jrf2027

You can also look through your WindowsUpdate.log file (in the Windows directory) to find download links, sometimes...that's how I found the link for the newest KB905474. Then, just install the downloaded file via svcpack using /q /n /z. (Rename it something a little more manageable first.) However, this didn't work for the newest version of KB892130.

Did you burn it as an ISO or did you just burn it onto the DVD as a file? If you burned it as an ISO, make sure it's the right size - I noticed that without an add-on download manager Firefox stopped downloading it at 2.0 GB. (DownThemAll worked great, it's earned a spot on my computer!) And forget about using IE to download it - without a download manager, it stalled in the 200 MB range.

I took the "crash course" test version of this question - I installed Vista Beta 2 on my computer overnight. It's Dell Dimension 8100, 1.7GHz P4, 1GB RAM, Pioneer DVD+RW, Seagate 160 GB plus Maxtor 250 GB hard drives, old graphics card with only 32 MB RAM. I bought this system in September of 2001 - probably one of the last computers Dell shipped with ME. The answer is - Vista installs. Aero Glass does not. My network connection was not recognized, my audio was not recognized, but Vista runs. From my limited testing, speed didn't seem too bad. I'm considering upgrading the video card to see if I can get Aero Glass to run - 256 MB AGP cards are getting cheaper. (Anybody know if an AGP 8X card is compatible with an AGP 4x slot? No, I'm not kidding - the most graphics-heavy game I play is Spider Solitaire.) I'm also going to set up a dual-boot between XP and Vista for testing. Plus, this way I know what I'll absolutely need when I purchase a new setup next spring.

For my personal unattended installation, I just deleted cmdow.exe. Yeah, now I get the command windows popping up during installation and when I run my file backup command, but for my own personal system I don't really care - plus, I don't think my three-month-old son knows how to use a mouse yet, let alone how to close the command window.

They can both be installed via svcpack.inf, using the /q /n /z switches. I don't have the latest link for 892130, but here's the latest for 905474: http://au.download.windowsupdate.com/msdow...eaea7909eba.exe There are also direct integration methods, such as RyanVM's methods, which work also.

Check out this thread for converting a Royalty OEM installation from one manufacturer to another (for instance, you have a Gateway computer, that was preactivated, but only have a Dell OEM installation disk): http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=71016

1. From my experience, the Dell OEM installation disk itself doesn't have the drivers added. The drivers are part of another CD, geared more towards your particular system, whereas the OEM install disk is more generic. 2. It does not have "modified files to bypass activation." It has the proper files to preactivate Windows if you have the correct BIOS. (See www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/deploy/oempreac.mspx for an explanation. 3. Once again, from my experience the "crap and trialware" is part of additional disks, not the OEM installation. And LiquidHonesty isn't quite correct - the Dell OEM CD's will install on other systems, but you'll have to activate.

Here's what I use to totally disable AutoRun: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] "NoDriveTypeAutoRun"=dword:000000b5 As for other settings - don't know if this particular registry key changes, but try changing drive autorun settings with TweakUI and see what registry settings change.

I had the same problem, or at least a similar problem. My WMP10 was not integrated, but I deleted the %WinDir%\RegisteredPackages folder to save space (for those who don't know, this is where WMP9 is backed up if you install WMP10). WMP11 installation halted at the same exact spot, during install of wmfdist11.exe. To correct, I went into my Add/Remove Programs and "uninstalled" WMP10 and Windows Media Format runtime, even though there was nothing to install. This worked, and allowed me to complete installation of WMP11 with no further difficulties. If you don't have entries for WMP10 in your Add/Remove Programs, there may be a command line you can run to "delete" WMP10. Give that a try - the worst thing that happens is you can't install what you already can't install...

Couple of questions - 1. Can the new version of KB892130 posted directly above be installed using svcpack.inf? I was able to run and successfully install it silently on two machines, using /q /n /z on one and /quiet /nobackup / norestart on the other. These machines are, of course, both up and running. Is there some problem with installing it via svcpack I need to watch for? UPDATE 5/26/06 - I answered my own question. KB892130, as well as KB905474, can both be installed via svcpack.inf, using the /q /n /z switches. I suspect this may only work on preactivated and/or VLK installs, so YMMV on other installs. 2. I know many people have been having problems integrating KB912812 directly into their installs, but has anybody experienced any problems with running it from svcpack.inf? I have it in my svcpack.inf, switches are correct, but when I connect to Windows Update or Microsoft Update it shows up as needing to be installed. Thanks to anybody who can help!

Couple of quick questions... I'm going to need to reload Windows on a laptop for my wife's work. This particular laptop has passed through many hands, and the original Windows install CD (along with all the software install CD's, I assume) is long gone. I don't presently know the manufacturer of the laptop, but based on the fact that it's a laptop I assume it's going to be a Royalty OEM. Question 1 - I have OEM windows installs for both Home and Professional from Royalty OEM #1. Do I just need to substitute the four OEMBIOS files and the product key to make a Royalty OEM #2 CD? Question 2 - is there any certain advantage to using the getkey.vbs file, or can I just use the Magical Jellybean Keyfinder to get the product key? Thanks in advance.

Don't quote me on this. I don't claim to be an expert. Do you set up Windows XP to run in English or another language? If you set up to run in English, you may be able to delete the entire LANG file. If you set up to run in some other language, you may be able to delete all other languages except the one you need for setup. I think the necessary files for all keyboards are installed automatically if you set up to run in English. (I have several keyboard files in my %windir%\System32\ folder.) The quickest answer to your question may be for you do burn an install disk without the LANG file, test (either in VMWare or for real), and see what happens. What's the worst that could happen - you have to reinstall Windows?

Anybody know if KB892843, an Outlook 2003 update released in January 2006, is superseded in its entirety by the newly released KB913807? Or are both still necessary? I have a clean install point of Office 2003 Pro SP2 with no updates, but just don't have time right now to do an install and find out on my own through Office Update. So, if anybody else knows, I'd be grateful for the time saved!

I've found a way to import all my iTunes settings between installs, and you don't have to remember to deauthorize your old installation of iTunes before reformat and reinstall. Make a copy of the following file: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\SC Info\SC Info.sidb , In addition to the other file you've previously mentioned. After reinstalling iTunes on a new Windows installation, replace the file. (I use a batch file to save all my vital files to one central location prior to a reformat and reinstall, and then use another batch file to put the files back during RunOnceEx. However, you may need to manually copy and paste this particular file in the correct location) All of your prior settings will be saved. (At least, all of mine are.) It does NOT transfer your authorization, however, so before playing files downloaded from iTunes you'll need to deauthorize the computer and then reauthorize it again. It will not increase the number of computers you have authorized - if it reported two previously, it will report two again.

So, if KB912945 is not a critical update, fixes no security issues, and takes away functionality, why would I want to even install it? Also, does KB912475 really affect anybody not living in Australia? So once again, why should I bother with it?

From personal experience, Nero won't allow you to burn an image to DVD unless it really does exceed the size of a CD. I haven't ever bothered to try to find a workaround and I don't use Express. One workaround I can think of...try to put some "filler" files on the disk to boost the size of your ISO well over the CD limit.

Do like several of us did to solve the activation problem for NIS 2005 - install NIS 2006, activate it, then uninstall it. See what's left behind after the uninstall in the registry and in the Program Files directory. Whatever is left behind is usually what's necessary for activation (for instance, the symlcrst.dll file for NAV/NIS 2005). You can probably enter the product key through a registry entry, like in the 2005 editions. And share your results - although I currently have no reason to install NIS 2006, I may have to update my dad's computer from NIS 2004 in the next few months.

You copied symlcrst.dll from an activated installation of NIS 2005, running on the same machine where you are trying to install, correct? And you have the install set up in the exact order set forth above - first put in the registry entry, next copy symlcrst.dll to the proper location, and finally install NIS 2005? If you're following those steps, in that order, it should work for you...just play around with it a little more. But be careful about activating - if you manually activate too many times, Symantec's servers will stop permitting you to activate that particular product key.

If you have a downloaded install of NIS 2005, and you already have installed the latest version of Windows Installer, you can delete the two files related to Windows Installer that are packaged with the downloaded install. Additionally, the URLLists.exe file is not included in the downloaded installation source. When you SFX RAR the NIS2005 folder, it comes in around 32 MB. If you have the disk-based install source, you probably can't get it quite that low, because URLLists.exe is included in the install source. Since, after installation, you have to download an updated URLLists.exe anyway, you could experiment with deleting the URLLists.exe file (it's found in /Support/URLLists, or something like that) - I'm not going to guarantee any success, though! As I indicated above, if you have the CD install source, you can delete the Internet Explorer and Adobe Reader installs from the CD as long as you're running IE 6 and some version of Adobe Reader. Basically, in order to make it ~ 32 MB, you just need to compress it, with WinRAR, WinZip, 7-Zip, etc.

I've been getting more and more questions about how to silently install NIS 2005, because it appears most of the original threads have been either deleted or lost. This guide assumes you have a valid, activated copy of NIS 2005 already up and running. If you do not, stop now, do a normal installation, and activate it. There's basically three things that need to be done to install NIS 2005 silently. First, you need to edit the registry to insert your key. Second, you need to copy one very important file to the proper location. Finally, you need to silently install the program. Here's the .reg file text for entering the product key into the registry: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Symantec\CCPD-LC\KStore\00000082\0000000f\0000001b] "Key"="XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" Just put your actual key in the place of all the X's. Name it whatever you want - I happen to use NIS.reg. Silently register it using this command: REGEDIT /S %Source%\NIS.reg where %Source% represents the path to the NIS.reg file. Second, you need to restart your computer in safe mode and copy the following file: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\CCPD-LC\symlcrst.dll You cannot copy this file if you are not in Safe Mode. Copy it to a folder for future use. You then xcopy it back into the proper place, or do whatever else you want to get that file prepopulated. If you want a truly silently installed and activated NIS 2005, you MUST make sure that the file C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\CCPD-LC\symlcrst.dll is present BEFORE the NIS 2005 installation begins. Personally, I created a SFX RAR that extracts it to the proper location. The most important information: SYMLCRST.DLL WILL ONLY ACTIVATE NIS 2005 ON THE COMPUTER WHERE THE ORIGINAL ACTIVATED INSTALLATION WAS LOCATED - YOU CAN'T COPY THE SYMLCRST.DLL FROM COMPUTER A TO COMPUTER B TO BYPASS ACTIVATION! Finally, you need the installation source for NIS 2005 that corresponds with your product key. From my experience with NAV, you probably won't be able to use a downloaded key with a retail CD source. If you have the downloaded source, extract it to a folder named NIS2005 with WinRAR. If you have a CD source, copy all the files from the CD to a folder named NIS2005. (If you have a CD source, there are several files you can delete to save room - delete anything having to do with installing Internet Explorer, Adobe Reader, or the MSI installer packages.) In the past, I used to recommend using WinRAR to prepopulate the Norton Internet Security URL Lists file in the install source with the most current version of the file, because the download size was so large. However, newer versions of the URL Lists file are much smaller, and since about June of 2005 you do not get updates to the URL Lists file if you prepopulate with URL Lists file. Therefore, I no longer recommend prepopulating the URL Lists file. You can also replace the Live Update software in the install package with the newest version, but it only saves about 2 MB of download time later. Here's the syntax for silently installing the program: %Source%\NIS2005\SYMSETUP.EXE /O REBOOT=ReallySuppress /QB where %Source% represents the path to your source files. If you need to conserve space, you can create a SFX RAR, that will extract to a predefined foler. I personally have my NIS 2005 install source down to 32 MB as a SFX RAR. That's about it. It's not exactly complicated or mystical, you just need to have patience and a little time to tinker. You will still need to download and install updates that now total almost 35 megabytes, but unless you have dialup that does not take too long. (You'll have to reboot after the installation, so that you can access LiveUpdate.) You can use essentially this same method to silently install NAV 2005. You'll need to get the correct registry entry, but otherwise the silent install syntax is the same with the exception that the install executable has a different name (NAVSETUP.EXE, I think.) Finally, in an attempt to hopefully increase the ability to find this page in a Google search: NORTON ANTIVIRUS INTERNET SECURITY NAV NIS 2005

After playing around with BartPE, I think I'll use it to wipe the c:\ drive clean, then install as usual. Now some more questions: If I makecab the wpa.dbl and wpa.bak files, and replace the respective files in I386, will the files expand and show the install as activated? Or, if I put the activated wpa.dbl and wpa.bak into the $OEM$\$$\system32 file, will they get properly copied? The unattended guide says yes... I'd test this myself, but my install's only three days old and is working fine, so I can't justify the time reinstalling Windows yet.

Yes. If you have an OEM CD from Dell, HP, Gateway, etc and are installing on said Dell, HP, Gateway, etc and it requires activation, you will have to call in order to activate it. Those OEM keys are no longer allowed to activate over the internet anymore. They will even ask you for the computer make/model (I usually get away with giving them just the make). So if it's never required activation in the past, it still does not require activation - it's still preactivated based on BIOS, etc? They didn't throw some wrinkle into the Windows Genuine Advantage software requiring you to activate? It's only if activation was required before that you now have to call in to activate? Thanks in advance.

I know I own the license. I'm not worried about that. It just gives me something more to tinker with...so in that sense, worst case scenario? I spend 10 minutes a month on a phone talking to Microsoft. For those who have hearing problems, yeah, that would be a problem, and I imagine it could be a problem for many other people, but it's not for me...it's just another interesting challenge. Can anybody confirm the earlier report that activation is now necessary when installing from, say, a Dell OEM disk on a Dell computer shipped with XP? I have several friends and family with Dell computers who have tapped me their official computer repairer. I'd hate to have to start activating their new installations of Windows, making special unattended CD's for each computer, etc...

@ Crash&Burn - Thanks for the suggestion. Rather than have a dual install with Win2K, I'm thinking about something involving a spare hard drive...I think I have my solution. I'll share results when I do the next install - which I'm leery about doing now because of the need to phone home!

@ jbadley - I think the method you describe also requires that the hard drive volume label remain the same between the two installations, which it doesn't if you do a reformat. But this is the direction in which I'm heading. Anybody know of a good, bootable DOS environment that handles NTFS so that I can wipe the installation drive clean without reformatting?