implodium

Thanks guys ! One more thingy : i have the AbitEQ monitoring s/w. It's looks lame (the whole DeLuxe design sickens me) so i also tried a freeware SpeedFan util. It reports 12V rail at 6.05V !? WTH is going on !? BIOS says all voltages are OK. Also searched for infos on HMonitor and found it has also the same prob. Is Abit KN9 THAT new, so no monitoring s/w can report correct voltages ?

Recently i replaced my mobo, gfx and ram. The refreshed config looks like this : MOBO = Abit KN9 (nf4 ultra) GFX = Sapphire X1600XT (256 MB ram) RAM = 2 x KingMAX 512 MB DDR2 @ 800 MHz (dual channel) PSU = Chieftec 400W (forgot the markings, if needed i'll get them) HDD = 250 GB Maxtor DVD/R = Pioneer DVR-111D The question : a friend of mine strongly advised NOT TO CONNECT THE REMAINING 4 PINS on the power motherboard connector. He told me that this will lead to CPU/mobo overvoltage and subsequent failure. So, scared of burning anything, i decided to connect only basic 20 pins. I was told that some earlier mobos had this problem, especially the AMD with 7xx pins (all i know is that this number starts with 7). I'm worried this may pose a big problem later if i decide to do some OC or add more HW on mobo itself. What to do ?

Thanx for the effort ! It's too bad that bashrat, ryan and all you guys don't have a common integration format. You'd be the Gods of WinMOD PS: What is the folder structure for driver folder so that nLite can integrate it correctly ? Is there a site describing it ? huge PPS: At some point (newer RyanVM pack version), nLite asks which one of the versions of the same file to use. In my case, that is cab tool. nLite detects version in hotfix as 0.0.0.0 and on ISO the usual xxx520xxxx stuff. Fine. BUT, here things get a bit complicated : although i get a dialogbox with clearly shown versions of file, i still need to CAREFULLY examine versions because nLite says "do you want to keep the newer version ?". In my mind (and most likely in reality) the newer version is one in the hotfix, while nLite refers to it as OLDER because is it 0.0.0.0. And on the end i have to click "Yes" or "No". What i suggest (actually i BEG you !) is that nLite gives choice-buittons "keep ISO version" and "keep HOTFIX version", this is a MUCH clear and accurate, IMHO.

Can ANYONE confirm 100% this 1 unpack Bashrat's mass storage driver pack in 7z format into temp folder 2. select nLite option "integrate drivers" 3. select "integrate driver folder" 4. point to temp folder 5. continue with usual stuff Is this correct ? Can nLite correctly integrate this mas storage pack ? Is it possiblwe to check for correct integration without actually starting the installation ? nLite is v1.0.0.16 and mass storage pack is v6.03.

I have a problem with shared workbook. I've taken all the required steps to protect and share the workbook, but there's one (so far elusive) "feature" : all users that can read the file still can remove other users from workbook sharing. I tried to share and protect the workbook but the button "remove user" (in workbook sharing window) is still active and working (tested on other machines !). I followed the instructions i found one the net, to the letter, and it still isn't working. Supposedly, i alone should "have the power" to remove users from shared workbook. NOTE: the workbook is shared on a network drive available only on the intranet and i have full access control over the folder where is resides, meaning i can add/remove users and set access permissions. MORE: I have found that limitng access to certain ranges in worksheet does not work if access permissions aren't correctly set. Simply the range protection won't work. Excel does no warning about this issue. I added this hoping that similar problem plagues the above mentioned "remove user" issue.

@rockstarjeremy : Thanks for that code ! I really like to solve stuff via vbs, i don't have to use any 3rd party application to automate stuff for me (yes i know about AutoIt and others, i'm just trying to use all the native support i can get). BTW: Do you know a good tutorial/faq about use of WMI under VBS ? There's a lot of useful things that can be done (mainly reading system performance counters) for various pieces of hardware. I've managed to rip vbs script that uses WMI to access a wireless NIC (read-only) and have re-wrote it to work as standalone script.

Are there ANY examples of how to use visual basic script to access wireless card ? I'd like to use wireless zero configuration service to query for the list of available APs and read their signal strengths. I guess that would be the simplest way, but ANYTHING is welcome. I managed to get some examples ripped out of some skin file (zipped), so far i found this : Wireless Signal Strength Version 2.2 Created 06th September 2004 Edited 09th March 2005 Copyright 2005, Mike Almond There is some VB script encapsulated into xml commented with "DXScript Data File" at the beginning of file. Any c++ / delphi example code is also welcome. I did found WRAPI, but it it's a bit complex and reqiures DDK

Well, site is quite good. Although this page isn't what i'm looking for (it's for 9xxxx model, whereas i have 8500 LE), it did help me find a correct BIOS identification number required for download the right image from omega site. Thanks ! EDIT : If i'm correct, my card is ATI Radeon 8500LE 64 (as selected from list of available items). The BIOS part number is 113-85707-101, which does not exist on omega drivers site. Well, the tweaked drivers will have to suffice, eh ...

I want to write new bios into my ATI Radeon 8500 64 MB LE using BIOS files on omega site. In order to do it, i need to get some info. I tried RaBiT v1.7 and radedit 1.1d. Either NONE of them can read bios info under Windows environment , or i'm doing something wrong ... I managed to get SOME info from ati flash utility started under DOS environment : ATI Flash Utility V1.3 adapter bn dn dID asic flash ID flash type remap lock romsize ======= == == ==== =============== ===== ==== ============== ===== ==== ======= 0* 01 00 514C Rage6/6X - - ST M25P05 - yes 0x10000 Note: * - Active/boot-up device.

I have to agree. Although explaining would be OK, primary goal of this forum is to get help for problems/questions that are not covered yet. I myself have been researching this forum for 2 months and joined it when i had no other way of solving some problems on my own. Please look for info at unattened.msfn.org . This is a whole sub-site, devoted solely to unattedned windows setup. Carefully follow it's links, they're cleanly organized in sections. If you skip something, later it will backfire (speaking from my own expirience). Enough chatter.

I'm using CMDLINES.TXT in $OEM$ folder to call a batch script. In that batch script alcohol setup is executed. There is no hardware wizard window popping up and the alcohol setup's mandatory reboot is done by windows setup anyway. Since i'm using T-13 sequence to install Alcohol, i'm left with RunOnceEx to do another neat thing : making alcohol virtual drive available on the first user logon ! The example code segment should be saved as .reg file and imported during T-13 sequence via REGEDIT /S X:\myfolder\myfile.reg where X: represents the location of target drive (either system drive or cdrom, but that's OT). NOTE : The CMDOW command is from RyanVM pack. Here's excerpt from my registry file : Windows Registry Editor Version 5.0 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx] "TITLE"="One-time final system setup" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx\001] @="Setting up Alcohol virtual drives" "1"="CMD.EXE /C CMDOW.EXE /RUN \"%PROGRAMFILES%\\Alcohol Soft\\Alcohol 120\\Alcohol.exe\"" "2"="SLEEP.EXE 5" "3"="CMDOW.EXE \"Alcohol 120%\" /HID" "4"="SLEEP.EXE 60" "5"="CMDOW.EXE \"Alcohol 120%\" /CLS" Sequence explained line by line : LINE 1 : In this line Alcohol is executed as background task. This means that when Alcohol is run, the execution sequence continues. This is crucial ! If Alcohol is not started in background, the system will hang indefinitely waiting for Alcohol to exit (using "startup" switch won't help, i tried). The CMDOW.exe provides this via /RUN switch. LINE 2 : Sleep.exe (not part of RyanVM package !) is needed to pause the execution long enough so Alcohol is fully up and running. Without this, the next line will fail. LINE 3 : Since in line 2 main window pops up, this command hides it. Having all those app/cmd windows popping up all over the place ain't professional (well, i'm trying to make it as good-looking as possible). LINE 4 : Another crucial command. This is where sequence is paused to allow Alcohol to fully prepare virtual drive. LINE 5 : Alcohol is being closed down and system contiues booting. This line could be replaced with "TASKKILL /F /IM Alcohol.exe" but that's far too crude and unfriendly system-wise. PS : I still haven't worked out how to hide cmd window which pops up when executing sleep.exe. I'll get around fixing it when i'm done with other boot-stuff.

Umm ... Yes, but that's just not the "neat solution", i agree.However : 1. install alcohol during t-13 sequence (not 100% working on my machine because of the dreaded add/remove problem , but you should try anyway !). btw : as a side-effect, you'll have one reboot less to do after install 2. make vb script with sendkeys command (search for example script for BSPlayer registration, very neat idea). i've seen couple of oem app setups do a kill-the-unsigned-driver-warning-window (example : sweex webcam). 3. try to find registry tweak that shortens (or completely disables) driver install dialog box (i'm sure there's one, i've seen hundreds for just about everything). this tweak should be implemented at t-13 sequence (it will most likely kick-in after reboot). NOTE WELL : since you'll install alcohol during runonceex sequence, after the install completes, re-enable the tweak immediately and allow reboot. this additional reboot should (as the previous one, when disabling driver dialog box), kick-in the REGISTRY tweak again. I hope i haven't overdone it. That may be enough, though it wouldn't surprise me if window pops up again. Try to find on the net where windows stores info on available drivers. There must beone (example : install location of msi setup in hklm\software\uninstall subkey). I doubt it. I did use nlite to save space, but it's primary benefit is automated integration of RyanVM's pack. I know what you mean ...

Although i risk being unpopular, i have to resort to cross-posting. Has anyone noted a problem when installing Alcohol during T-13 sequence (part of unattended windows install) ? I have a problem that there's no product name and icon entry in "add/remove programs" window. The program itself runs fine. Other msi-based setups install fine (acro6 and alanoll's winamp).

I too managed to get Alcohol working, but there's one other problem. I install Alcohol at T-13 stage, but it's entry in add/remove programs is BLANK. I even tried without any silent switches (ie normal setup with GUI) and still no luck. I even tried to re-install Alcohol after windows was installed, but all i got was icon, product name is still missing (it must be my setup, i just can't figure out HOW it messes up my install). I want to fix this issue before it gets worse. NOTE : all other msi-based setups (like acro reader 6 and alanoll's winamp) install fine. If needed, i'll post my winnt.sif. If ANYONE had their Alcohol 120% installed normally during T-13 sequence, PLEASE report with as many details as possible ! I urge everyone to answer, even with negative answers.

I'm unsure if this is true (please check yourself if possible) : Alcohol has a problem when installing in T-13 sequence because there's no currently active/logged-in user during setup. I really can't see any other possibility. I tried it on clean win install (just winnt.sif and $OEM$ stuff), same problem... When Alcohol is installed on normally running system, everything is fine. Another note : Adobe msi setup, for example, installs OK in T-13 sequence. What it could be...

NOTE : this is a repost from unattended section (clarified by DLF) Ok here it is : i've integrated several small apps into win xp boot cd and have moved on to a larger project. This time i'd like to have alcohol 120% 1.9.5 build 2802 installed at t-13 stage. The older version did this flawlessly. However, this new version installs and works, but almost NOTHING is displayed in "add/remove programs". Nearly all uninstall information is gone !? What is left : - default msi setup icon (should be the red "A" letter) - no name in item (should say "Alcohol 120%") - support info window shows only email address (it should also display "Alcohol 120%" above it) Did i just ran into a BUG inside setup, or simply have done something wrong ?

I know i could just put them in $OEM$\$$ folder, but then i have two issues : - old wallpapers are still present (can't remove them unless relevant .inf's are edited) - new wallpapers must be pointed to for use using some registry hacking technique If i can replace them and edit .inf files accordingly, then i can also put them in CAB form. I guess this method can be applied to fonts as well, but i want only to ADD, not replace them !

Ok here it is : i've integrated several small apps into cd and have moved on to a larger project. This time i'd like to have alcohol 120% 1.9.5 build 2802 installed at t-13 stage. The older version did this flawlessly. However, this version installs and works, but almost NOTHING is displayed in "add/remove programs". Nearly all uninstall information is gone !? Here what is left : - default msi setup icon (should be the red "A" letter) - no name in item (should say "Alcohol 120%") - support info window shows only email address (it should also display "Alcohol 120%" above it) Did i just ran into a BUG inside setup, or simply have done something wrong ?

Ummm... Interesting approach ! There's lot of stuff you could throw out this way. Major boot disk cleanup ! Maybe nLite works like this when removing components ? I wonder ...

Thanks ! I really never tried to fully understand consequences of testing inside VM. UPDATE : yesterday i prepared one smaller hdd and tried it. Install took much longer than in VM. Most likely win setup found hardware to install drivers for, so the whole process has been prolonged (and also the physcal cdrom is slower than ISO image or VCD). I guess VM emulates a bare-bone system, so there's not much for setup to do (this is why i was surprised how fast win installs on VM).

Is there a way to change the default startup display from 640 x 480 ? I mean the screen resolution user gets after post-install first logon ? I used ResSwitch (from http://www.naughter.com/qres.html) inside RunOnceEx entry, but it reported failure (something like "display driver failed"). I even tried to manually set resolution to 1024x768 and then let ResSwitch (after including it in RunOnceEx and rebooting) downgrade it to 800 x 600, and it still fails. NOTE WELL : i'm testing the cd inside VMWare Workstation ! This may very well work on a real machine ... The only way i see is to unpack and hack the original files inside I386 folder. One more thing : i took the new cabarc.exe from RyanVM update pack and re-packed the orignal CAB files in I386, gaining about 9 MB of free space on CD. Original cabarc (one from "untouched" xp cd) has no LZX compression and it won't suffice for this.

How about inserting a line in batch file called executed via cmdlines.txt ? example inside batch file : rem *** disable system restore *** net stop srservice -YOUR CUSTOM CODE GOES HERE - rem *** finished with my custom stuff, turn restore back on *** net start srservice Note that i put my reg tweaks AFTER this sequence in separate batch file, so even if the restore (or enything else) is started, reg tweaks (including service-tweaks) will still be in effect.

I've took the advice and searched most of the MSFN but haven't yet found an answer : what is the format of strings in winntbbu.dll ? I see bunch of numbers at the first block of strings, some of them describe font sizes, other are mystery to me. I've hoped to make sense of alternative STRINGS.xml file downloaded from here but no luck. So, is there anyone who understands this format (not the XML stuff, the numbers !) so that I can add strings of arbitrary length and with arbitrary number of pages ? Also, is there a way to change the speed at which text is shown ? Thanks in advance and all the best of tweaking to all members !