Cartoonite

I'm working under the assumption here that your partition you mount to C:\Files is formatted with the NTFS file system. With this file system, Windows uses Security IDentifiers (SIDs) to identify the owner of a file or folder. So long as the Windows install stays the same, the SID and the account name are permanently linked. However, when you reformat and reinstall Windows you create a new account and therefore a new SID. Regardless of whether or not the account and domain (in the case of local accounts, the computer name is the domain name) are the same, the chance of that account being assigned the same SID is so remote as to be effectively impossible. Since ACLs use SIDs and not account names to assign permissions, once the PC has been reformatted and your account recreated, you will find that you are no longer the owner of those files and directories. Since I imagine you are creating your account with Admin permissions, you will still be able to delete the folder, but you will still not be the file owner. I suspect you could work around this by Taking Ownership of the files once the reinstall is complete, but this is something that would have to be done every time you reformat. I believe similar issues have also arisen when using the $Docs folder to import desired documents during setup. You may want to do a search on that to see if there are any other options that may suit your needs. So, um, what's your point? By definition default setting can be modified. So if you don't like the defaults, change them. Complaining about and/or mocking them isn't going to accomplish anything. Unless, of course, you just happen to like the sound of your own voice. Good luck luck getting your issue resolved, and welcome to MSFN.

The only change that I know of in the method Windows XP uses to list files is that it has an added "feature" that will recognize numbers and sort them sequentially. So a list of 11 numbered items would be listed: Whereas previous versions of Windows would have listed them as: Not sure if this is at all related to your issue, but just thought I would mention it.

Just a thought: does your password have a space (or multiple spaces) in it? I think that would cause the account creation to fail since the line would be seen as having too many inputs. You could try enclosing both your account name and your password in quotes and see if that helps. Other than that, Alanoll's suggestion is a good one. Another possibility is to log in with the Administrator account after the uA process is complete and try running the script manually to see what, if any, error messages are generated.

Sounds like my guesses were probably off then. Sorry if I gave the impression that one or both of these tweaks were definitely the cause of your trouble. If you still need help getting this problem sorted out, I suggest starting a new thread with a title better describing the issue than this general registry tweaks thread. As a place to start, try removing your registry tweaks completely to see if that solves the problem. If not, I suspect you have removed something with nLite that is causing it, and you should probably start your thread in the forum dedicated to supporting that application. If removing the tweaks does fix the problem, then you likely do just need to edit or remove one or more of the tweaks you are applying. In that case, either the Windows XP or the Unattended Windows forums are probably your best bet. Glad to hear it. Keep up the good work. Don't worry if you missed something, I'm sure it happens to all of us at times. Also, I found that, unfortunately, the registry tweak file isn't always the most intuitive document to navigate. Oh well, it is still immeasurably better than nothing.

I'm not all that familiar with Remote Desktop, but it sounds to me as if maybe the network just can't handle all of the traffic involved in loading massive amounts of data across the remote connection. Do you get the same problem if you are trying to pull up graphic-intensive content from the local machine, or is it only when pulling stuff off the net? Also, are you getting any kind of error message from the remote PC when the connection is dropped?

I know exactly how you can fix this. Buy a copy of Windows XP. Then you will have an original disk and can slim it down to fit your specifications rather than someone else's. I really wouldn't have thought it needed explaining that using someone else's uA CD (and therefore likely also their CD Key) is an act of piracy. Not something this forum has been set up to support. If you buy an original copy of XP and still can't get it working, by all means post back and we will see what we can do to help.

Don't know for sure, Jogy, but I suspect one of these two entries could be causing your MSN woes. ;----- ;----- disable balloon - Add your passport to XP messenger ;----- [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MessengerService] "PassportBalloon"=hex:0a,00,00,00 ;----- ;----- Removes Sign up with Passport Wizard when trying to sign in Windows Messenger ;----- [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Passport] "RegistrationCompleted"=dword:00000001 To change how My Network Places, among other things, is displayed on the Start Menu, try: ;----- Displaying Administrative Tools, Recent Documents, My Music, ;----- My Pictures, My Documents and Control Panel in your Start Menu ;----- 0 = Hide, 1 = Show as link, 2 = Cascade "Start_AdminToolsRoot"=dword:00000002 "Start_ShowRecentDocs"=dword:00000002 "Start_ShowMyMusic"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowMyPics"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowMyDocs"=dword:00000001 "Start_ShowControlPanel"=dword:00000001 ;----- Show/Hide "Set Program Access and Defauts", Help, Favorites, ;----- My Network Places, "Printers and Faxes" and the Run command ;----- in the Start Menu ;----- 0 = Hide, 1 = Show "Start_ShowSetProgramAccessAndDefaults"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowHelp"=dword:00000001 "StartMenuFavorties"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowNetPlaces"=dword:00000001 "Start_ShowPrinters"=dword:00000001 "Start_ShowRun"==dword:00000001 Two small side points. Please use the search function. Both of these answers could have been found by searching the regtweak file that should be available for download in the first post of this thread. Second, please remember that the file posted is meant for reference purposes only. The idea is to read through the list of tweaks and copy the ones you want into a new file that you could then use to tweak your personal uA CD to your liking. In case you are thinking that that sounds like a lot of work, you're right. It took me about three weeks to comb through that file and pull out all the tweaks that I wanted. And I am still adding more to the file that I use. The tweaks in the first code box are copied directly from the file that I downloaded from this thread. The tweaks from the second code box are also all present in that file, I just grouped them together and elaborated a bit on the explanation to make some thing clearer.

The arrow can be removed with the following registry tweak. To renable the arrows I suspect you will have to determine the original value of these deleted entries and then put them back in. ;----- ;----- Remove Shortcut Arrow ;----- [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile] "IsShortCut"=- [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\piffile] "IsShortCut"=- [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\InternetShortcut] "IsShortCut"=- I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think the orginal values may just be empty strings of the correct name. You can try getting the arrows back using the above code without the dashes at the end of the 3 "IsShortCut" lines.

Certainly looks that way, Alanoll. Thanks for pointing that out and making me feel silly. Edit: My most recent test involved using the TaskBarWinXP key from my current system seems to support Felix's statement. I will test again using the exact method he described when I get a chance.

Holy cow, this bloody topic is all over the forum today! Please see my solution and explanation posted here in another thread about this exact same topic. There is also another thread discussing a topic very similar to this (sorting the QL unattended) started by myself that can been seen here. Hopefully this will put this topic to rest once and for all. (Although I won't hold my breath...) @^_^ No, your reg file is not correct. You have two instances where your value names are followed by something other than a closing of the double quote. "Default Taskbar& quot; and "TaskbarWinXP& quot; should be "Default Taskbar" and "TaskbarWinXP" respectively. Also, I don't believe you need both of these values in order to enable quick launch. Please see my posts in the other threads.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents here. (Hey, I deserve to have my post count go up too, after all. ) First off, I'm a bit confused here. Are Bootney and ^_^ the same person? Just curious, because the thread certainly reads that way. Anyway, on to the issue itself. You may not have noticed in the Reg Tweaks thread itself, but there is a bit of a discussion about that particular tweak going on. While the tweak is labeled "Enable Quick Launch Bar," it seems that what this tweak actually does is "Make my Taskbar look like this." For best results using this tweak, I suggest setting you Taskbar up the way you like and then exporting the following value from your registry: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Streams\Desktop] "TaskbarWinXP"= Please give the poor newbie at least a little bit of credit. He said himself that he was searching, he just had the misfortune of not choosing the correct search string. I'm sure that is something that has happend to all of us at one point or another.There, have I satisfied eveyone enough that I have earned my +1 post count? Sheesh. As if my post count even matters. Some people really need to grow up...

I haven't had a chance to test Felix's keys yet, but I've found a slightly different registry tweak to correct the size of my QL bar. I don't have the exact tweak on hand with me here at work, but you should be able to find it in the registry tweaks section. Find the tweak from that thread that is labeled "Enable QL Bar." After reading through the thread, I discovered that this tweak is actually "Make my Taskbar look like 'this.'" Where "this" is defined by the values in the key. Simply set your Taskbar up the way you want it, and then export that reg key from your registry and apply it @ T-12. I'm hoping to get a chance to test Felix's suggestion for myself when I get home tonight. As always, I will post back with results. (Nothing personal Felix. I have little doubt that your fix will work. I just like to verify things for myself before confirming.)

Same here, or at least has been so far. I may have found a "cure" for this, but I'm not sure yet. I will post back when I know one way or the other.

No, I haven't been using pre-defined shortcuts. I have just been making use of the ones that are created by the installation programs. As to the description, I presume you are refering to the Description field on the General tab of the Properties dialog? I am a bit confused here, because that filed for my current Firefox QL icon is "Firefox," and yet the tooltip still reads "Mozilla Firefox," which is the shortcut's actual file name.

Ok, I've taken some time and tried out a few different ideas on this. So far benners' posted solution of renaming all of the shortcut icons is the only one I have found that would be workable. I don't really want to sort it that way, though, simply because it would result in a modification of the tooltip for each icon to include it's assigned place in the order. (Tooltip for the first icon would be "01 Mozilla Firefox" Instead of "Mozilla Firefox.") Does anyone have any other ideas about how I can accomplish this? I also tried CHANDER's suggestion of copying them in in the order I want them to show up, but that still resulted in them being organized alphabetically.

No way around it, robert_neville. This is going to be a very long, involved process. Fortunately, once you have compiled the list of registry keys and values that need to be removed, implementing the backup and removal process should be fairly simple. I have to admit though, I am a little curious why you want it all backed up. I thought the whole idea was to get rid of it. Backing up the registry before tinkering with it is always a good idea, but you will only be deleting keys you already know are safe to delete. I suggest using a text file that can be updated easily to keep a list of the keys you want removed. Then you can use a batch file for loop (People must be sick of hearing me suggest these by now. What can I say, I'm addicted.) to read the keys from the loop and then delete them. for /f "tokens=*" %%f in ('type RegKeys.txt') do ( reg delete "%%f" ) If you absolutely must have backups of the keys, you can and another line in the loop that will export each key before it is deleted. for /f 'tokens=*" %%f in ('type RegKeys.txt') do ( reg export "%%f" >> "%userprofile%\My Documents\RegKeys.reg" reg delete "%%f" ) This should create a registry file your My Documents folder called RegKeys.reg that will contain all of the keys you are deleting. Finally, if you are a real stickler for organization (like I can be), you can nest a pair of loops that will allow you to create a seperate file for the context menu entries associated with each program. To do this you would create a directory that would have all the text files with your list of reg keys in it. (I've never actually tried doing something like this yet, but it works great in theory. ) for /f %%g in ('dir /b RgTxtDir\*.txt') do ( for /f "tokens=*" %%f in ('type %%g') do ( reg export "%%f" >> "%userprofile%\My Documents\Registry Backups\%%g.reg" reg delete "%%f" ) ) This pair of loops should provide you with set of files in a subdirectory of your My Documents folder called Registry Backups called File1.txt.reg, etc... Hope this helps you out somewhat. Sorry, but you are still on your own for actually compiling the list. (I will gladly make use of any list you do compile, though. )

Great amp_man! Now I can rest easy knowing i have at least helped one person out.

This is what I do, abu ryan, hopefully it will help you. These instructions work on the assumption that you followed the same guide that I did (not sure if the updated one is the same or not) and have a folder $OEM$\$1\Install on your CD that has a batch file to install all of your programs located in folders inside this one. Instead of putting the Install folder in $OEM$\$1, move it so that it is off of the root of the CD. (It should be parallel with both the $OEM$ and I386 folders.) Then move the batch (cmd) file that you use to run your installations into $OEM$\$1. Make sure you update your WINNT.SIF file to show the new path of your installation script. Then, add the %CDROM% for loop to the start of your script FOR %%d IN (D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z) DO IF EXIST %%d:\WIN51 SET CDROM=%%d:Finally, the last step is to replace all of the lines in your installation script that start with start /wait %systemdrive%\.....with lines that start start /wait %CDROM%\.... Now the only extra file that is copied during setup is the installation script which is essentially just a small text file and does not slow the process down by any significant amount. No doubt there are other, better, ways of doing this, but I found this to be a simple, effective switch from the original method described in the MSFN uA Guide. Edit: Someone please tell me to stop reading over my old posts so I don't find typos and waste my time correcting them.

The advantage of using Afterdawn's script is that it is smaller than the other. The advantage of the other is that it will install hotfixes that require a set of silent switches other than "/passive /norestart /n."

Not sure about the list of switches, but integrating hotfixes (and/or SP2) into your source is a fairly straight forward process. Brian873 and I actually wrote a short script that will do it semi-automatically for you. You can find the thread about it here. Brian's file posted there was never updated, however, and I've long since forgotten the password for mine, so I will repost mine here. The script requires the following: Windows XP source files in a directory on your hard drive Windows SP2 redistributable if SP2 has not already been integrated (recommended) A folder on your hard drive containing all hotfix redistributables you wish to add using /integrate Just double click the batch file to run it. As mentioned in the readme, make sure that your destination paths are not entered with trailing backslashes. If you want to integrate the hotfixes manually, you can run each one from the command line with the following syntax: /PASSIVE /INTEGRATE:XPSOURCE where XPSOURCE is the path to your source files. This should be the path to the root folder, so don't include the I386 folder in the path. Edit: Woops. I guess it would help if I actually posted the file. Sorry about that. Hotfix.rar

I suspect the best way to approach a project like this would be to monitor the installation of the programs that are creating these context menu entries using a registry monitor tool such as regsnap or InCtrl5. This should give you a fairly good idea of exactly where in the registry the context menu entries are. You should then be able to write a fairly simple script file using the reg command (open a command prompt and type "reg /?" for details) to export and delete these keys. I would offer to help with this project, but I find myself very short on free time lately, and already have several other unfinished projects on the go. I would certainly still be willing to offer guidance where possible though. Good luck with this, and keep us posted.

These scripts are probably a little different from the ones kenneth11zz uses, but the end result should be the same. If you have copied cmdow (you can download it here) to your system folder, try this: @cmdow @ /HID set KEY=HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu reg delete "%KEY%" /f reg delete "%KEY%2" /f exit If you haven't got a copy of cmdow, I suggest using this instead: @echo off title Sorting Programs Menu set KEY=HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu reg delete "%KEY%" /f reg delete "%KEY%2" /f exit Call the script whatever.cmd and then place it in %userprofile%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. This will cause the script to run every time that you log in. Please note that the set statement should all be on one line starting with "set" and ending with "Menu." The first and second script should be 5 and 6 lines, respectively.

I don't think this is entirely true. I believe there is a way to make it permanent by granting an account Read-Only permissions to the registry key that houses the menu order. The following was posted in the same Maximum PC issue where I got the registry tweaks I posted earlier: Since this isn't really a reg tweak, per se, I didn't include it last time. Again, I want to stress that I haven't tested this, so please use caution in implementing it. That batch file added to the startup folder is certainly a good alternative though.

"Grab key. Pull out." I don't know if there is a way to do this from the command line or not. It seems to me that there would be far to many variables involved for it to be possible from the command line, but you never know.

No one is going to be able to help you unless you can provide us with more specific information. Along with the questions Saraband asked: Has this sound card ever worked? Have you upgraded your hardware since it last worked? Have you reformated your system since it last worked? Have you rolled back your system using system restore since it last worked? You mentioned that you have integrated sound. Have you double-checked to make sure that the speakers are plugged into the ports on the sound card and not the ones on the motherboard when trying to play sound from the speakers? Some (many, all?) motherboards require you to disable the onboard audio either with jumpers or in the BIOS before you can use a PCI audio card. Have you checked whether this is required by your motherboard and whether or not it has been done? Have you tried moving the card to another PCI slot? Have you tried booting the PC with the sound card as the only PCI card installed? Have you checked in Device Manager to see if there are any errors related to the sound card listed there? Have you checked to make sure that the master volume isn't muted? And these are just what I can come up with after about 5 minutes. Simply saying something doesn't work doesn't provide any insight whatsoever into the problem. The more specific you can be about the nature of the trouble you are experiencing, the more likely we are to be able to help you. Or, if you prefer, you can always take Saraband's other suggestion and threaten your card with boardily harm. That is usually a last resort in my books, but it is your board and your problem, so it is also your call.