getwired

To be specific, the software isn't owned by you - it's owned by Microsoft, and licensed to you. Unfortunately, your copy of MCE is locked to your HP system, moving it to any other PC is a violation of the license agreement with Microsoft. To get MCE installed on any other system, you will need to buy a new copy from a reseller - like NewEgg.com or another...

I can't remember, but I don't think you can get to it there either... :-/

Check out http://support.fogcreek.com/?copilot - I think it's exactly what you are looking for. HTH

Not possible - Repair can only be started from an actual Windows CD.

Are you a lawyer? Have you consulted one? If no to either one, I suggest you contemplate carefully the EULA included with your own copy of Windows. What Bart has done is borderline (he has technically violated the reverse-engineering aspect of the Windows EULA) any customer who uses BartPE is electing to "interpret" Microsoft's EULA in a way beneficial to them. In a trial, a judge is unlikely to agree. There is no legal way to remove the 24 hour timebomb. That was a feature intentionally designed in to limit the product (WinPE). Removing them is removing licensing limitations Microsoft built into the operating system. Again, consult your EULA. BARTPE IS WINPE!!! (sorry, had to since you yelled it at me). Where do you think WinPE files come from, the magical file fairy? No, they come from Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 source, just as BartPE does. BartPE is a well-engineered reverse engineering of WinPE (with a better build process). Sorry to disappoint you. Don't believe me that BartPE is just reverse-engineered WinPE? Fine. Try this. Open up your copy of "BartPE". Open your txtsetup.sif file. Find the line that starts with OSLoadOptions Delete the entry in that line that reads "/MiniNT" Now try booting your copy of "BartPE". It won't work. Why does that prove anything? Because that switch is the key component that tells numerous components that "I'm starting in WinPE mode". MiniNT was the name for WinPE when it was initial development. You remove that key, and BartPE (like WinPE) is nothing but an amalgam of random Windows files. Now, back to the project. Booting WinPE from a USB Flash Drive is fully supported with Windows Server 2003 SP1 as the source, and in fact the tools are provided - but it is only supported for, and the tools provided to, OEM system manufacturers - because the only way to ensure this works is for the OEM to test and ensure their BIOS supports USB 2.0 and boot from USB Mass Storage, and that the system itself supports USB 2.0 - both required for booting WinPE. Booting from ISO requires the same functionality. It is possible to boot a USB Flash Drive without Microsoft's tools, but YMMV. And previous to Windows Server Sp1 as the source, one will incur problems.

Why the obsession with avoiding activation? If you get an OEM copy of MCE 2005, it will come with a valid product key. Install, activate, and you are good to go.

They don't exist... MCE isn't supported on 64-bit yet.

I wouldn't trust an upgrade to Vista at all.

Interesting implementation - Three comments: 1: You aren't performing a quick format - there isn't usually a huge need to do a full format, and on a large disk that could mean a significant difference in time. To quick format just add /Q to your format switches 2: The hardcoded drive letter assignment will often fail on a system running WinPE 1.2 or earlier, since they would allocate the next available letter to the optical drive you are booting from - which on a system with a single physical disk and a CD/DVD means D: is already allocated. Not a problem for 1.5 or 1.6, though, where the boot drive is always X: 3: Just a hint for diskpart - you can save some typing - diskpart only cares about the first three characters of any command. So instead of: CREATE PARTITION EXTENDED you can simply have CRE PAR EXT works for all Diskpart commands.

No, with built-in functionality, only Remote Assistance provides the "shared session" functionality I think you're looking for.

That only works if you are logging on as the user currently logged on. That's common for home scenarios, but rare in a corporate environment where you would want users to have least privilege (be Users, or more likely be Administrators or Power Users (bad) with some level of policy applied to them, but you want to log on as a more privileged local Admin to correct a system problem. To connect, you must disconnect them, and once disconnected, there is no way (unless you know their credentials and all the apps and files they had open) to restore what was... The exception to this is Windows Server 2003, where there can be concurrent users at the console and via Remote Desktop. To the original poster - I believe this is the case for the X64 version of Server, but I don't believe it is for XP X64 - but as I only have the server installed, I unfortunately can't verify that for you...

BartPE is less than optimal for a school project, as it puts one in a shady legal ground with Microsoft. Disabling the 24 hour time bomb, which Microsoft put in there quire by design - isn't even questionable, it's illegal.

You should look into XP Embedded for your project, not WinPE (BartPE is WinPE). WinPE is focused solely on networking and VESA mode video. Adding other devices is possible in the most recent version - but generally just to see the device itself. And there is no power management in WinPE (and it forgets all registry entries that occur during each boot). Additionally, as noted, the licesing of WinPE is handled through specific channels, and BartPE licensing is questionable at best. XP Embedded was designed to be used the way you are thinking - although in it's current incarnation it has problems booting from USB Flash Drive.

What do you mean by "bundle"? Create multi-image WIM file with more than one OS in it? Sure, it's been done before...

WinPE's machine name is always random...

Note that if you are using the setupldr.bin renamed as NTLDR route mentioned above - a boot.ini - even if it is on the disk - is never read. Setupldr.bin never reads boot.ini files - only a txtsetup.sif. The code to read boot.ini is only in the true NTLDR.

Why do you call unattended "open source"? Unattend.txt files use a syntax designed and documented by Microsoft, and built into Windows setup... Calling it open source is a misnomer at best. Add to that fact that RIS flat installs use RISTNDRD.SIF files that are unattend.txt files with a different name and a handful of different entries (but can otherwise be customized exactly like unattended setup files). RIS IS unattended setup, and unattended setup isn't open source.

Not automatically, no. Generally a manual process. I think certain aspects of FSTW may work, but not sure how well...

No, there is no safe or reliable way to do what you are looking to do. You need to start over...

Have you looked at the CHM files included with the tools? Those are generally pretty helpful when starting out.

So you are getting that error when running winnt32? What are the exact steps you are doing?

Did you rename the I386 directory to something else? If so, undo that.

The backing image you use whenever you are RIS booting WinPE MUST be from the same version of Windows as the WinPE build. In the case of ERD, that would require anRISetup image of Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition.

Why not just use MediaPortal instead? Http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net . It's every bit as full featured as MCE (in fact, more so, and it's upgraded ALL the time, unlike mCE) and better, it's FREE. Check it out, I don't think you will be disappointed. Jason PS: You could alternatively wait for XBox 360, which should give you a lot of that Media Center functionality right out of the box! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually, the 360 is just an extender - it is not a replacement for MCE.

There is no such thing as XP-live - any links you see discussing it are referring to WinPE (or the BartPE reengineering of it) or XP Embedded.