573310

So I've recently updated my build dvd, and everything works fine - a couple of minor issues are around the basic task of settings a default wallpaper for all clients. I am using the following registry setting through a registry tweaks file which is merged during runonceex. The odd thing is that the setting appears to half work, in that in display properties the correct .jpg is selected, but the background is not displayed, instead you get only the blue background. If i look at desktop properties, I see that there is no value set for the 'Tile / Stretch' options. If I choose stretch, OK then apply out, the background appears and everything is well. I have the registry tweaks I use below: ;Wallpaper Setup [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop] "TileWallpaper"="0" "Wallpaper"="%systemroot%\\Web\\Wallpaper\\Bliss.jpg" "WallpaperStyle"="3" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] "TileWallpaper"="0" "Wallpaper"="%systemroot%\\Web\\Wallpaper\\Bliss.jpg" "WallpaperStyle"="3" Here are the contents of the registry for the user, pre and post the manual set to 'stretch' Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] "ActiveWndTrkTimeout"=dword:00000000 "AutoEndTasks"="0" "CaretWidth"=dword:00000001 "CoolSwitch"="1" "CoolSwitchColumns"="7" "CoolSwitchRows"="3" "CursorBlinkRate"="530" "DragFullWindows"="1" "DragHeight"="4" "DragWidth"="4" "FontSmoothing"="2" "FontSmoothingOrientation"=dword:00000001 "FontSmoothingType"=dword:00000001 "ForegroundFlashCount"=dword:00000003 "ForegroundLockTimeout"=dword:00030d40 "GridGranularity"="0" "HungAppTimeout"="5000" "LowPowerActive"="0" "LowPowerTimeOut"="0" "MenuShowDelay"="400" "PaintDesktopVersion"=dword:00000000 "PowerOffActive"="0" "PowerOffTimeOut"="0" "ScreenSaverIsSecure"="0" "ScreenSaveTimeOut"="600" "ScreenSaveActive"="1" "SCRNSAVE.EXE"="C:\\WINDOWS\\System32\\logon.scr" "TileWallpaper"="0" "UserPreferencesMask"=hex:9e,3e,07,80 "WaitToKillAppTimeout"="20000" "Wallpaper"="C:\\windows\\Web\\Wallpaper\\Bliss.jpg" "WallpaperStyle"="3" "OriginalWallpaper"="" "WheelScrollLines"="3" "Pattern Upgrade"="TRUE" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics] "BorderWidth"="0" "CaptionFont"=hex:f3,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,bc,02,00,00,\ 00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,72,00,65,00,62,00,75,00,63,00,68,00,65,00,74,\ 00,20,00,4d,00,53,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "CaptionHeight"="-375" "CaptionWidth"="-270" "IconFont"=hex:f5,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,00,\ 00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,61,00,68,00,6f,00,6d,00,61,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "IconSpacing"="-1125" "IconTitleWrap"="1" "IconVerticalspacing"="-1125" "MenuFont"=hex:f5,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,00,\ 00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,61,00,68,00,6f,00,6d,00,61,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "MenuHeight"="-285" "MenuWidth"="-270" "MessageFont"=hex:f5,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,\ 00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,61,00,68,00,6f,00,6d,00,61,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "ScrollHeight"="-255" "ScrollWidth"="-255" "Shell Icon BPP"="16" "SmCaptionFont"=hex:f5,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,bc,02,00,\ 00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,61,00,68,00,6f,00,6d,00,61,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "SmCaptionHeight"="-255" "SmCaptionWidth"="-255" "StatusFont"=hex:f5,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,\ 00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,61,00,68,00,6f,00,6d,00,61,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "AppliedDPI"=dword:00000060 "Shell Icon Size"="32" "MinAnimate"="1" And this is Post that change : Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] "ActiveWndTrkTimeout"=dword:00000000 "AutoEndTasks"="0" "CaretWidth"=dword:00000001 "CoolSwitch"="1" "CoolSwitchColumns"="7" "CoolSwitchRows"="3" "CursorBlinkRate"="530" "DragFullWindows"="1" "DragHeight"="4" "DragWidth"="4" "FontSmoothing"="2" "FontSmoothingOrientation"=dword:00000001 "FontSmoothingType"=dword:00000001 "ForegroundFlashCount"=dword:00000003 "ForegroundLockTimeout"=dword:00030d40 "GridGranularity"="0" "HungAppTimeout"="5000" "LowPowerActive"="0" "LowPowerTimeOut"="0" "MenuShowDelay"="400" "PaintDesktopVersion"=dword:00000000 "PowerOffActive"="0" "PowerOffTimeOut"="0" "ScreenSaverIsSecure"="0" "ScreenSaveTimeOut"="600" "ScreenSaveActive"="1" "SCRNSAVE.EXE"="C:\\WINDOWS\\System32\\logon.scr" "TileWallpaper"="0" "UserPreferencesMask"=hex:9e,3e,07,80 "WaitToKillAppTimeout"="20000" "Wallpaper"="C:\\Documents and Settings\\Administrator\\Local Settings\\Application Data\\Microsoft\\Wallpaper1.bmp" "WallpaperStyle"="2" "OriginalWallpaper"="C:\\Documents and Settings\\Administrator\\Local Settings\\Application Data\\Microsoft\\Wallpaper1.bmp" "WheelScrollLines"="3" "Pattern Upgrade"="TRUE" "ConvertedWallpaper"="C:\\windows\\Web\\Wallpaper\\Bliss.jpg" "ConvertedWallpaper Last WriteTime"=hex:00,32,69,27,4a,38,c8,01 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics] "BorderWidth"="0" "CaptionFont"=hex:f3,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,bc,02,00,00,\ 00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,72,00,65,00,62,00,75,00,63,00,68,00,65,00,74,\ 00,20,00,4d,00,53,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "CaptionHeight"="-375" "CaptionWidth"="-270" "IconFont"=hex:f5,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,00,\ 00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,61,00,68,00,6f,00,6d,00,61,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "IconSpacing"="-1125" "IconTitleWrap"="1" "IconVerticalspacing"="-1125" "MenuFont"=hex:f5,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,00,\ 00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,61,00,68,00,6f,00,6d,00,61,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "MenuHeight"="-285" "MenuWidth"="-270" "MessageFont"=hex:f5,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,\ 00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,61,00,68,00,6f,00,6d,00,61,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "ScrollHeight"="-255" "ScrollWidth"="-255" "Shell Icon BPP"="16" "SmCaptionFont"=hex:f5,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,bc,02,00,\ 00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,61,00,68,00,6f,00,6d,00,61,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "SmCaptionHeight"="-255" "SmCaptionWidth"="-255" "StatusFont"=hex:f5,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,\ 00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,54,00,61,00,68,00,6f,00,6d,00,61,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 "AppliedDPI"=dword:00000060 "Shell Icon Size"="32" "MinAnimate"="1" Can someone help to confirm how this should work? What do I need to do to get this working? thanks

anybody? purleeease?

Okay, so just updated my SP2 XP unattend installation, and this time I thought I'd try out nlite - great tool, makes this sooo much simpler - why didnt MS have something like this originally! Anyhoo, my problem is two fold, and i'm not really sure where to start troubleshooting. First things first, I added all the device specific drivers into the build thru nlite, however, during the GUI mode setup phase, when we are doing the device driver detection, i get the "Found new hardware" wizard pop up! The wizard has just detected the new display device, in this case, i'm testing on a Dell Inspiron 6000, so its the laptop screen. I haven't specificall included the device drivers for this, as it is a generic device and inbox drivers are fine. If I allow it to go through the autosetup / detect, it detects the plug and play monitor drivers and installs just fine. Obviously, this is not good for an unattended setup scenario. Why is this? Any suggestions? My second problem is a bit more tricky - during the first login post app install, I get an error message saying that one of my devices cannot be installed: see the attached screen shot. The specific error message is "Cannot install this hardware" "There was a problem installing this hardware: SigmaTel C-Major Audio An Error occured during the installation of this device A device attached to the system is not functioning. Click Finish to Close the Wizard. Subsequently, reviewing the device in control panel, it is marked with a yellow exclamation mark, and the error The Device is not configured correctly. To reinstall the drivers for this device correctly, click reinstall driver" If you do click 'reinstall driver' this wizard completes with the same error. If i install the driver manually, it installs just fine! In setupapi.log, i get the following error multiple times : #-166 Device install function: DIF_INSTALLDEVICE. #E151 Coinstaller 1 of 1 failed. Error 31: A device attached to the system is not functioning. #I060 Set selected driver. #-166 Device install function: DIF_INSTALLDEVICE. #E151 Coinstaller 1 of 1 failed. Error 31: A device attached to the system is not functioning. #-166 Device install function: DIF_INSTALLDEVICE. #E151 Coinstaller 1 of 1 failed. Error 31: A device attached to the system is not functioning. Nothing in the event log. Any Idea's? thanks 573310

Yzöwl - just testing the above on my other build - will let you know how that goes MHZ - Thats a good question. If you have your data files on a secondary partition, and your OS on the primary partition, you simply need to ensure that you do not repartition during your unattended install. Instead only format and install on to the primary partition - that way you always install to c:\ drive, and your data on the second partition will remain fine, but as always, probably worth a quick backup of your data partition before you proceed - at least with the data seperated from your system partition, backups will be as simple as on D:\ (data drive) ctrl+A; ctrl+C; on X:\ (backup location on network) ctrl+V; HTH 573310

Yzöwl, thats brilliant - a great summary. So final question, I'm assuming that if I take an existing pre installed pc and amend those registry keys at the following location, all new users that logon to that pc will have their user profiles redirected - HKEY_USER\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders Is that correct? I want to try this out on my current build before I create the new build. Many thanks for all your help with this. Thanks 573310

Hey Guys, Thanks for all the feedback, this is definately a hot topic. I'm just about to wade through some MS whitepapers on folder redirection to get a better understanding. Yzöwl - that explanation and guide sound great - I'm not sure i understand exactly how or what its doing, so i'll have to spend some time understanding that, and trying it out. To be clear, this will redirect all the windows user profile locations - correct? All that would remain to redirect, would be third part application specific data folders. Could you explain the process a little more, perhaps? Thanks for all your help on here. Thanks 573310

OK, so I have a DVD which contains XP SP2, my complete list of applications, internet favourites, registry tweaks, themes, blah de blah de blah... and I can install / format reinstall with no problems whatsoever. EXCEPT ONE. We all know that for some reason XP tends to get craggy and slow over time, and so once in a while, you need to start with a fresh install. So I can do that. But my problem has to be how to manage your existing user data. Normally, its a tragic and painful slow manual process to find all the data from each of your user profiles on the pc, pull it into a central folder, back up the folder, then reinstall, followed by pushing that data back. Alternatively, use USMT. Well OK, if it was more reliable I would. Last time I tried that, it was flaky, to say the least, plus it took ages to run, and you had to run it repeatedly under each user's new profile! Now what I'm thinking would be a great idea, would be to split your disk up, so you have a say 40GB system partition, where the OS, apps etc reside, followed by a second partition of the remaining disk, where all user data would reside. To do this, I guess we need to redirect all user folders. Simple, but where do I start? Anyone ever attempted this, and have a conclusive list of which folders need to be redirected, and additionally, how to perform this redirection? I know that XP has a local group policy which I understand allows folder redirection, but I'm using Home, so I'm not sure if it exists in that version. Anybody care to help with this? Many Thanks 573310

Hey Alanoll, thanks for the response. I've not yet tried the utility you mention, will attempt that later. I have found however, that a large iso built using cdimage, tested in MS Virtual Server, exhibits this error message. Use the same image in VMware, and hey presto, it all works fine! Very strange. Now i haven't yet attempted this with a real DVD build, so not sure whether the problem is with CDimage, Virtual server, or a combination of both. Will test that later and post back. Many thanks for the suggestions, there is life out there after all ;-) 573310

OK! Well after trawling across half the web, I think I finally found one of the threads I was vaguely recalling. Here The link between CDimage, and using iso's to boot are discussed here, in relation got the specific error I am seeing. Now, the strange thing is, or at least one strange thing, is that the google search feature on this site did not return this post. It was only when i googled this site specifically for from www.google.com, using the same search terms, that this post came back - so just fyi dont rely on the built in search feature on this site - it seems somewhat limited. Some more information, I am testing the build using Virtual Server. Ring any bells anybody? Now, I need to find that other post I recall which actually gave a resolution, if I recall correctly. Just thought I would update, in case *anyone else* is actually out there and runs past this post! ...ever... <tumbleweed rolls past> ..... 573310

Ok, let me phrase this differently; Has anybody come across the following error during unattended setup of Windows XP :

^top Anybody?

Hi all, I used to post on this forum before under another nick, but for some reason that does'nt work anymore - loong story - wont bore you! The reason i'm posting is that i recall a while ago, seeing information around the infamous ASMS error mesage. Installation failed. D\I386\asms. Error message The parameter is incorrect Fatal error Most posts returned on searching here, suggest that this is CD burner related issue, but i recall seeing another post ( which i cannot find any more ) which suggested a relationship between the use of cdimage.exe to create the image, and the image size exceeding a typical CD size. In the past this was the cause of my build showing this error message, but i cannot recall the resolution! My image is greater than 2GB with Office VS etc etc - and this was the problem before. Can anyone else remember the issue, and the workaround? Thanks 573310