MrJinje

Can you tell me what happens when you run the Computer Management Launcher %SystemRoot%\system32\CompMgmtLauncher.exe

Best way to do this is to use disk management gui inside windows. Start > Run > diskmgmt.msc If your HDD already has a single large partition (i.e. store bought USB drive) you will need to first delete all partitions on the drive. (back up any data first) Right click the blank HDD, create a new 5 GB partition (NTFS should be default selection), then repeat the process to create your second partition. That's it. Pretty simple huh.

OEM's add a program into their build that allows a one time backup to DVD of the recovery partition.

Is the KN Version on Technet/MSDN ?

Sounds cool, I'll check it out. (and re-read the WSIM manual) Do you confirm it leaves no traces in the Program Files\Windows Media Player or the Windows\eHome folder.

I guess, christmas came early this year. LOL, that's is what I did.<WindowsFeatures> <ShowWindowsMediaPlayer>false</ShowWindowsMediaPlayer> </WindowsFeatures> <ClientApplications> <Media>mplayerc.exe</Media> </ClientApplications>

Here are a few more quick places to check. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WMP11.AssocFile.MP3 HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mp3\OpenWithList I tried to remove it but I kept getting an error and couldn't compile my image.

It does, but I think the OP meant to be able to double click a file and not have to right click it every time.

Since I see both apartments are referenced directly as the commands in this key, maybe the better move is to change it here. This looks like it should work on either x86 or x64. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\audio\shell change it to

Not what he is looking for, (i don't install WMP and related garbage either), but for what he wants to do, I would open up regedit and start tracking down the command line inside the HKCR.First I did a quick search for "Add to Windows Media Player list" which turned up this apartment HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{45597c98-80f6-4549-84ff-752cf55e2d29} "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe" /Enqueue Then I found the play command here. I think all you need to do is edit this location to say enqueue instead of play. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{ed1d0fdf-4414-470a-a56d-cfb68623fc58}\LocalServer32 "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe" /Play "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe" /Enqueue Report back, totally untested, I only spent about 5 minutes on the idea.. As always, back up your registry before attempting, this might not even work. But at least you have an idea of where to start. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT EDIT: Your registry might be a little different if you are not on 7x64

DISM Tool™ can mount your Boot.wim #2 and help with the drivers. You need the drivers for your motherboard, not your HDD or SSD. Go to your MOBO companies website and find the support or driver download section. Usually it is included in the Chipset driver pack, but some companies provide a separate download for SATA/RAID controllers.

The reason for that error is Boot.wim does not contain a driver that can see your HDD's. You want to integrate your sata/ide/and/or raid drivers into the DVD\Sources\Boot.wim image #2 and also into your Install.wim. Boot.wim # 2 is the image that loads during DVD installations.

According to this thread (which also details how to check firmware), I was able to determine that my OCZ Vertex (purchased last saturday) was pre-loaded with firmware 1.4. It seems to be working correctly right out of the box. So at least some of the retail stores are carrying product with the firmware. The only time I was able to generate a slow-down was when I pasted a 5GB vmdk file directly over itself (re-writing it without deletion) thus causing it to slow down to under half speed. This is to be expected as the TRIM functionality cannot assist unless you actually delete the file first. Even then plan for some lag time between when the TRIM command is issued, before it can actually reclaim the data. For instance if one were deleting a 5GB file, I would assume it takes at least 30-50 seconds before the TRIM could even be completed.

Powershell is disabled by default so that people who do not know what Powershell is cannot claim Microsoft left a back door open (like VBS did), turning on Powershell usually requires someone who knows what they are doing. IMO Powershell signing is only useful in larger corporations who want better control over who can produce scripts in their environment.

Yes, if the files are not in .INF format then it is usually easier to install them into a live machine and export them with one of the many driver softwares.Were you able to integrate the SMBUS, IDE, and RAID drivers successfully. Those 3 should have been in INF format and given you no problems.

That's a good idea too

Copy your links into this folder.

IMO there is nothing wrong with the x25 except the price. If I believe AnandTech's benchmark (43.6MB 4KB reads), it probably is a little bit faster. Indilinx/OCZ Vertex only gets about 25MB. Both controllers are roughly 100 times faster than a conventional 2 disk RAID Stripe (.349MB). Either brand is a quality product, you cannot go wrong with x25 or indilinx based SSD's. older SSD's should be avoidedThe real limitation is in SATAII. If money is no object, get the x25, technically it is a little bit faster. But if you are on the fence, maybe wait for SATA3 motherboards. SSD will not see any serious improvement until/unless you have a PCIe or SATA3 connection.

Wear leveling has improved the situation and modern specs claim it will take me at least 30 years of above average use before my crappy little 30GB burns out. (copy/delete 90GB per day (3 full write cycles) * 10,000 days). No chance of that happening. TRIM command helps with the speed issues (or lack thereof) when writing to previously deleted sections. If the OS is aware, it can tell a newer SSD to reclaim space from deleted data, improving the speed next time it writes to that section. As for the articles you read, take it with a grain of salt, SSD's manufacturers seem to be in the dis-information stage. Remember when HDDVD was so much better than BluRAY. That all stopped once Bluray's price point (free with PS3) become a contributing factor. After my studies I decided on the Indilinx controller, which is used in some of the newer SSD's (namely Runcore IV, OCZ Vertex, and Patriot Torqx). @Coffee - Considering I paid $200 for 8GB of DDR a few years back, getting another 30GB of RAM for $109 is a steal. Not sure where the $900 figure is coming from, but for that kind of money I could get 4 SSD's and an SAS/SATA PCIe card.

Are there any eSATA ports ?

If you did not use an unattend.xml and you generalized the machine, wouldn't 30 day trial be correct ? Yes, I think that's right, if you generalize a machine it resets the activation status and re-arms the 30 day counter. AFAIK the M$ approved method is to use an unattend.xml file during the sysprep process. Using my XML as an example, you would simply delete this line and it will prompt for a computer name. <ComputerName>Windows7</ComputerName> IMO you should use the random name setting so that your installation doesn't pause half way through. Then just need a simple script to rename the computers properly. Work smarter, not harder.

If they are pre-loaded with XP Embedded, why not use them as RDP clients and have each user connect to a terminal server. 1GB drive is just not gonna cut it for a normal XP installation.

On machines that old there might be a BIOS limitation for drives over 6-8GB in size, so a modern IDE drive might be out of the question, can't really say without more details. Not a good guesser. If I had to guess what the hardware is, it's likely 10 years old or more so I'm leaning towards Pentium2 w/128MB RAM and maybe a CD drive (definitely no DVD). How close was I ? I think your best shot with those kind of specs is Windows 2000

Command line is kinda hard for some, but pictures say a thousand words. Can the OP open diskmgmt.msc and give us a screen shot of his partition's. Start > Run > diskmgmt.msc. Then we can safely give him a working diskpart script and not accidentally clean the wrong disk.

Delete the snip with the data image, obviously that is the source of the problem. The easy way is to copy your OEM logo/badge onto your machine before you sysprep, and use the logo registry setting. Check and make sure your image is showing up at My Computer > Properties. After confirmation, sysprep>generalize and shutdown your machine. Run your image capture software and then install your newly syspreped image on a different machine and report back. The second sample has a few more common OEM setting in case you get bored and want to go all out. Just a time saving tip, any of the good imaging solutions will allow you to edit your image offline. That way you don't need to re-run sysprep for minor file changes. Can even make minor registry changes if you mount your HIVE files (for advanced users only) Question: Who says you cannot use $OEM$ folders ? AFAIK $OEM$ still works fine with Windows 7.