK 1) can be mounted vertically, but it is NOT advised to do so, and however I still have coincidentally a plextor SCSI 4x CD burner with that technology, it must be about 15 years old, 2) cannot be mounted vertically, both 3) and 4) can. It seems like the last full size slot-in ever produced was the Plextor PX716AL/SW: http://www.superwarehouse.com/Plextor_PX-7...6AL_SW/p/607135 You won't like the price of the ones one can find, however : http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00...p;condition=all jaclaz

If I get it right, it means that fujianabc's method only works for a "single" driver. Maybe I read "wrongly" your previous reports, but it seemed to me that the point was (re-connecting with d4vr0s' original post/thread) that the grub4dos "normal" mapping to (fdx) of a file was: available during text setup (and should have "full" F6 floppy access) missing/failing in GUI mode Wouldn't that mean that by adding in the floppy also the firadisk driver and adding to the BOOT.INI the parameters karyonix posted: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?...=8804&st=64 the floppy should be: "full" F6 accessible during textmode part (mapped by grub4dos) "full" F6 accesd during GUI part (mapped by firadisk) So, we would have a "simple" way for "single" drivers and a "complex" way for "multiple" drivers. My guess is, that even if still experimental, firadisk is working allright in current releases for a floppy loading. jaclaz

You mean one of these?: http://www.slidirect.com/Combo-Kit-for-Dua...DVD-Black-Bezel They are pretty rare and expensive AFAIK. I've seen only "dual slot" ones around. Corrected above, here: http://www.slidirect.com/Bezel-Kit-for-Sin...DVD-Black-Bezel Ain't gonna cheap anyway. And you will need anyway an adapter card, something like: http://stores.shop.ebay.it/gamesalor-com19...mp;submit=Cerca For that total amount of money you can probably find a new "standard desktop" dvd burner of average quality. Is there a reason for using this "slimline" one on a desktop? jaclaz

Sure it is. You want to look for a converter or adapter from 5.25" bay to 3.5". Example: http://cgi.ebay.it/DRIVE-BAY-ADAPTER-BRACK...id=p3286.c0.m14 (if it's a floppy or zip drive and you need to have front access) or for mounting brackets. Example: http://cgi.ebay.it/5-25-in-bay-to-3-5-in-H...p3286.m63.l1177 if it remains all inside the case Or by slimline you mean a 2.5" one? then you will need a cable adapter also. Example: http://cgi.ebay.it/Hard-Disk-Drive-HDD-2-5...p3286.m63.l1177 jaclaz

I can confirm that I on the Win2K server that was installed in late 2001 and is still running flawlessly, without ANY BSOD ever, connected to the Internet 24/7 and never rebooted if not for upgrades/SP/software patches and for this problem: http://www.msfn.org/board/degraded-raid5-array-t136506.html (though it wouldn't have been strictly necessary) But on the other hand there wasn't any need to do anything more than what has been done on it in the last 8 years, which re-connects strangely to the reason why SX001 is a contented Win98 user. The "good enough computing" approach is IMHO the best one, but there is not any need to say other people do "few" or "wrong" things or use the "wrong" OS. After all the thread title is: NOT: Why do you prefer 9x over ... Why you prefer another OS over 9x ... What is the right system for <xxxxx> (server/games/compatibility/...) use .... .... jaclaz

Hmmm, I would say NO, and NO . Have you guys tested/seen this? : http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showforum=43 B) The UIU is priced IMHO a little more than "some bucks", the "combined effect" of "minimum 100 seat license" with "$20.14 per seat" makes a nice minimum of $2,014.00+S&H, which I would instictively define as "a lot of money", to which you would probably want to add a $20 for the manual and/or $ 10 for "Processing Fee for orders not requiring a DVD (download version)". Of course the more machines you have, the more sense it makes spending that amount of money. Since besides being notoriously cheap, I am also picky , I would point out how the pricing scheme creates a "saw-teeth diagram", where you pay: same price for 182 or 250 seats same price for 428 or 500 seats same price for 899 or 1000 seats same price for 1792 or 2000 seats They must have used the same guys that make cellular phone rate plans.... jaclaz

Being proved wrong after only 5 days: definitely beats the Absolutely Unofficial Record I held before : http://home.graffiti.net/jaclaz:graffiti.n...SB/USBfaqs.html if I remember correctly it took Dietmar a few weeks time to prove me wrong...... jaclaz P.S.:BTW, it seems like doubleoseverin is a really lucky guy

....and we are back to square ... #2 : Some listed here: http://www.msfn.org/board/hide-ms-dos-windows-t100463.html Please be aware that some antivirii may detect some of these as a potential threat. jaclaz

If I may offer some advice , no matter whether there will be a fix in next version, you could rephrase: to: jaclaz

Interesting. Would you care to give us something (links/details/accurate report of what you did, etc.)? What do you mean by "you regedit the unicode to the right code"? Meaning: What do you mean by "you regedit the unicode"? AND Where do you find the "right code"? I guess that the tree structure of the install will remain the one of the original XP install when applying the SP3, or you mean slipstreaming the SP3 before the install? It is the first time that I hear about this possibility of "mixing/applying" a SPx in another language. Can you state, for the case of your XP home which language you had before and which language you have now? jaclaz

Just for the record, the .pnf file is NOT necessary, it is automatically created when the driver is installed and or whenever it is needed from the .inf file: http://www.windowskb.com/Uwe/Forum.aspx/wi...F-file-question Having a pre-made .pnf file may even create problems, as it could be a "mismatch" with the corresponding .inf file. jaclaz

If it's seen as FIXED, why did you try preparing it as REMOVABLE? You can try the other way, see here for some reference: http://www.msfn.org/board/partition-instal...36.html&hl= But I guess you should wait for ilko_t, that should be able to give you more accurate ideas to troubleshoot the issue. jaclaz

In other words , nlite does NOT add programs "as they are", a special format, an "add-on" needs to be used. The usual way is to: search on the dedicated Forum: http://www.msfn.org/board/application-add-ons-f132.html and/or here: http://www.winaddons.com/nlite-addons if an add-on for the specific program is already available if you cannot find one learn how to create one and do it yourself, there is a program that can greatly ease the task: http://www.msfn.org/board/add-maker-nlite-...006-t73008.html http://www.msfn.org/board/new-nlite-addon-...CAddon+Maker%5C jaclaz

They should be called by presetup.cmd: http://www.msfn.org/board/issues-setup-t111989.html http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?s=&amp...st&p=880524 Two questions: Is the stick seen as "Fixed" or "Removable"? Do you have one of those (USB) internal card readers instead of floppy drive on that PC? It may be unrelated, but I seem to remember that the latter may confuse the program. In any case, please post some more details on your setup: hardware, drives, etc. jaclaz

There are tens, maybe hundreds of "Floppy disk ONLY" imaging solutions. A good summary is here: http://www.fdos.org/ripcord/rawrite/ I may add to them DCOPY (DOS) and DCOPYNT, here: http://users.telenet.be/jbosman/applications.html Some more, including DCF, are discussed here: http://www.msfn.org/board/archive-old-flop...98-t136856.html jaclaz

It can be confusing actually. To put it down in it's essential lines, USB devices (or to be more exact controllers inside USB Mass Storage devices) can be set in two ways: Removable <-this is how 99.99% (please read ALL) of USB flash sticks are set in factory Fixed<- this is how 99.99% (please read ALL) of USB hard disks are set in factory Windows Setup has been coded by MS to work properly ONLY if booted from "Removable" devices. Thus when using a USB hard disk we need a further step, using the "reversed filter driver" to trick Windows into thinking that the USB hard disk is "Removable". jaclaz

Wouldn't this be what FAQ #14 is about: http://www.msfn.org/board/faqs-t116766.html And what ilko_t hinted a few posts above? WAIT: PROBLEM: some links on the FAQ have gone beserk, and I seem not able to re-edit them. Please wait a few minutes until I manage to fix the non working ones. jaclaz EDIT: Ok the links should be fixed now, this is the one about FAQ#14: http://www.msfn.org/board/boot-install-usb...7-page-417.html

VERY good. Those are EXACTLY the two points for which we don't (yet) know for certain WHAT consequences they may carry. Theoretically the second idea should work, but there is NO guarantee of it. I would advise you to make a "dd-like" i.e. a "forensically sound" image of your entire hard disk "as is" BEFORE attempting to go along the path you sketched, in the worst of cases, you can always restore the disk exactly asd it is now, and try another method, if that one fails. Better be safe than sorry. I mean, you have a GREAT advantage over the other people that posted their problems in this thread, you have a WORKING F11 and Recovery partition, why risking forfaiting this advantage? Always keep an emergency way out open, whenever possible. jaclaz

You are right, as always. Clean explanation would be nice. However, wouldn't 6,7 and 8 & ParentIDPrefix & 0 cover all possible cases when USB/memory stick is prepared on 2k/xp/2k3 machine? This means 3 letters... And maybe it would also solve the "racism" issue about letter V: : U: V: W: Yes , I do like it better than: U: W: And the "Association for the promotion of a wider use of letter V in drive assignments" will probably stop nagging me. jaclaz

YES/NO. This is ONLY an example, that can be used in a batch BUT it loads EITHER a program "custom.exe" OR another program, "normal.exe", if a given path exists ("d:\music") at the time when it is executed. You can setup CMD.EXE (the batch interpreter for .cmd scripts) as Shell, but you will have an "ugly" Console open all the time (and you CANNOT close the shell, as it will be re-started automatically). You do seem needing to read a bit about the topic (Shell replacement and batch - or other forms of scripting) as right now you appear as not having a clear idea of how the things work. At this point I have to ask you a question: Is your custom menu (the one you posted a scrrenshot of) an existing app, or was the screenshot just a "mockup" to clear what you would like to achieve? If the custom menu actually exists in which language/script was it written into? ANY programming language or script interpreter known to mankind will be able to replicate the behaviour of the few lines of the snippet by Tripredacus, or, in other words with which programming language and/or script interpreter are you familiar with? jaclaz

Yes, though the solution is far from optimal. If I get it right you will have a number of batch files in the root of the USB stick that you have to run, one for each app. There are "better" ways to do the above, here is an example: http://www.pegtop.net/start/ jaclaz

And since the actual size of the device is the same, unless the 640 Gb has an additional platter when compared to the 500 Gb, you have greater chances that the "finer pitch" with which data is recorded might be a cause for data loss. The whole idea of a backup is that it should be reliable: reliability, right now, is mainly given by redundancy of devices. jaclaz

I already posted for you some links. First ones are about the "theory of operation", this one: http://mattcollinge.wordpress.com/software...ect-and-launch/ is an app that does EXACTLY what you need, i.e. polling periodically the USB bus and recognizing (by LABEL) if a given USB stick is inserted, and if the condition is verified do something. The snippet by Tripredacus can be translated in batch easily: IF EXIST d:\music ( custom.exe ) else ( normal.exe ) or in any other language, but you will need something that EITHER: "senses" the insertion of a USB devices and starts the above OR: calls periodically the program If you want to learn some batch or VBS scripting, this iste is a good starting resource: http://www.robvanderwoude.com/ jaclaz P.S. Maybe (and don't take it is an offence ), if you don't know which language to use, you may want to search for existing already programmed apps, like this one (only an example): http://www.touchjams.com/default.asp http://www.touchjams.com/default.asp?page=features (WARNING, demo only available, US$ 49.95 one time donation for full app required)