The-VOICE

A multi-platform image is a quicker deployment than an unattended install. Once you get the all of the MSD (Mass Storage Device) drivers and PnP drivers injected/pre-installed, the tricky part is allowing for multiple HAL's (Hardware Abstraction Layer). It can be done, and it does work, but don't expect Microsoft to support it in the current version of Sysprep. You'll have to go outside the Microsoft utilities to make it happen.

My understanding is that VBScript isn't supported on Windows x64 Edition. What little information I could find on the subject when I was in a similar situation a few months ago was that VBScript was considered a 'legacy' technology by Microsoft. I was able to accomplish what I needed by rewriting my scripts in AutoIt. Forgive my ignorance, but do x86 printer drivers work in Windows x64? Oh, and welcome to MSFN!

The Silicon Image 3114 controller is only SATA, not SATA-II. Perhaps you have the drive connected to the wrong port? According to the driver list from the link you provided, I would guess that you need to connect your hard drive to one of the Nvidia CK804 ports, not the Silicon Image 3114 ports, for compatibility with SATA-II. Make the floppy disk containing the 'F6' driver, and provide it when prompted by Windows during installation. BTW, I looked at your speed test. A STR (sustained transfer rate) of 60MB/s is good performance for a single 7200RPM drive. If you want it to be faster, you'll need to add more drives in a RAID-0, RAID-1, or RAID-10 configuration. I wouldn't recommend RAID-5 because you would need a true hardware array controller with its own XOR processor so as not to overutilize your desktop CPU. For what it's worth, I have an Asus P5AD2 Premium mobo which has both the Silicon Image 3114 array controller and Intel Matrix RAID. At least in the case of the P5AD2, the Sil3114 is connected to the PCI bus, and the Intel Matrix RAID is connected to the PCIe bus. If you have a choice with your mobo, choose the array controller which is connected to the PCIe bus for faster throughput and lower CPU utilization.

It doesn't sound like you have a hardware problem. More than likely you have one or both of the following two issues. 1) A mismatched setting between the BIOS setting(s) for ACPI and/or APIC when used with a PlugAndPlay Operating System (Windows 2000). 2) An older version of the BIOS which may not properly support the P4. The latest revision for the mainboard is 2003-07-22: http://www.abit-usa.com/downloads/bios/bio...ries=1&model=35 Please consider re-flashing the BIOS and resetting to BIOS setup defaults.

I've read that you can easily tunnel RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) over SSH (Secure Shell). I considered tunnelling VNC (Virtual Network Computing) over SSH for use with my Pocket PC Phone (Samsung I700) because the Terminal Services client on Windows Mobile 2003 Phone Edition is so poor. Currently, I'm happily using pcAnywhere Mobile, but I'd still like to try the VNC/SSH combo.

Nice tip!

Have you considered the freeware AutoIt? I'm just getting started with it, but so far I can see that it is very powerful with little effort: http://www.hiddensoft.com/autoit3/

Click Start -> Windows Security -> Shut Down.

I would start by restricting users from controlling services. IMHO it sounds like you're approaching this backwards.

To get you started from a command line type: net start /? or sc /?

No problem, Durex. Glad I could help! Updates to DynDNS take effect almost immediately. I couldn't be more pleased with the service--and it's free!

Durex, http://www.dyndns.org will give you a free dynamic DNS domain name such as http://durex.dyndns.org for example. I use DynDNS, and my router automatically updates them with IP address updates. If your router doesn't support the feature, they offer free software clients that also work well.

Launch Remote Desktop Connection. Click the Options button to expand it. Click on the Local Resources tab. From Local Devices select the Disk Drives checkbox.

I, myself, have a Lite-On CD-RW drive and a Lite-On DVD±RW drive among others. I have been very satisfied with both drives so much so that I purchased another Lite-On DVD±RW drive for another machine. I've had numerous brands/models of optical drives over the years, and Lite-On is the only one that has inspired any sense of brand loyalty in me. I must admit I'm a little confused by the bashing of Lite-On DVD±RW drives when in the same sentence folks will claim that a Sony is tops. I do remember reading from a reputable review site that some Sony drives were simply rebranded Lite-On's. What I don't remember is whether that comment was in regards to a CD-RW drive or a DVD±RW drive. Can anyone please clarify this? Does Sony release updated firmware more frequently than Lite-On to adapt the writer to new media? I realize that a successful burn requires a good relationship or level of compatibility among drive, drive firmware, and media. In my opinion this compatibility seems to be far more an issue with DVD±R media than it ever was with CD-R media. Are others seeing a different result? Like many people I am a bargain hunter and watch the advertisements for sales/rebates of media. For the most part I've found that I can get the cheapest DVD+R media at Office Max after a rebate. Usually this means that it will be Spin-X or KHypermedia. The Spin-X does not meet maximum error requirements to even be labeled a DVD+R, and the KHypermedia is hit or miss. Recently, I decided to up the money I was willing to spend on media and tried TDK 8x PrintOn DVD+R I found at a price club, Costco. The TDK's are excellent with a minimal error rate. Oh well, you get what you pay for is right. Correction: I have several spindles of the TDK 8x PrintOn DVD+R's. It seems that these are actually rebranded from two manufacturers, MBI from India and CMC from Taiwan. The MBI's are excellent, but the CMC's are on the border of quality (as can be expected from CMC). The country of origin is the easiest way to tell these apart on the spindle label. The CMC's are going to be returned, today. Correction to Correction: The MBI's are excellent at 8x, but the error rate increases a bit when written at 4x. The CMC's are the opposite. The CMC's are excellent at 4x, but when written 8x the quality is marginal. I suppose I'll keep the CMC's after all. I just have to remember to burn them at 4x. Geez, does this have to be so complicated!?! I've found this to be very useful in determining test techniques and media recommendations: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/d.../dvd-discs.html

LaCie is another brand providing LightScribe. I had a feeling that LightScribe was a poor idea from the start, but you're the first person I've met to actually try it. May I ask if you were using the expensive LightScribe-compatible CD-R media when you noticed that it faded and/or damaged the disc? Any information is appreciated.