TechnoNRG

First no it isnt that simple, you need to add to the HKLM\...\run the key that will start it on first run "mstinit.exe /firstlogon" This is the scheduling agent then it should add the jobs to the queue. This may not be important to you but just remember that by having tasks running this way you can never fully close ports 135, and 445. You probably dont need these ports, but just by using the scheduler you reopen them. I use an alternative called pycron. It works well and you can just configure it and not have to worry about the job files

If you look at the ghost documentation it says you cant create a completely generic image because of the SID. This is a limitation of 2k/XP/2k3. If you really want to use ghost, then you have to take the snapshot of the system at a specific time, as explained in their documentation. This way the final SID and devices are initaliated after the ghosting. To achieve this, make you unattended installation, take you image then just post that image. Make sure that all the drivers etc for all machine are there so they can be found. If you want to force the drivers use a utility that can open the drivers.cab and remove all the stuff that ships with the OS then it will have to look your locations for any match. If you want I think that it would be easier to just keep your two images, and use a program like newsid to change the sid after the ghosting process. For this solution I would create a BootCD with network support and then just write a program that detects with hardware you are using by checking the BIOS ID, just put a choice in the bat file. Then it will just drop down and then in the registry add a run once for newsid. Also remember to ghost before attaching to an active directory domain, otherwise you will corrupt the domain with identical sid's.

thanks

Have googled etc, I cannot find directions or am even sure if it is possible to have a removable drive like a USB HD or Firewire drive always mount to the same drive letter in WindowXP. This is easy to do in Linux, I can control the mount, but in Windos how can I tell it that this drive sould be mounted to this letter. My ADS External Drive should always be F: and my HD always h: etc... It seems that in XP the next drive letter is always used, if I turn the devices on in a specif order then I get the right letter to the right drive, but if one drive is attached to another computer etc, then they dont end up on the right letter. thanks

Remeber that Java is an interperted Language, just like .NET, except that .NET can be compiled down to machine code if need be. Java can be compiled down to machine code ifneed be, also if you think that the JVM is slow just go and get a nice JIT, sure the first time is slow but then it runs just like any other app.

The stuff that you download from microsoft is huge, do not install it on a wimpy box. It will install mssql and a whole bunch of other stuff. The fun part is that the software will build working copies of XP Embedded. They just blow up after a couple of days. We have been working on several devices that use it and really like it. Just be careful it has a sharp learning curve. Also the development license for it is 1000USD. If you actually need to do development work it is nice as in you can have all the "prototypes" you want and not have to worry about licenses. Also another thing that is nice is that you can make a copy of xp with no swap file. This is great if you want to put the os on a flash drive. You can also make it so that the flashdrive is read only, that way the drive will last for a ling time, and you dont have the constat reads and writes that is normally associated with xp. Or if you perfer the image can be bootable from cd. That is how we do our inhouse testing. If you have questions ask.

Hi, have been reading for some time and wished that there were more speccific answers. Just started posting, hope I can be of help. Experience: First PC IBM XT-AT, So I have been doing this for a long time. Batch files since dos 2.0. System admin since 1996. Java, was using it when oracle grabed the beta stuff. C++, a long time. vbscript, just as long. I very much enjoy having uptodate unattened software. We reload a lot so we want to be able to pop a dvd in at the end of the day, and come back in the morning to a clean machine. If you need some help or would like to see config files etc, just drop a line. If you have an unusual problem we have probably already had it.

the easiest way is to have the batch file do a check to see which boot it is on. 1. put the batch into the "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%/start menu/startup/" location. This way it will run no matter who logs on. 2. The batch file should look something like this. cleanup.cmd @echo off cls dir /b test.echo if errorlevel 1 goto end echo "in the middle" :end echo File now exists > test.echo echo the end what this does it the code "in the middle" will only run when the file test.echo exists. If the file test.echo doesnt exist then it creates it. This way the file will only be run on the boot after you place the shortcut into the start menu. If you want it to wait to boots then just check for the existance of another file in the end section using the same dir but with a diffrent file name. the "in the middle" code is where you put your cleanup code. Just remember to add to your cleanup code to delete the startup link, and the directory where you put this batch file and the test.echo etc. Do not put this cmd directly into the startup folder, only a shortcut so that the extra file generated dont try to get run when the computer logs in.

The easiest way would be to handle it on login. First go and set all the services that you want to modify to manual. Then just create a simple batch file that runs on login. For example I have a user on one of our systems that use vmware, and its services only start when he logins. start_services.cmd net start "VMWare Authorization Service" net start "VMWare DHCP Service" net start "VMWare NAT Service" You can then have a simmar script run on logout that would be reversed stop_services.cmd net stop "VMWare NAT Service" net stop "VMWare DHCP Service" net stop "VMWare Authorization Service" Remember that the start and stop should be in reverse order to each other to maintain higest system integrity. This will control which services run on logon and logoff.

We cannot run SP2 yet, we have several applications that break under it. As for the registry I think that that will be what I am going to use, as it just fakes the system out. We keep our network very clean. Thanks.

Yes, it is not a type 1, or type 2 hotfix so thoes tags work, but dont stop the little popup window from coming up, the tool was designed to scan the computer, but microsoft has included it in the critical hotfixes section of Windows Update. My boss want new installs to always come up with nothing to install on the windows update site. This tool is necessary, but requies user interaction.

I would use InstallRite 2.5 at the Epsilon Squared Homepage. It is a utility that takes about 10 seconds to install. It make a snapshot before and after a program installs and then lets you create a silent package to install it. Easy enough. Just remember that a lot of registry entries change in the regular course of using windows make sure you delete the regular entries before you repackage.

In response to the jpeg security problem, Microsoft released, KB873374 Security Update for Windows XP, it is a tool called gdidettool.exe. This tool when run, checks the computer for affending software and then notifies you. I would like to be able to to include this in the svcpack.inf. I have been able to include all other updates including .NET, Media Player10 and Journal Viewer with out having to modify the tool, or repackage it. For example: "Q832483.EXE /C:""dahotfix.exe /q /n"" /q" - MDAC Update. "dotnetfx.exe /q /c:""msiexec /I netfx.msi /qn""" - .NET Install. The line for the gdidettool.exe would need to look something like, "gdidettool.exe /q /c:""msiutil2.exe /? /?""". I don't know which tags to use on the executable msiutil2.exe to make it totally silent and not run the popup windows. And yes if you just run the gdidettool.exe /q it still pops up the windows. thanks in advance.