Marztabator

Termy, I've just realised that you got the whole Broadband Tweak thing typed out wrong! a] You forgot to put the quotes on the setting titles, and b] The settings are meant to be in DWORD format, not how you've got it. Here's how I believe it's meant to be laid out: ;Broadband Tweak for Windows 2000/XP/2003 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters] "GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize"=dword:0003ebc0 "TcpWindowSize"=dword:0003ebc0 "Tcp1323Opts"=dword:00000001 "DefaultTTL"=dword:00000040 "EnablePMTUDiscovery"=dword:00000001 "EnablePMTUBHDetect"=dword:00000000 "SackOpts"=dword:00000001 "TcpMaxDupAcks"=dword:00000002 "MTU"=dword:000005dc Unless your version actually worked properly and perfectly on your system (lord knows what sort of XP you've got, what with your Win2K3 winntbbu.dll and all... ), I believe I've solved a little something here...

Ok, I'm still a tad confused. If it makes things easier to understand, here are my complete cmds/reg files and my winnt.sif details: winnt.sif ;SetupMgrTag [Data] AutoPartition=0 MsDosInitiated="0" UnattendedInstall="Yes" [Unattended] UnattendMode=FullUnattended OemSkipEula=Yes OemPreinstall=Yes TargetPath=\WINDOWS Repartition=No UnattendSwitch="no" WaitForReboot="No" DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore OemPnPDriversPath="Drivers\NVidia4523" [GuiUnattended] AdminPassword=* EncryptedAdminPassword=NO OEMSkipRegional=1 TimeZone=85 OemSkipWelcome=1 [UserData] ProductKey=YOOOO-SAAAY-YOOOS-AAAAA-WANKSTA FullName="Marz of Zenogias" OrgName="Zenogias Gunshot Glitter Gathering" ComputerName=marz-tjza1ttk [Display] BitsPerPel=32 Xresolution=1024 YResolution=768 Vrefresh=85 [TapiLocation] CountryCode=44 Dialing=Tone AreaCode=01895 [RegionalSettings] LanguageGroup=7,8,10,9,1 Language=00000809 [GuiRunOnce] Command0=%systemdrive%\Install\adjust.cmd Command1=%systemdrive%\Install\hotfixes.cmd [Identification] JoinWorkgroup=HOME [Shell] CustomDefaultThemeFile="%WinDir%\Resources\Themes\Marz' White Look.theme" DefaultStartPanelOff=Yes [Components] accessopt=off chat=off autoupdate=off IEAccess=off OEAccess=off fax=off [Branding] BrandIEUsingUnattended=Yes [URL] Home_Page=about:blank [Networking] InstallDefaultComponents=Yes adjust.cmd CLS @echo off ECHO. ECHO Over the next few minutes you will see automated installations ECHO of various sofware applications, windows updates, and registry ECHO hacks being implemented. The computer will restart automatically ECHO once the whole process has finished! ECHO. ECHO. ECHO -- Disabling Messenger Service with Shoot The Messenger... start %systemdrive%\install\Tools\ShootTheMessenger disable ECHO. ECHO -- Disabling Universal Plug and Play with UnPlug n' Pray... start %systemdrive%\install\Tools\UnPnP disable ECHO. ECHO -- Copying Tools... COPY "%systemdrive%\Install\Tools\deluser.exe" "%systemroot%\" COPY "%systemdrive%\Install\Tools\UPTIME.exe" "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%" ECHO. ECHO -- Copying PSKill utility... COPY "%systemdrive%\Install\Tools\pskill.exe" "%systemroot%\" ECHO. ECHO -- Applying Metapad 3.5 Filters... REGEDIT /S %systemdrive%\install\filters.reg ECHO. ECHO -- Applying Registry Tweaks... REGEDIT /S %systemdrive%\install\RegTweaks.reg ECHO. ECHO -- Deleting Temp Drivers Folder... RD /S /Q %systemdrive%\Drivers ECHO. EXIT hotfixes.cmd CLS @echo off ECHO. ECHO -- Installing Windows Update Hotfixes ECHO. ECHO Installing Q330994: April 2003, Cumulative Patch for Outlook Express 6 SP1... start /wait %systemdrive%\install\Hotfixes\q330994.exe /Q:A /R:N ECHO. ECHO Installing Q815411: Help Algorithm Update for atypically large Heap Requests... start /wait %systemdrive%\install\Hotfixes\Q815411_WXP_SP2_x86_ENU.exe /Q /M /Z ECHO. ECHO Installing Q819696: Unchecked Buffer in DirectX could enable Sys. Compromise... start /wait %systemdrive%\install\Hotfixes\Q819696_WXP_SP2_x86_ENU.exe /Q /M /Z ECHO. ECHO Installing KB817787: Flaw in WMP Skins D/Ling Could Allow Code Execution... start /wait %systemdrive%\install\Hotfixes\WindowsMedia8-KB817787-x86-ENU.exe /Q:A /R:N ECHO. ECHO Installing KB820291: New "Set Program Access and Defaults" Start Menu icon... start /wait %systemdrive%\install\Hotfixes\WindowsXP-KB820291-x86-ENU.exe /Q /M /Z ECHO. ECHO -- Restarting the PC in 1 minute... shutdown.exe -r -t 60 -f -c "Windows XP will now restart in 1 minute, this will give enough time for the shortcuts to update and for the shell to fully load before its ready to restart!" ECHO. ECHO -- Deleting Temp Installation Files... RD /S /Q %systemdrive%\install ECHO. EXIT RegTweaks.reg Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 ;This will add "Services" to the right-click menu of "My Computer" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\services] @=hex(2):53,00,65,00,72,00,76,00,69,00,63,00,65,00,73,00,00,00 "SuppressionPolicy"=dword:4000003c [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\services\command] @=hex(2):25,00,77,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,69,00,72,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73, 00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,6d,00,6d,00,63,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00, 65,00,20,00,2f,00,73,00,20,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52, 00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00, 32,00,5c,00,73,00,65,00,72,00,76,00,69,00,63,00,65,00,73,00,2e,00,6d,00,73, 00,63,00,20,00,2f,00,73,00,00,00 ;This adds the "Open Command Window Here" on the right-click menu for drives and folders [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd] @="Open Command Window Here" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd\command] @="cmd.exe /k \"cd %L\"" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd] @="Open Command Window Here" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd\command] @="cmd.exe /k \"cd %L\"" ;This gets rid of the annoying IE icon in Windows Explorer [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\ShellBrowser] "ITBarLayout"=hex:0c,00,00,00,4c,00,00,00,74,00,00,00,1a,00,00,00,10,00,00,00,\ 17,00,00,00,05,00,00,00,6a,00,00,00,26,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,e0,00,00,00,56,\ 00,00,00,02,00,00,00,29,00,00,00,57,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,a8,00,00,00,00,00,\ 00,00,04,00,00,00,09,00,00,00,55,01,00,00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\Explorer] "ITBarLayout"=hex:0c,00,00,00,4c,00,00,00,74,00,00,00,1a,00,00,00,13,00,00,00,\ 33,00,00,00,05,00,00,00,6a,00,00,00,26,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,e1,00,00,00,df,\ 01,00,00,04,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,bd,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,20,00,00,00,8d,01,\ 00,00,03,00,00,00,09,00,00,00,b8,00,00,00 ;Some various Explorer settings [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced] "Hidden"=dword:00000001 "ShowCompColor"=dword:00000001 "HideFileExt"=dword:00000000 "DontPrettyPath"=dword:00000000 "ShowInfoTip"=dword:00000001 "HideIcons"=dword:00000000 "MapNetDrvBtn"=dword:00000000 "Filter"=dword:00000000 "SuperHidden"=dword:00000001 "ShowSuperHidden"=dword:00000001 "SeparateProcess"=dword:00000000 "IntelliMenus"=dword:00000000 "ListviewAlphaSelect"=dword:00000001 "ListviewShadow"=dword:00000001 "ListviewWatermark"=dword:00000000 "TaskbarAnimations"=dword:00000000 "StartMenuInit"=dword:00000002 "Start_LargeMFUIcons"=dword:00000000 "Start_MinMFU"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowControlPanel"=dword:00000001 "Start_EnableDragDrop"=dword:00000001 "StartMenuFavorites"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowHelp"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowMyComputer"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowMyDocs"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowMyMusic"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowMyPics"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowPrinters"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowRun"=dword:00000001 "Start_ScrollPrograms"=dword:00000000 "Start_ShowSearch"=dword:00000001 "Start_ShowRecentDocs"=dword:00000000 "Start_AutoCascade"=dword:00000000 "Start_NotifyNewApps"=dword:00000000 "Start_AdminToolsRoot"=dword:00000000 "StartMenuAdminTools"=dword:00000000 "TaskbarSizeMove"=dword:00000001 "TaskbarGlomming"=dword:00000000 "NoNetCrawling"=dword:00000001 "FolderContentsInfoTip"=dword:00000001 "FriendlyTree"=dword:00000000 "WebView"=dword:00000000 "WebViewBarricade"=dword:00000001 "DisableThumbnailCache"=dword:00000001 "ClassicViewState"=dword:00000001 "PersistBrowsers"=dword:00000000 "CascadeControlPanel"="YES" "CascadeNetworkConnections"="YES" "StartButtonBalloonTip"=dword:00000002 "Start_ShowNetConn"=dword:00000001 ;Alters some Internet Explorer settings [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main] "ShowGoButton"="no" "NotifyDownloadComplete"="no" "Use FormSuggest"="yes" ;Adds search keywords to Internet Explorer (in this order: Microsoft Knowledge Base, Altavista, Google, MSN, FileMirrors) [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\MSKB] @="http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=%s" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\AV] @="http://www.altavista.com/sites/search/web?q=%s" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\GGL] @="http://www.google.com/search?q=%s" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\MSN] @="http://search.msn.com/results.asp?q=%s" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\FM] @="http://www.filemirrors.com/search.src?file=%s" ;Prevents Internet Explorer windows from being reused [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main] "AllowWindowReuse"=dword:00000000 ;Max your Internet Explorer's simultaneous downloads to 32 (default was 2) [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings] "MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=dword:00000020 "MaxConnectionsPerServer"=dword:00000020 [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings] "MaxConnectionsPerServer"=dword:00000020 "MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=dword:00000020 ;Broadband Tweak for Windows 2000/XP/2003 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters] GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize="256960" TcpWindowSize="256960" Tcp1323Opts="1" DefaultTTL="64" EnablePMTUDiscovery="1" EnablePMTUBHDetect="0" SackOpts="1" TcpMaxDupAcks="2" MTU="1500" ;Increase the Icon Cache Size to 16384 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer] "Max Cached Icons"="16384" ;Increase the Folder Cache Size to 7000 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell] "BagMRU Size"=dword:00001b58 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam] "BagMRU Size"=dword:00001b58 ;Change the Start Menu load speed to a faster setting [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] "MenuShowDelay"="2" ;RAM usage tweaks [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management] "DisablePagingExecutive"=dword:00000001 "LargeSystemCache"=dword:00000001 "IoPageLockLimit"=dword:1bf00000 "SecondLevelDataCache"=dword:00000100 ;AMD Processor Fix [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management] "LargePageMinimum"=dword:ffffffff ;Prefetcher tweak (faster booting) [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters] "EnablePrefetcher"=dword:00000003 ;System Pages memory tweaked to 256Mb [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management] "SystemPages"=dword:00040000 ;Disable Automatic Restart in the event of a BSOD [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl] "AutoReboot"=dword:00000000 ;Disable the Desktop Cleanup Wizard [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\CleanupWiz] "NoRun"=dword:00000001 ;Disables Error Reporting, but notifies when errors occur [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PCHealth\ErrorReporting] "DoReport"=dword:00000000 ;Disable Imapi CD-Burning COM Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ImapiService] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Disable Indexing Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CiSvc] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Set IPSEC Services Service to Manual [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PolicyAgent] "Start"=dword:00000003 ;Disable MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SwPrv] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Disable Volume Shadow Copy Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Disable NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\mnmsrvc] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Disable Nvidia Driver Helper Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NVSvc] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Disable Portable Media Serial Number Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WmdmPmSp] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Set Protected Storage Service to Manual [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ProtectedStorage] "Start"=dword:00000003 ;Disable Remote Registry Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\RemoteRegistry] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Disable Smart Card Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SCardSvr] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Disable Smart Card Helper Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SCardDrv] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Set Task Scheduler Service to Manual [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Schedule] "Start"=dword:00000003 ;Disable Windows Time Service [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time] "Start"=dword:00000004 ;Speed up browsing remote computers [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace\{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}] ;Speed up NTFS [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem] "Win31FileSystem"=dword:00000000 "Win95TruncatedExtensions"=dword:00000001 "NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate"=dword:00000001 ;Speed up shutdown [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] "HungAppTimeout"="5000" "WaitToKillAppTimeout"="4000" ;Speed up shutdown [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control] "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="2000" ;Disable System Restore [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore] "DisableSR"=dword:00000001 ;Allow renaming of Recycle Bin [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder] "Attributes"=hex:50,01,00,20 "CallForAttributes"=dword:00000000 ;This will allow you to autologin. ;Replace InsertName value with the Username you want to autologin with. ;Replace InsertPassword value with the password corresponding to the Username specified. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] "DefaultUserName"="Marz" "DefaultPassword"="" "AutoAdminLogon"="1" ;NoLowDiskSpaceChecks won't check if you are low on diskspace or pop-up a balloon telling you. [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] "NoLowDiskSpaceChecks"=dword:00000001 ;NoRecentDocsmenu removes the recent documents from the start menu. [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] "NoRecentDocsMenu"=dword:00000001 ;Do Not Receive Media Player Licences [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Preferences] "SilentAcquisition"=hex:00 ;Disable Media Player identification through Internet sites [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Preferences] "SendUserGUID"=hex:00 ;Disable automatic codec downloads [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Preferences] "UpgradeCodecPrompt"=hex:00 ;Do not allow Windows/MSN Messenger to start with Outlook Express [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express] "Hide Messenger"=dword:00000001 ;Disable 'Hide Inactive Icons' [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer] "EnableAutoTray"=dword:00000000 ;My Computer First Desktop Icon [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}] "SortOrderIndex"=dword:00000054 ;Remove System Folders Baricade [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\WebView\BarricadedFolders] "shell:ControlPanelFolder"=dword:00000000 "shell:SystemDriveRootFolder"=dword:00000000 "shell:ProgramFiles"=dword:00000000 "shell:Windows"=dword:00000000 "shell:System"=dword:0000000 ;Enable ClearType for ALL Users [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop] "FontSmoothing"="2" "FontSmoothingType"=dword:00000002 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] "FontSmoothing"="2" "FontSmoothingType"=dword:00000002 ;No CD Autorun [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdrom] "AutoRun"=dword:00000000 ;Do not cache failed DNS lookups [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters] "CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001 "CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180 "MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000fa00 "MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d

Oh yeah, and TaskbarAnimations is ignored also (still 1 instead of 0).

That shouldn't be the case, since I create my "Marz" account before the cmds and reg files start up, and I've set my winnt.sif to auto-load the "Marz" account. I did check the [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT] area to see if the tweaks could be applied here also but I noticed that this place doesn't have a [software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced] section at all. This just makes things more confusing.

I've noticed that a few of the tweaks in my "RegTweaks.reg" don't get acknowledged by XP at all. Like the "ShowSuperHidden" (which doesn't appear in its respective area at all) and the "ListviewWatermark" and "WebView" (which are both still set to 1 despite my 0 settings) tweaks for instance. It can't be anything to do with the SFC, surely?

512 icons per 2Mb of memory???

Thanks to you two for finally replying to this (), but Spheris, could you rephrase that last bit of advice please? Do you mean 512x1024? It can't be "per" 512Mb, since I have just that - 512Mb!

*Sigh* You CAN'T be all totally clueless on this one...

At the moment I have it set to 32768. Does XP take notice of this or not? Am I asking for too much here?

Is there any way in which I could get these new CD-making tools now, please? I'm in the process of making a new XP CD, and from what you've said about WinISO I feel kinda put off using it now.

What happened to your screens then, Termy?

*bumps-another-one* PLEASE just give me a good answer to this one.

*bumpity-bumpy-boomp*

*bump again*

Hmmm. They both seem rather complicated to me. Is there generally a way to enforce drive letters as such without having to completely rebuild my entire partition setup? I use two hard drives, both 40Gb each. FDISK required me to build primary partitions on both.

Is 8192 the maximum, or are higher figures allowed?

I'd like it setup so that if you create a 9x/XP dual-boot system, 9x doesn't automatically change the drive letters for my FAT32 partitions (when it gives the NTFS partitions a miss). Is there a way in which I can force my partitions to use the same letters on both OSes?

Bah, too many patches are coming out for IE6 as it is! Makes you wonder whether the cumulative patch is even worth it in the end...

Well, it turns out I was right in the end. After many tests of VPC, I can exclusively confirm that these two switches make absolutely NO difference (nada, nout, zip) to the system's contents whether it's set to "yes", "no" or "gibberdegooble"! I wonder why it had to be like this?

Well i work out why its transpart its becuase i made a boo boo with my setup screens. Actually I believe it's because you've set the background for the XP logo and the small icons to black (I checked your DLL). Perhaps setting it to black means XP takes it as transparency???

At the moment I have it set to 32768. Does XP take notice of this or not? Am I asking for too much here?

But which number(s) in those two strings represent(s) the font size?

Does that mean I should just stick to DX 8.1? I use a GeForce 2 MX/MX 400.

Is it possible to use transparent backgrounds for all the small pics (logo, lights, etc.) so that they'd look nicer on a picture like this one? http://www.PageProducer.com/users/Gonzoo/xtina3.jpg