GrofLuigi

Why I think Vista is equivalent to ME: - They introduced some new concepts, but the implementation was half-baked and it didn't work right (Upnp, System Restore, compressed folders, movie maker, WIA). At least during launch, but that's when it's most important. - The above gave it a perception of a resource hog (since most people turned them off) - They killed some old, but proven and working technology for no apparent reason (real-mode DOS) - While breaking old and introducing new things, they didn't have the guts to make a clean cut, so neither worked right. - Most important, none of the third-party programs required/targeted this exact OS version. They were written either for the previous, or for the next version. I guess it means it brought nothing essentially new/useful. - Biggest selling point was a shiny new interface. - Was soon replaced with another OS. The above is not meant to be accurate, just my perception. GL

Make him try late at night / early in the morning. That will clear things up. B) GL

I hope Cluberti doesn't mind me quoting him, Microsoft had a great track record with maintaining compatibility. Progman was possible until XP SP2. Not that I used it, but it was an option. The XP start menu is just - what - 6 years younger than classic? I hope they get rid of it too in the future. And why don't we get rid of the Internet? It's old. So if that isn't forcing, I don't know what is. I'll manage, but what about those 95% of users I see every day that don't use the SM at all, just litter their desktop with icons? I guess I'll never understand why do I have to search if I know where it is. GL

The issue is forcing something onto someone. I have nothing against the new start menu, let everyone use it as much as he/she likes, I just don't understand why the classic has to be banned. If it is a buggy code, can't the bug be fixed? If it has to be rewritten, can't it be done if enough people ask for it (new code, if the code was the problem, same old behavior)? Let both coexist, and if one is better, it will win over. GL

So the hectic start menu is a tool to force search onto the users? GL

I always delete everything in KnownDlls key ( !!! Except the value DllDirectory. !!!) and had no problems. On every Windows installation I came across. There is also KnownDlls dword in SessionManager - I couldn't find trustworthy explanation on it. And then there's this. Larry Osterman says it's used to exclude a DLL from the KnownDll processing. HTH GL

I keep it, although I may install another defragmenter. As they say here, eats no food, drinks no water. (It takes no resources). GL

I did a binary compare of SP0 + manual slipstream of SP3 vs. MSDN SP3 and there were no significant differences. It's a long time now, so I don't remember the exact details, but the only difference was around Drivers.cab (and/or SP.cab). There were less drivers in MSDN version, but I think they're obsoleted or merged. Other than that, I found no differences. I've seen MSDN SP3 integrated work flawlessly on many installs. No drivers missing. GL

1. Did you copy its .CAT file to CatRoot first? 2. (On XP,) with normal integration of hotfixes (on live installation), I've noticed that most of USB-related devices don't pick up the updated drivers unless you go to device manager and uninstall ALL USB devices including hubs etc. Yeah they are kinda special... 3. To repack Driver.cab I use the following line: cabarc.exe -m LZX:21 N driver.cab driver\*.* picked up from here somewhere or another forum... And Cabarc should be easy to find... GL

Well, in that case, might be something with the remote desktop. Or... I'm not familiar with K-lite Codec Pack Full - what program are you using to convert? Also, what does GSpot say about the file? GL

Similar topic on another forum. GL

1. Right here in the forums there are some good topics. 2. Only if it's another drive, not partition, but not by much. Yes, that's true. Almost all anti-virus products use File System Filter Manager. GL

Do you have the "Windows Audio" service up and running? It's not started by default on Server 2003. GL

I voted for 3.1 because icons and style aren't important. GL

Another head scratcher: Logical Disk Manager (and everything related - diskpart etc.) depends on osuninst.dll. This is on Server2003, but it might be the same for XP. GL

It looks to me it's DMA related after all. Did you do that (switch to "DMA if available")? (as described in the article you linked) If that doesn't work, you could try deleting the Ide channel/controller (which the article says not to ). Another thing could be master/slave configuration (jumpers) which got messed up when you removed the HDD on the same channel. GL

so is it needed as im using xp As you see, it's for Dial-In as in incoming. I've removed it with no ill effects for home usage (various types of simple networks, various types of ISP internet access, wireless). I think it might be needed for VPN or similar. GL

SNMP is needed for some printers, not all (I think so, not 100 % sure). I think it's for networked (TCPIP) printers. And maybe some install both drivers (as in all-in-one driver) and complain it isn't present, although they would have worked without? Not totally sure about this, but I know _I_ (yeah, that again ) have installed a printer with SNMP removed. Maybe I got lucky. You might end up needing it. Logon notifications - I have removed them without problems on every machine I've encountered. (I am guessing again) if you're a single user, (or multiple users on a machine, but don't use Fast User Switching) and don't join domain (Active Directory), you would have no problems. What do they do exactly? Notify individual windows components that a logon/logoff occurred. Third party programs don't use them. I've seen only ATI driver use it, and it had better not, it created so many problems (hangs). So removing it was a fix. VLC is good, can replace WMP and doesn't depend on any external components, which means can't break easily (except from itself ) _I_ (now this is getting ridiculous, I don't have such big ego) personally use Opera out of habit, not because it's light or anything (it is, but I haven't compared). It's really good, can do everything I need... GL *EDIT : About Office - I haven't used OO so wouldn't know, but I see it's growing, so might have reached Microsoft Office in size (hard to do, but possible). Office 2000 will be lighter than 2003. Make sure to download and use the Office Customize Wizard (Office Resource Kit) from Microsoft which is kinda like nLite for office. And in any case, select a custom install during installation and deselect everything you don't need (some things are hidden and you need ORK). GL

What _I_ would remove for such a PC (not only for space saving): Unconditionally: ATM Support Windows Sounds (_I_ don't use them) Logon Notifications Kerberos Key Distribution Center SNMP Depending on hardware/needs: All "Controllers" in hardware that are not physically present IEEE 1284.4 devices (Dot4) if not present Multi-port serial adapters if not present Sony Memory Stick Teletext codec USB Audio Support USB Vidio capture devices File system filter manager (most often used for antivirus, ProcMon) Web View if not needed I forgot what exactly was Internet Authenication And _I_ would try to get away with removing NLA and companions and still have Internet working, but it's very difficult... GL

It's quite laborous any way you do it. The method strongly depends on how the DVD was authored. You need to copy the whole DVD to a folder on your HDD, demux (break it down to components), let's say with PgcDemux. VobBlanker is the tool that will probably be able do the job (replace the modified parts). How will you modify them? I don't know, it depends how the DVD was made. Search for VobBlanker guides. Here are some of them. GL

It's saved inside the .msc file itself, not the registry. But if it works, it doesn't matter. GL

In addition to what DigeratiPrime said, before taking the screenshot, could you please do two things: 1. From the view menu select (check) Show hidden devices. 2. From the view menu select (check) Devices by connection and then find (navigate through the tree, expand nodes, until you come to) your device (the WD HDD). That would explain a lot more. In any case, you'd want to plug it in different USB ports on your computer until it's connected to Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller in one way or another (through a hub probably, but that isn't important). GL

Welcome to the forum! I think it is: UnattendMode = 1 I cannot check right now which mode it is actually. While working in nLite, check on the Unattended page about the modes - there is nice big help there. GL

Please rephrase? GL

Maybe this or this can help? GL