spiritpyre

The reason you might have missed it is because there are two separate folders containing the links that appear on the start menu: %systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs AND %systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Start Menu\Programs * %systemdrive% is usually 'C:' but you can copy and paste and windows should understand the '%systemdrive%' <edit> i found "Program Compatibility Wizard.lnk" in the second one (as suggested by MHz).

I think I figured out part of the problem... I was looking the .reg file you posted and realized that a reg file i had posted elsewhere awhile back (to disable "Print" on image & text files) didn't work (doh! ) ... at least not on the text-based files. I found out the problem was that it had worked on my other pc because i had deleted a few keys BEFORE removing the keys i used in my reg file so i thought they must work together. Just to see, I tried it on "Add to playlist" (have an earlier version of WMP so thats the only 1 I had). I guess I should mention that I only tested this on .wmv and .mpg because thats what i had handy. On the bright side, it worked on both pcs i tested on & w/ both filetypes. here's the code: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\video\ContextMenuHandlers\WMPAddToPlaylist] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WMVFile\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\WMPAddToPlaylist] ; note this key appears to control .mpeg AND .mpg [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\mpegfile\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\WMPAddToPlaylist] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ASFFile\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\WMPAddToPlaylist] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AVIFile\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\WMPAddToPlaylist] Hope that helps; if it works this time, maybe you can use that to at least remove the other WMP entries.

I know that this is probably a tough one but... Just wondering if anybody knew how I could go about adding a custom button to Windows Explorer's toolbar like in the screenshot for ''bxNewFolder'' or failing that how to add my own toolbar like shown here: The Deubox OmniTome? Open to any and all suggestions... I've seen this done on Internet Explorer, but I've googled all over and haven't been able to find anything that explains how to do this with Windows Explorer. I have come across a few very very vague (and seemingly typical) msdn articles that seem to hint a the possibly but again nothing helpful. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the quick responses, I'll give NSIS a try tonight. <Edit> sorry for not posting sooner. anyway worked like a charm.

I was wondering what -- if any-- packaging software is available as freeware that would let me: - (need) to make a self-contained installer (not the hard part right? ) - (need) to EASILY register DLL file(s) OR do the equivalent of this: - (need) it to be FREEware - (need) ability to add folders and extract files to them :batch register dll "regsvr32.exe" %1 :batch unregister dll "regsvr32.exe" /u %1 - (optionally) let me add an entry to Add\Remove Programs List OR create reg entries OR use .REG files such as [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall] "DisplayName"="MyApp 1.2" "UninstallString"="C:\Program Files\MyApp\uninstall.exe" ... basically I'm looking for a freeware packaging utility that lets me use batch commands if such a thing exists... but I'm definately open to suggestions. Thanks in advance. <edit> btw sorry if I should have posted elsewhere; it made sense to me as this is the developer's forum and unless developers are around in the software forums I don't think I'd get much help.

...or you could do one easier than that. That key IS {or at least is equivalent to} "HKEY_CURRENT_USER" (which is why if you check the msdn documentation HKCU is listed as a subkey of HKU). If you have to do it the hard way I *think* I remember seeing somewhere on msdn some function that will get the SID value. maybe you could do a search there for 'SID' or 'get SID'. btw you'll also notice that when you make a change via the HKCU key (which has the exact same structure as the HKU\{SID #} ) that when you go back to HKU\{SID #}\whatever its value is now set to whatever you just set in HKCU.

you're not the only one. I had the same problem a while back and I'm sure others have too. you prolly already know but just in case the best bet (at least in this forum) is Eazy Share or something like it.

<edit> nevermind... spent a couple more hours searching around and finally found what i needed (i think) mods - please delete this thread when you get the chance. thanks. </edit>

Interesting idea. I gave a try with RegShot but didn't get any results that seemed likely. also googled around to see if there was some other way to automate this... didn't find much except that it might be possible using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) but i've never used that before. anybody else?

if you're using registry tweaks or shell extensions might be easier if you attached a .txt or .zip with all of the registry tweaks you're applying and just list any shell extensions you're using. I've never heard of that but i don't think it would be too hard for somebody to write as a shell extension.

You might try entering the mapped drive info directly into the registry. Here's a template i made for a .reg file that *should* do this but you'll probably want to test it to be on the safe side: I'm not sure if this would work under 2000, but it works fine under xp home and i would assume that since both are nt-based it wouldn't cause a problem.

you guys are lifesavers thanks 'netsh winsock reset' didn't do anything (i rebooted and still nothing) but that worked like a charm. thanks again

thanks for the tips, i have a 3 yr old Phillips that came with my dell... its definately on its way out. lol i think with all the duds its given me i could have bought a couple new ones

would you mind posting the article you found or how you reset it? Unfortunately I had a similar problem... had power outage Friday and messed up my network and gave me the lags symptoms you described. I unplugged my cable modem for a few minutes and that fixed internet access but now all my mapped drives no longer work and like i said ALL of my pcs are lagging bad @ startup. In the meantime, I plan on running an extensive adware/virus scan just to be sure. <edit> forgot to mention i tried 'netsh /?' from cmd and there wasn't a 'reset' option. also tried 'reset' but couldn't figure out what to do. likewise 'netsh reset' & 'netsh /reset' only gave me errors i could reformat but except for my test pc it would be a major hassle/annoyance/pain in the ***</edit>

on gamecube: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (long-time zelda fan) on ps2: Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (don't know why but i LOVE this series) on pc (maybe ps2/xbox?): Stargate SG-1: The Alliance (lol stargate fan too ) ... and I guess Perfect Dark Zero if it makes it past development (loved the first one) btw good one

[make a copy first...] Theory of Debugging: keep removing stuff (incrementally) until the problem goes away... then put some back...then delete more stuff lol I'd start by copying your winnt.sif then removing all the stuff that you can't reference with the msfn unattended guide. if that works then you've narrowed your search down a lot. here's my winnt.sif (but as a .txt) if your interested and i don't remember seeing the welcome screen... i haven't reinstalled lately and i usually don't watch it but welcome screen would kill the *automated* part (which mine doesn't), right? Hope that helps.

one thing you might try is to make a package of office: on the plus side, you avoid the silent install switches all together. On the down side, if you need to do this on different pcs WITH DIFFERENT OFFICE SERIALS, then you will have to repackage it for each pc (**might** be able to get around this too by applying a .reg file that overwrites the value(s) for the serial). Anyway the best package software I've found is InstallRite and to top it off its free.

not sure about including wildcards in filenames or if its possible. i don't think it would help you out w/ windows titles like autoit and might be off topic but there's a shell extension called wildcard select that gives you dos-wildcard usage w/ windows gui.

I was having a real pain in the a** with shares on my network too. The problems I was having were very similar at worst and to the letter at best. Anyway I FINALLY managed to nail down something that worked. network: 2 pcs (xp home sp2 both) + 1 laptop (xp home sp1... at the moment) all connected thru a linksys router problem beforehand: When I tried accessing shares they wouldn't show up and I couldn't access them manually (yes everything was configured correctly/double-, triple-checked/same workgroup/straight-thru cables etc.) using ip or mapping drives. Sometimes (from one pc or another) I wouldn't even see the other computers listed. Like this: network_problem.jpg As I knew I had gone over everything and they weren't even showing up.. even used cmd to ping and that checked out ok.. anyway it was really starting to p*** me off. But I noticed for some reason or another that they COULD see each other if I connected 2 to each other via crossover AND the mapped shares STUCK. so I used InstallRite & figured out what reg entries needed to be entered and since then this has worked on all three of my computers flawlessly. Don't know if it would work for you and sorry if it doesn't help. But nobody has suggested it that I can see and its worth posting if it helps even one person out so here's the "template" of the reg file I been using:Add_Network_Drives_generic_template.txt

might be a registry value (if so probably one of the big hex strings like the toolbar & taskbar settings are stored in) but I'm not sure which one. I've always wondered how to do this via the registry but never had any luck. On the other hand, there are several programs available that do this for you (and who knows maybe you could use RegShot to monitor one and figure out which key is being modified). I did a quick google search and found this freeware: Restore Desktop 2.0 but even better I found this: MSFN: Windows Icon Restore Program, Icon Restore hope that helps. good luck

good decision, i've noticed that of the packages I used to install with it, many would run into programs (such as the installer throwing a message box that it hadn't when you did your "test install" or even worse the installer freezing). In cases like this, the autoit script/exe sits in memory waiting for something thats not coming -- and if it doesn't return control to RunOnce then it can sure kill the "unattended" part of your uA cd. at the same time, autoit is still very useful (and besides its not like it fails on all "silent" installs)

not to be mean, but you should have looked here or in the first post (download file) before asking. I found this on google in less than a minute: @ lockergnome or @winguides or In glent's attachment all you need to do (for that entry) is change the dword value to a 1 (ie: "ShowDriveLettersFirst"=dword:00000001)

I'd be willing to help if i can... but I don't exactly understand what it is your asking for.. i.e.: - do you want the icons to appear on your desktop automatically on an install? - do you want the icons to appear in those positions? (in which case, no idea here) - " " the selection focus given to those icons when you log in? (don't think thats poss. via registry) - " " something else that I'm completely missing?

my guess is is one of those big long hex values in the registry but probably the best way to do it is to start from scratch and use RegShot to monitor what reg value its changing. if you kept the install package, you might try uninstalling it and see if that fixes the pane. If so then you can monitor the changes w/o starting from scratch. otherwise do a search for it, I know I've seen a topic on it before but it might have been called something else (pretty sure it still had the word "pane" in it though)

never used wpi (i guess i like doing things the hard way lol) but my best guess is that it just autmoates the tasks that used to be under RunOnceEx.cmd (aka it still uses "RunOnceEx" the registry key). So if you dug up an old RunOnceEx.cmd (or used the one @ unattended.msfn.org) and made a .reg file that alters the right text string under "RunOnceEx" the registry key like I said in my last post, then find a way of overwriting wpi's reg entry (maybe cmdlines.txt? or perhaps theres a way to apply the reg file from wpi or even change its string w/o the .reg) sorry if I'm not helping but there's a few ideas that might be workable (dunno).