mrmb

When i had this i beleive fixboot from my xp recovery console did the trick. Also to save time it may be worth backing up the boot files before you install it: ntldr, ntdetect.com etc.

If only i had illustrator! i was using some dodgy freeware msi editor (but it did the trick)

well cus i think an mst just sets options like parameters where as i had to actually remove a component from the msi. i don't actually know a great deal abot it and i was only stabbing in the dark when i tried editing the msi in the first place.

right, sorry it took me so long but i was at school. i've attatched the edited msi. which doesn't prompt for activation. just replace the original and follow the instructions from the first post. either setup.exe /v/qb (but remember that could cause problems because setup.exe closes almost as soon as it calls the msi and this means your script might move on before the install is finished) or "adobe photoshop cs2.msi" /qb good luck EDIT: it wont allow me to upload an msi so download from here: www.mrmb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/adobe photoshop cs2.msi

YES!! i dun it! i managed to remove the section in the .msi which runs the activation window. so i now have a .msi which does the install normally except for not displaying the activation window. no need for autoit or anything else! i'm not sure if i can post the msi here (might be considered warez) if a mod could let me know that'd be good.

I opened it up in a MSI editor and poked around the dialogs and tables. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> yep i did that for a while too but to no avail what editor do you use

i'll test that then... EDIT: nope, sorry. if the full serial is still in abcpy it does a full install anyway. if it is not then it just throws an error. EDIT: btw, how did u get that information if i run the msi with the /? switch it gives me the normal help page but it doesn' tell me anything like the above?

yep thats what i thought so i removed the full serial and left the trial serial but install just crashes. also if both serials are included it just installs the full version. there must be another option that i could add, something like "TRIALINSTALL=Yes" but i'm just stabbing in the dark i have no idea if it's even possible.

right it's still not working but i have isolated the problem. it works as soon as i have established an internet connection (which happens when i install the motherboard drivers). i do not install the drivers in the runonceex window cus i use this DVD on a number of computers. i can't understand why this would be but i can gurantee that it is the reason. Please i hope someone has some ideas !? here's my abcpy.ini file for the person who asked. ;*************************************************************** ;Adobe Installer External Configuration File: Abcpy.ini ;*************************************************************** ;*************************************************************** ;Main Section ;The (Product) key is a required key ;*************************************************************** [MAIN] Product=Adobe® Photoshop CS2 AbcpyVersion=2.0 ;*************************************************************** ;OEM Installation Options ;*************************************************************** [OEM Install] SERIALNUMBER=xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx SERIALNUMBERTRYOUT=xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx USERNAME=Photoshop User COMPANYNAME=. INSTALLDIR= DisplayWelcomeDlg=NO DisplayEULA=NO DisplayXPDialog=NO DisplayTypeOfInstallDlg=NO DisplaySelectDestDirDlg=NO DisplayCustomDlg=NO DisplayUserInfoDlg=NO DisplayConfirmRegDlg=NO DisplayStartCopyDlg=NO DisplayFinishDlg=NO DisplayFinalMessage=NO DisplayRebootDlg=NO DisplayBackGround=NO DisplayBackGround=NO DisplayProgressBar=NO ProgressBarStart=NO ProgressBarEnd=NO is there any way of setting abcpy.ini to do the trial install (i did try this but i couldn't set up abcpy.ini correctly) this would prevent the activation window and simply ask for a serial number and activation on first run which would be fine. ----- Matt

thanks for the reply i'll try the install again with the following: My runonceex file: REG ADD %KEY%\026 /VE /D "Adobe Photoshop CS 2" /f REG ADD %KEY%\026 /V 1 /D "%systemdrive%\install\applications\adobephotoshop\setup\script.exe" /f REG ADD %KEY%\026 /V 2 /D "%systemdrive%\install\applications\adobephotoshop\setup\bridge\bridge.msi /qb" /f REG ADD %KEY%\026 /V 3 /D "%systemdrive%\install\applications\adobephotoshop\setup\helpcenter\hc.msi /qb" /f REG ADD %KEY%\026 /V 4 /D "%systemdrive%\install\applications\adobephotoshop\setup\commonfilesinstaller\cf.msi /qb" /f the autoit script converted from .au3 to .exe (with some extra features as suggested): Run("setup.exe /v/qb") ;Activation WinWait ( "Adobe Photoshop Installer","" ) ControlFocus ( "Adobe Photoshop Installer", "", "Button6" ) ControlClick ( "Adobe Photoshop Installer", "", "Button6" ) ;Activation2 Sleep ( 250 ) WinWaitActive ( "Adobe Activation","" ) ControlClick ( "Adobe Activation", "", "Button1" ) Exit

i can't get the autoit script to work using runonceex method. it starts the install fine but just stops at the activation window (according to processes the script is still running) if i press cancel on the activation window then the script jumps into life and answers the 30 day question. however when it then loads to windows if i uninstall photoshop and run the script it seems to work perfectly. anyone else had this problem or found a better solution. will someone post an exact script file or exe that they have tested and works and the command to start it thanks