cluberti

Normally I wouldn't say this, but in this case I have to - it stinks when management makes technical decisions. I feel a little sorry for you in that your options are artificially limited

If you look at the properties of C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe, what is the file version of this file?

That's the problem with "imaging" a set piece install - any updates to the base image, and you have to rebuild to accomplish this (well, almost always ). We moved to a flat-file based installation a long time ago, meaning we do NOT preinstall the OS, drivers, or any applications, and our images truly are universal for hardware. Also, because we make all tweaks and installation of any software post-image, changes are far quicker to make (and undo in the event of a negative side-effect). Does this take longer per install to push down? Yes, it does. Does it mean I can simply modify my scripts or SMS packages that install apps or make tweaks and not have to reimage? Yes, and that means I get the same installation every time, just like the image approach, but without the hardware/driver limitations and the requirement to redo the image when I need to change something. Again, just my .02¢. This was always my recommendation for RIS images, and with WDS+WIM it's no different (more options for the base image, but the same principles apply).

From that warning event, it would seem it's potentially a driver for the devicewall device (msiosrv.dll is a devicewall driver) did not want to go to sleep properly, or when it went to sleep it didn't want to wake up properly. Since we know the problem is at unlock after idle, I'd say it's almost 100% likely to be related to this networking component in some way. What happens if you remove the DeviceWall software, or rebuild a problem box without adding any additional software to test just the drivers for the hardware?

Do you see the same usernames if you run "control.exe keymgr.dll" on the box? If so, delete them from keymgr.dll and they should be gone (cached credential list).

For the crackling, did you try this?

If you have a working box, set up a VM and test the ISO there (always faster if you think there could be problems), and re-downloading the ISO is always a good idea too if you suspect corruption. Also, did you check the sums to make sure your ISO matched what was listed as the checksum up on technet or msdn when you downloaded the image?

Replmon: Repadmin: Basically, if you have AD replication-related problems between domain controllers, these are the tools you use to monitor replication and start troubleshooting.

Can you attach the whole log here, along with versions of the file analyzeforbranching calls out in the log? Deleting the file isn't going to do you any good, as SFC is just going to replace it.

If you feel MSFN needs a live chat segment to be a good board, that's fine and of course you are welcome to your opinion.

If you can run process monitor on the machine when starting the service, maybe you can determine why the service is failing. Otherwise, you're going to be stuck using a debugger to capture the exit codes, and that won't be pretty.

Personally I grew up on Unix and love a CLI over GUI features anyday, but Vista really is a good OS. Remember, educated people thought the world was flat once. Educated people mocked WinXP (with basically the same arguments) back in 2000 and 2001, if you can remember that far back, and now XP is the best thing since sliced bread if you ask most of those same people. When 2000 and XP were released they were also tagged/canned as "resource-hogging" OSes that had no future, and to stick with Win98 and NT4. I think they turned out OK, and Vista will as well. A 2GB RAM box is more than affordable for most people these days, and as time goes on it will probably be the defacto standard lower-end box (I remember 64MB being that at one point, then 256MB, then 512MB - it'll be 2GB before long) which will run the current Windows OS very well. And no A+ certification will teach you the first thing about software and troubleshooting. It might give you a good base to start learning from, but no, it's basically useless on the software front. You can learn most of it in first year CompSci too, and I wouldn't take the opinions of a first year (or even one with the BS) as gospel. I have used Vista since the alphas, did the same with XP, and did the same with 2000. The kernel updates to memory management, the security updates to the kernel, the architectural changes to user mode and process startup, to name a few, make Vista the best OS from Microsoft thus-far. If all you can see is what's skin-deep, you miss the point entirely.

LOL - am I that predictable?

If it's complaining about wininet.dll, check the files in \system32 and \system32\dllcache - are the versions the same, and if so, what versions? If you installed it during setup, it should be 7.0.5300.13.

What file did analyze for branching find when it determined you were running SP3BTA?

You can slipstream into an SP0 source just fine, although note that if you slipstream into an SP0 source you won't be able to bypass the product key portion of setup, whereas slipstreaming into an SP1 or SP2 source does not have that limitation. It's not a big deal, just the only difference. Personally I have all my XP sources using an answer file, so as to keep all of the unused cat and cab files off the CD, I use an SP0 source to slipstream all service packs (3 included).

Generally, the reason we have everything in a searchable format without the chat is so people can find answers to their questions by searching the forums, and the site becomes a database of useful knowledge. Also, the same questions tend to get asked less frequently (and thus answered less frequently), freeing up the users to tackle more interesting and obscure issues as well.

Microsoft is probably not going to re-release it, as the fix for the Dynamics product is being released separately. If you aren't affected by this particular issue in this particular piece of software, you can install SP3 without any issues. If you do run MS Dynamics, you need a hotfix to fix the issue before you should install SP3.

I don't think that nLite has that option at the moment, but asking in there is probably better. Moving to appropriate forum.

Winnt.sif does not exist by default, it must be created.

I'd re-enable DNS (it's important for AD, even if the domain is empty) and let things go for a weekend. Come back on Monday, check the event viewer logs, and if all is clean dcpromo them away.

I think you're taking a HUGE chance going with a Creative product at this point. Even their "works with Vista" X-Fi products don't work with vista due to non-existant driver support. You can probably find daniel_k's modified drivers floating around, but having to rely on someone to "hack" the drivers for their flagship product doesn't give me a warm fuzzy.Not only that, but onboard sound at this point is just as good as discreet sound cards (EAX doesn't work well in Vista without hacked drivers, so no thanks for me), and the CPU hit you take with onboard sound when running a dual or quad core processor is less than negligible. Go with a motherboard with 5.1 or 7.1 onboard sound, and I doubt you'll be dissapointed.

If it's slow to install and run, then I would suspect the drive controller - what motherboard/chipset is in there? I have seen the same problem on Intel RAID controllers in Dell's and HP's, and a driver update from Intel directly fixes it. Sharing folders is quite easy - right click a folder, click "sharing", and use the "Advanced sharing" functionality. If it took him two days to do that, then the problem is your friend, not Vista. A+ is a hardware cert, not software, so I'd take it with a grain of salt - but I agree, machines with 512MB or even 1GB of RAM may not run Vista well until vLite'd down. If he had a 1.5GB RAM machine or higher, however, then it's not Vista, it's the bloatware on the PC slowing it down. Heck, 2GB is the sweet spot for Vista (and RAM is cheap nowadays). Not only that, but the error is talking about a resource OTHER than RAM (probably a kernel pool resource, or perhaps desktop heap) - if he doesn't know that, it's not unexpected, as again the A+ cert is a hardware cert, not software.Just my .02¢, as these things get said here (and rebuffed here) regularly.

WMP

I think you're probably missing the trust accounts - make sure you followed this checklist VERY carefully.