couzin2000

Hi everyone, ok, here's a description of the problem. I have a workstation that I just finished installing Windows XP SP2 on. I hooked up this machine to a router. On the other end of the router is a less powerful pc that acts as a media server, and that machine also has XP SP2 on it. When I sat at my workstation, I went into Windows Explorer, went into Network, Microsoft Network, and found my media server there. I have 5 drives in the server, 4 of which are shared at the root. I saw the drives so I mapped the drives of my server to my Workstation, to simplify things. Then I opened a window to one of the drives (drive P:). After 3 seconds of being "in" the drive, my workstation froze. Forever. I had to hard boot to get somewhere. When I reboot, the workstation is fine. Then I go back to the drive -- big mistake. It froze again. Actually, now it does it every time. I checked that this wasn't a power issue, and actually replaced the power supply (my screen shut itself off a few times when the workstation froze). Checked every connection, and everything seems in order. The server is still running, and hasn't stopped since, except when I rebooted it myself for maintenance. Things I haven't checked yet: the network cables, and my network cards (both DLINK DFE-530TXs on a DLINK DI-624). Both machines are also connected to an APC power conditioner, so I don't think it has to do with power. What it looks like is some sort of issue with the network card's driver, which is the one that was included in Windowx XP (not in SP2). I am going to change the driver to DLINK's own, but I'd like to know if anyone has ever encountered this. Basically, as soon as I access a networked drive, the machine freezes. Here's a few things that happened: I replaced the workstation's 768M of DDR RAM with 2Gigs of dual-channel DDR RAM. When I did that, the time it took to freeze was considerably longer, and I was able to, for a while, access the network. I also cut-pasted the data from that media drive to another, so I could try and access another drive, but that drive also showed the same problem. Here's a description of my machines, how they're setup together: Workstation: AMD Athlon 64 X2 (2Mb L2) ASUS A8V DLINK DFE 530TX ATI Radeon 9800Pro 2Gb Dual-Chan DDR400RAM Generic USB/Firewire PCI card Sound Blaster Audigy 1HD: Seagate SATA 320Gb 16Mb Cache Server: AMD Barton 2500+ ASUS A7V133 512Mb DDR333 RAM ATI A-I-W Radeon 9600 PRO Creative Extigy Generic PCI soundcard DLINK DFE 530TX 5HDs: 4 Maxtors (80G, 80G, 120G, 300G) all 16Mb cache, all ATA133; 1 Seagate 200G 16Mb Cache ATA133 Windows XP SP2 installed on 120G (partitioned in 4) DLINK DI-624 router (both pcs are hardwired with CAT5e RJ-45) The drive I tried to access was the 120G, but in a partition where there is no installed program or OS. Someone let me know what you think of this. I think it's a memory leak in the network card driver, or its a bad network card. What do you think? Couzin2000

Well I just bought myself a DVD burner, so I'm heading out to the store to get myself some -R and -RW media... should be and interesting (albeit bumpy) road. I'll let you know if I had anything to change in the makeup of the bootable DVD (i.e., XPboot.bim and other stuff)

I was under the impression that the "XPboot.bin" file was made only for CDs? I'll try it tonight, see how it works for me... I need a lot of space now, because apparently, because of BTS Driver packs, I now have a double-filled XP (over 830MB!!) So, instead of complaining, I'm gonna try to put it into a DVD, and maybe even install Anti-Virus and Ad removers in the process. I'll post back when I've completed my DVD to let everyone know it works or not, because there just aren't any threads on this forums that elaborate on that.

Indeed they are... I might just do it, but that means going back into the forums again for more info and learning. (Awww!) Actually, good point. They're not in there, as far as I know. But I found a driver pack a while back, and it should do the trick. I don't even know if I can tell you where, cause it just says USB2k51. I guess it looks like Microsoft, cause the title is "Windows 2000 USB2.0 Supplement with CompatID". Try looking that up. Very lightweight pack, and those are what I'm using on XP. Thanks for the info

Sounds stupid, but hey, whaddya want from a newbie? Is there anything different I have to do if I make myself a Windows unattended DVD instead of CD, or do I just burn the DVD same as I would do for a CD (that is, just burn the .iso file)? Or is there any info/guide/specific thread I need to follow? thanx a bunch

Simply put, because I'm not sure HOW to do this. But I'm reading a very interesting post at http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=15036&st=10... seems like someone has a really cool driver pack ready to go for everything I actually need. I wonder if it's still available anywhere to download. But getting back to the actual problem, my biggest issue is space. I don't wanna use up any unnecessary space in my XP cd, since I'd like to install more stuff later on. If there's any way to just have what I need for this install, that'd be really cool.

I posted this message to another thread, and, although I'll admit it was very old, it was the only thread that had any reference to my problem. But, as its age seemed to outweigh the urgency of my problem, I was told to start a new thread and my question was, AGAIN, not answered. This is the 4th time I get turned away from solving my problem because of some technicality. I'm hoping someone will wanna give me the time of day and help me. I know I'm a newbie, but jeez, try and have a little more people skills sometimes. Anyways... Sorry about the bump, back to the problem at hand now. I have an MSI mobo that has built-in USB2.0. I need to use the latest VIA 4-in-1 driver (get them at http://www.viaarena.com/) so that all the ports will become USB2.0 instead of 1.0. These drivers are a self-contained install, so I need to find out how to incorporate them into my unattended install. ALSO -- I need them installed BEFORE the Creative Extigy drivers I need to put in... which brings me to my next question: are these Extigy drivers installed the same way as an Audigy? Remember, the Extigy is an external USB2.0 sound card. I have an idea of where I'm going by using the Winnt.sif file -- OEMPnPDriverPath="Drivers\000_via;Drivers\001_USB20;Drivers\002_extigy" This should make one installed before the other. That's cool, but I need to also find out what files I need to install: There's a slew of folders in the extract that seem to be form ME, 2K, and XP. I don't wanna risk taking just the XP folders and dumping them there because I have a feeling that's gonna just jam down the "unattended" in "unattended installation". I also don't wanna leave anything out, since I'm not sure what is used. I looked up the VIA website, but no info on this. If someone can point me in the right direction, or if there's a guide for them, I'll glady look it up. But the Google search I did got me only this thread, so I'm clueless so far. Thanks for your attention and your forthcoming help!

Hey y'all... Couzin2000 is here! I'm a newbie (obviously) looking to prepare his first unattended install... I think I've been doing good so far: I have the cd all prepared and ready to start, thanks to the real cool work you guys have been doing. I'm sure I'll keep you all posted on my progress. I'm a self-taught web designer, although my primary concern is music -- I'm a bass player in my own band. If you guys ever wanna take a peek at what we do, check out NeverMute. I've dabbled quite a bit in programming, although it is just that - dabbling. I hae basic understaning of programming languages, especially web-specific stuff like XHTML and CSS. I have a blog site - Couzin2000.net - and I try as much as I can to keep it updated. Some of the stuff I learn here will definitely make it way to my site. I've installed my share of Windows', and I now have a pretty good knowledge of what it does, including services and some hidden security concerns. But like anybody else, I don't know everything, and this is why I come here. As you can see, I also have a big problem - I talk waaayyy too much. See you guys out there!

Check this link: http://www.neurosaudio.com/ This is a very comparable tool to the iPod... except with a little more features. This one is about the same size, has a relatively similar navigation button, and a nicely sized screen. Weight is pretty much the same, and battery time as well. However... it has a unique feature: a detachable, interchangeable Hard drive module. You could potentially buy another HD module for the Neuros II, at a relatively low price (I think about 125$USD) and hot-swap them. There's also possibility to plug in a flash memory card as well. On top of that, there's a 'Line In' connector which permits you to record audio directly to mp3 format, which is not to say that this is the only format. Ogg, AAIC and WMA are also supported. And since the software is of the OPEN SOURCE kind, this will certainly change soon! To top all this off, a built-in microphone, high-end earplugs, car and wall chargers all come with it, plus a very important feature: a built-in short-range radio emitter, permitting you to bring it into your car without having to have a complete adapter kit installed by a pro. And all this at almost half the price of the iPod... for 20G of space!! Check it out, it's so worth it!!

I'm just a newbie in this thing here, but I'm trying to run an unattended install of XP... I need to know, I have a slipstreamed version of XP with SP2. Is the .Net Framework included in there already, or do I have to install it on top?

hmm... I was hoping not to have to resort to that. Since you can run commands from the RunOnceEx file (like a batch file), wouldn't it be doable to have the text be "typed-in" and then the enter key being "hit" twice? Or do I absolutely haev to go thru AutoIT?

I have an app that I have to run during my silent install. I use the RunOnceEx method, and there are things I have to type in that command-line app as it runs. -name {enter key} -{enter key} (because it's a blank space) Now, is there a way to make RunOnceEx do that on its own? I know I can enter the command by typing REG ADD %KEY%\030 /V 1 /D "%systemdrive%\install\app\blablabla.exe" /f but i need the info to be entered as I run this app. Actually, now that I think of it, I have to drop it in $Progs\app\blablabla.exe so that it gets copied in the right place, then have it run from there, while entering the info. Do I have to resort to a batch file to do something like this, or is it at all possible with RunOnceEx?

Thanks for the tip Astalavista, but after re-reading the entire guide I am still not finding the link you are referring to. I want to be clear about it though: I definitely like the idea of having all the stuff that the first method suggests, however there are some changes made to the actual file that I'm quite unsure of, such as the preference tweaks. Also, I won't have all the plugins installed (MS Office and Real Jukebox for starters), so I don't know if this adds anything to the overall weight of the Firefox install. I actually copy-pasted all the Reg lines for all methods posted in that guide, and I reviewed them carefully, yet some things elude me still. This is why I'm thinking of the stripped-down install of the original file, but if you explain a little about how the first method (SimonSays') works, I could certainly convert to this. I'm just worried about Extensions being in there, because some have caused crashes in the past (they were pre-1.0PR). Also, since I'm not necessarily well-vered in this (this is my 1st attempt at an unattended install), I'm not sure how to install the Java platform, RealPlayer, and all these other apps. Some I know, some I don't. If you're willing to give a hand, maybe just a point in the right direction might help. Thanx simonsays. I was wondering why there were no /? or /help in their installer. I might just switch over now. I'll try a little more research, but as I said, maybe some help wouldn't be so bad.

Ok, after having read thru SimonSays' guide, and after having used the search option (thx evryone for letting me know), I must ask this now. I use the RunOnceEx method to install my XP SP2, and I wanna include Firefox 1.0 with Java 1.4.2.06 and Flash 7. Now the thing is, I can get these installed on their own (except I don't have a silent switch for the ORIGINAL Firefox download, not SimonSays' file - I won't use that one)and I want to associate the 3, basically I wanna run Firefox with the Java VM and Flash plugin. Now, the guide you have has a lot of switches for RunOnceEx, but this is for SimonSays' modified version of Firefox. Since I always use original progs, I'd much rather have the "simple" version. If anyone has info about this, pls post it. (AND, if anyone has a problem with me asking this question, as some of you have had with my previous questions, please refer to the top of this post. I have no trouble taking criticizm and doing stuff on my own, but I also like to get some help sometimes.) Thanks

Well, I have a slipstreamed version of XP with SP2... this means I don't have to run the DX install? Sweeeeeet -- just saved about 30Mb off my XP cd