GrofLuigi

Wow the result was amazing. GL

QEMU only. GL

(trying not to make a mess with editing, it's already cluttered, so I continue in another post) XACT3_0_x86_xp.inf and XACT3_0_x86.inf differ only in few lines where they talk about .cat files - smells of driver signing. So another uneducated guess would be that the setup doesn't properly recognize the OS. GL

Earlier, but it still refers to xactengine3_0.dll (and the actual error is its inf file. OK.). I meant corrupt as in corrupt download, but it probably isn't. I'm not fluent with inf syntax, but this doesn't seem right to me: XACT3_0_x86.inf contains [SourceDisksNames] 99 = %DiskName%,"Mar2008_XACT3_0_x86.cab",0,,-1 While in my full redistributable (or however it's called) downloaded straight from M$, the closest thing to it is Mar2008_XACT_x86.cab, which indeed contains the files referenced in the inf. So one solution probably would be to rename (or better copy) Mar2008_XACT_x86.cab to Mar2008_XACT3_0_x86.cab in the extracted redist package (which is a single exe, but only a self-extracting archive, so it doesn't matter if extracted or run directly - as far as I remember, it asks you where to extract, and then runs dxsetup.exe). BTW, I don't encounter this error when installing and all the xact*.* files are installed. GL *edit* - I referred to XACT3_0_x86.inf above, but it should be XACT3_0_x86_xp.inf - doesn't matter, the line with DiskName is the same in both

You need to describe what kind of package it is (it can be anything). Or try unpacking with Universal Extractor. Bottom line, most (all?) drivers have .inf file. GL

It's pretty obvious - fails to register xactengine3_0.dll . It either isn't copied to /system32 (permissions, antivirus?) or is corrupt. GL

You need a MPEG encoder. I'd suggest you work as usual - save your result in .avi file (preferably with lossless codec) and then encode it with some MPEG encoder. Here are some free ones: HC Enc QEnc Non-free ones include CCE and TMPG encoder. You'll find all kinds of video encoding resources here. GL

What is this driver? Can you tell us? Maybe it's just installshield package and you need to dig more to unpack it. GL

This works beatifully for all kinds of installs, except for those where the main (runtime) executable is hardcoded to look for installer data (example: MS office). It works nicely on .net. GL

Did you try GlobalDisableSerNumGen? I don't know if it's because of windows updates or my tweaks (this or others), but computers I'm working on stop doing that* after a while. Seriously, I think I read somewhere (can't remember where, maybe somewhere on the page I pointed) that the behavior has changed with XP SP3 (and/or few updates before). * that = do "new hardware found"/"installing device" if I plug the same USB device into another port. And no, the device hasn't been plugged in the second port ever before. GL

That's what the (and much more) part was about. For example, on the Troubleshooting for USB drives page, there are several topics that might be of interest to you: - Filter Drivers (although not mentioned on the page, in your case, kbdhid and mouhid; possibly other services with HID in their name) - USB devices detected as 'unknown device' - XP asks for drivers - You must be a member of the administrators group - USB drive not working stable - USB serial number My bet is on power management and serial number. GL

Excellent resource on USB drives (and much more). Read your heart out! B) GL

I keep losing it too. Red X always. Can't remember (haven't checked) if it works directly after installing a nLited OS or it gets screwd up afterwards with my "tweaking" (read: butchering) . I remember there was a warning in nLite in some totally unrelated component about it, but I specifically kept it few last times and nothing. GL

But beware, some (rare) laptops are tied to particular OS in the BIOS through ACPI tables or something... I'm not talking about OEM preactivation. I'm not a hardware expert, but I had one (cheap) ECS laptop that wouldn't take anything else than XP. But those are extremely rare. Any brand name should be fine. Just make sure it has a driver for SATA/AHCI controller (if it carries one). GL

It is also used by some lame 16-bit (installshield?) installers (SiS graphic driver and others) to "update" the start menu during reboot. Is also (sometimes!) invoked by windows on boot (when it feels like). Verified with Process Monitor. Creates the .grp filetype. GL

While I'm all for removing useless staff and butcher all my installations with or without nLite, I always try to find proper solution without breaking stuff. For example, in the above list, I don't agree with removal of: WinSxS (believe me, nobody wants to wipe it more than me, but I've experimented in virtual machine and always ended up with broken Windows), flash (although it's easily solved/replaced with never version; but more often needed than not) appcompat patch (I think it's useful). And I'm not sure about twunk_16.exe and command.com (I use many old programs) so MYSELF I would never delete them. Of course, all empty directories, wherever they are, go away. B) GL

Just like with nLite, it's different for everyone. -> Everyone has different opinion on what needs to be deleted or which files/folders might be needed or not. GL

I know you can't count that way. I just approximated, in a half-joking way. He has two cores running at 1,8 GHz, and they are sharing some resources so it can't be said that it's equal to two processors of 1,8 G, but the horsepower surely isn't closer to two 0,9 G processors. I wanted to say that both cores are running at 1,8 GHz. Lesson: apples to apples, oranges to oranges. GL

It's very broken in latest drivers. Tried many of them and couldn't get it to work consistently (most of the time, the options for selecting TV system and/or connector are not displayed). But I'm "lucky" that I have a very old card so I can go back to 9X.XX series. Otherwise, I see people are sticking wires into the connectors and what not... One possible solution to get control of the TV out was to revert to the old Nvidia control panel, but I couldn't do it in the latest versions of the drivers, even with the "SedonaDisable" and similar registry tweaks. Search for that, it might work for you. Otherwise, the latest nvidia drivers also remove support for overlay!!! So if you're not gaming much, you'd better stick to oldest version of the driver you can find that supports your card. (My experience is with plain S-Video connector, so it may be different with HDMI). GL

I think it is in HKEY_CURRENT_USER... (the rest is the same). Also the option can be (un)checked in Folder Options. GL

And if they manage to fix them, and you can't (proven by the fact that you're asking), you'll be very embarrased... GL

You have 2 X 1,8g, not 2 X 0,9g GL

REGEDIT4 [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace] Beware, your computer may blow up and I'm not responsible... Just review manually if you're not sure. GL

I didn't reply because I thought I had nothing useful to say, but since you seem to be willing to accept anything, let's try a longshot: Some firewalls may reject network traffic that originates from Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1-based or Windows Vista-based computers Other ideas: - anything about RPC (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Rpc) - anything about firewall - anything about IPSEC GL

(1) Most simple would be during XP setup. It offers to delete all partitions, create some and format them. Otherwise, there are many freeware and payware partition managers or Boot CDs - you can't format the boot drive(partition) from Windows itself. (2) That bugs me too - there is still possible there is a hardware malfunction. I don't know what to tell you (and at the same time to be 100% certain) - a clean install can cure all your problems except for a hardware problem. In any case, I think a clean install couldn't hurt. But how would you test your hardware? The safe mode of your current installation doesn't help because it's presumably borked. If you have the time, try some Linux live CD - just boot and let it sit there and hope to report any oddities. MemTest could also help - but it tests only memory. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE SUGGEST A HARDWARE TESTING/DIAGNOSTICS BOOT CD? (3) No, you can always wipe and start fresh. GL