cluberti

Remove all Norton products, reboot, run "sfc /scannow" from a command prompt, reboot again, then reinstall. This is a known issue with some Norton Antivirus components - sometimes, the install corrupts that .dll. Removing the app removes the possibility that it will corrupt the .dll after you fix it and reboot; sfc /scannow will force the OS to look for system files that need to be repaired (in our case, this .dll will be repaired to the version in dllcache or from the CD), and reinstallation should hopefully go smoothly and there will be no more dll corruption.

You wouldn't perchance have any Norton Antivirus or Internet Security products installed?

Does the CD key work when using a pre-nLite CD to install?

It depends - if you've disabled netbios on the client but have a WINS server that the clients check into, then they *should* be in the browse list. However, if netbios is disabled and you aren't using a WINS server in this way, then no, they will not.

What errors are you getting, and what are you doing to create these errors? Perhaps I can help if you post the errors here, and what you were attempting to do that caused them.

1. Windows XP memory management doesn't "sux" - first, read the 1000-page Windows Internals book before talking about memory management . Even with 4GB of RAM on a system, memory management is only as good as the applications you're running, and how the system is configured. 2. If you consistently have less than 15% free space, you WILL do damage to the filesystem in time. And if you don't defragment the box regularly (especially if you run your disks full on a regular basis), that file system corruption will happen sooner. Either create a scheduled task to defragment your drive, or use the diskeeper service to do it for you - it's as simple as that (oh, and the built-in Windows defragmenter you're using? It's a subset Microsoft licensed for use from DISKEEPER ). The diskeeper service, when idle, uses approximately 830K of RAM, btw.

To answer a previous poster's question about the clearinghouse, it's 6 months if I remember correctly. You will be able to re-activate XP a few times within that 6 month period as well, as long as the hardware signature stays the same. So yes, you can re-format and re-activate.

Note that you can import the InstallShield project into, say, Adminstudio Editor (I know, InstallShield X) and make it an MSI...

I currently use the method and files found on http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/ under the heading "Bootable Windows XP installation CD-Rom". Works great every time, and will burn the CD too if you've got a burner and an ASPI layer installed. Oh, and if you are willing to modify a few system files you can change the location of svcpack, but I wouldn't. Technically, the files are working just fine - as long as you don't use DOS to install them . That's why I suggested using the WinPE environment to install Windows if you don't want to use a bootable CD or DVD - you get a minimal Windows environment booted from the CD, from which you can run winnt32.exe - no secondary system needed, the install is done entirely from the system being installed to. I'd still recommend doing it the old-fashioned way from a bootable CD or DVD, as it does work best and is the easiest to perform.

Also note that there is something else that is not immediately apparent, but also 100% reproducible, using the DOS install method - the MSI engine is corrupt, and needs to be unregistered and re-registered before any .msi packages can be installed. Just an FYI, this happens EVERY time I do the DOS installation method. I'd say the best way to do it would be to not install from DOS at all - make sure you're using a bootable install CD. Assuming you aren't installing a ton of applications from your CD, size really shouldn't be an issue. However, if you've got lots of drivers or custom apps taking up space, consider switching to DVD - or use a WinPE disk to begin your installation (via winnt32.exe). That way, you could copy the files to the HDD first, and then run setup from within the WinPE environment (bypassing the DOS limitations). I'd say WinPE as a last resort though - most newer machines have at least a DVD drive, so trying to cram everything onto 1 CD isn't as necessary as it used to be.

Is there a reason you are not using the $OEM$ method? I'm not saying you shouldn't, just wondering why you'd want to reinvent the wheel here.

Consider using GPO's to change permissions on the keys you want to delete, and then you can reg delete them via a logon script.

Instead, attach the drwatson log . Your WINNT.SIF looks fine.

What is the actual call stack? Set your computer up to do a full memory dump, make sure your pagefile is on C: (and is at least 50MB larger than the amount of physical RAM in your system), then make it dump. Post the whole call stack here, and I can help. Also, consider visiting this site: http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

You need to make sure that the following exists in your WINNT.SIF file: [Components] NetOc = On And then the following will kill QOS: [NetOptionalComponents] Beacon=0 Otherwise, what you have below is correct and should work properly.

Second that - %systemdrive% IS the C: drive, and your $1\Install will be copied to %systemdrive%\install, hence C:\Install. Not entirely sure what the problem is here - things are working as intended. Perhaps you need to modify your $1 folder structure?

Who runs your DNS server? This information is ALL gathered from a DNS server, so contact your DNS server admin and ask him that same question - unless one of us here is that person , there's no way we can answer that question.

Installshield AdminStudio is probably the best (but most expensive). You could also use the WinInstall LE version included on the Windows 2000 install CD, if you have one. There are lots of third-party MSI creation apps out there - just google MSI packager.

If all else fails, disable power management in the BIOS, and press F5 during boot (when you are prompted to press F6) and select "Standard PC" from the HAL list.

Your problem is most likely hardware, and since you say that you do get fans and lights, it's most likely a bad stick (or more) of memory. Just a thought - have you tried swapping out the memory?

You may wish to use EXMERGE to move the mailboxes. Since you say that all of your users have profiles for the 5.5 server, in differing locations, this may be a viable option. If you don't HAVE to migrate their profiles (just their mailboxes), use EXMERGE to export the user's mailbox from the 5.5 server, import it into the new mailbox you've created for them on the 2003 server, then via a logon script wipe out their previous Outlook profile and populate it with a new one (you can create a default Outlook profile with the Resource Kit). I've done this also with ScriptLogic, and find it to be the easiest way to go about it.

Use the /integrate switch with the patch to integrate it into your XP source. That way, it gets installed at T-13 during setup. That SHOULD make it work - otherwise, perhaps nLite?

No, because USB support is not added until GUI mode when the USB devices are detected, and drivers installed for them.

Are you installing from DOS, or booting directly off of the CD?

To test if it's REALLY working , try using the following in your WINNT.SIF (instead of using cmdlines.txt): [setupParams] UserExecute=%systemdrive%\temp\unattend.cmd In your $OEM$\C\TEMP\ folder, create a file called unattend.cmd and add the following: :// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ %systemdrive%\TEMP\RunOnceEx.cmd %WINDIR%\regedit.exe /s %systemdrive%\TEMP\login.reg" :// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copy your RunOnceEx.cmd and login.reg files to $OEM$\C\TEMP\, and then try installing. You should see the CMD prompt pop up at the T-9 stage, and add the reg entries (you could also add PAUSE to the end of the unattend.cmd file to pause the command prompt until you press a key). I use this instead of cmdlines.txt, and it works much better for what I want to do (because I need multiple reboots to install certain apps). At least you'd see if it works or not by the CMD prompt output.