soporific

@ MDGx I think there's a problem with MS 5.7, it's breaking your code that finds the Program Files folder. It's returning a 'Bad command or filename" error. Has anyone else had problems?

Actually, its on my to-do-list as the next thing to tackle after i release both versions (FULL and UPDATE) of August 2007. It won't take too long to accomplish but i will play around a bit to make sure its all good. I'm toying with going with 2 or 3 post-install reboots -- at the moment, the code does it all in two but it really is an amazing amount of installations to get thru and i was shocked i tell you, shocked that the previous versions managed to install using only 2 reboots after the first boot to desktop. So, the August release WON'T include instructions, but i WILL post them ASAP - should be only a couple of days. Also, there has been very little feedback with people's experiences building a UBCD slipstreamed with AutoPatcher files. Can ANYONE who has built a UBCD with slipstreamed AutoPatcher files report on how it went installing? ANY feedback much appreciated. Even if to say it all worked. Ta.

kb837009 has always caused problems ... i've got a different solution than before which should fix it. It's not possible to release the fix before i release August 2007 but i'm pretty sure it will work and fix your prob. re the dupe code, yep its been on my to-do list ... i just got it out of the way then ... it was always a naughty thing having the lists duped -- when i checked they weren't in sync as it was! Anyway, its now fixed. News: new feature: when you run the report, after its finished if you don't use CTRL-C to close the program down, it actually restarts the program instead of just exiting out. No-ones ever commented before but i thought it strange for the first time just today ... you are most likely to be wanting to install some updates after running a report, especially if the count is not zero. If you don't want to, you just CTRL-C out and its only Q to quit out if you actually don't want to install anything.

Yes please ... i've never had the opportunity to test this aspect as i've never had a laptop to test on. Please send me any details you think relevant. This is a known problem that was identified by RetroOS, i've posted the solution a few posts above this. About Flash and not bothering to include it: I do listen to all suggestions, but for removing Flash i'm not convinced. I certainly use it and don't want to have to install it again and again after i do wipes of my OSes and rebuild them. I am leaning, however, towards breaking AutoPatcher into components -- eg Core and Addons -- much like the now illfated AutoPatcher project -- and so stuff like Flash will go into addons and you won't have to worry about it. It means quite a bit of work to write a system for easily separating the project so i want to see what people think first. Obviously, you would be in favour, Eck.

Thanks for reminding me ... at the very least i can add a check to see if the user has the correct companion files for the update. But i will try to find out why its not working as expected. EDIT: i found the problem. To fix your current version immediately, please do either of the following: solution 1 - search for AUTOPACH.bat and open it in a text editor. - search for :RESTART3 and then scroll down until you find echo Y> "%LOC8%\markers\@_OP0603.skp" (make sure you are still in the :RESTART3 section of the code) and then insert the following two lines directly after it: echo Y> "%LOC8%\markers\@_OP0801.skp" echo Y> "%LOC8%\markers\@_OP0802.skp" OR solution 2 - download the attachment, extract the archive, and replace the old file with the new one. AutoPach.zip

fixed. thanks for the free proof read

MDGx, thanks again for the latest updates ... can you confirm that the Q933360 update replaces Q931836? It seems obvious that it does, but you normally explicitly say something if an update replaces another, and you didn't for this one. So i'm bugging you about it, sorry EDIT: oh, and both versions you've released of the Scripting engine v5.7 update doesn't work right on my test system,it days i already have the update installed when i jolly well don't. i'm going to try to repackage it i;ll let you know the results ... is anybody else getting a message saying you already have v5.7 when you actually don't? Is it just me, have i finally lost my marbles? EDIT2: all i did was repackage the contents and now it installs OK. MDGx, you are doing something different to me, it looks like a version check but it's not working in my case. EDIT3: oh, and MP936782 replaces the now obsolete kb917734. Let me know if i'm wrong.

thanks for all the tips! I've made some improvements to the list. I was inspired to give some attention to all things Win98 when i heard of the demise of the AutoPatcher project. Hope you like. I stil haven't added all the links. Please bug me if i don't get around to it.

i'm just chuffed you chose this thread to say hello ... for this i say thanks, and can you now please excuse me while i go and scratch another "1st poster to MSFN" on the side of my car ... i've got quite a collection but there's others who ran out of space a long time ago, so please check out any projects or web pages by messers Gape and MDGx ... and there's others as well i can't list you all to clarify: -- the June sp2 is latest FULL release -- July is latest UPDATE release -- August FULL coming within the week ...

You're dam* right the 98 projects aren't in trouble! They'll have to pry my dead fingers of my molten keyboard before Auto-Patcher for Windows98se goes away EVEN THOUGH i make my own unattennded DVDs for my re-install Windows tasks, i still used AutoPatcher as a backup and also to check i had all the updates. Even so, i'm still fine, but what about everyone else that swore by the autopatchers? What are they going to do? Windows Update only does critical !! And suffer the poor folk with only modems. Oh well, at least people have (or can get) the August 2007 edition ... or has it already disappeared? Thank Che i already have the full version with all the addons! EDIT: yeah, WU does do more than critical but not like AutoPatcher did it.

I've just read the FULL-ON NEWS !!!!! Having thought about this for 10 seconds, my initial reaction is this ... Auto-Patcher for Windows 98se will continue to be developed in the same way and same fashion as i have done so far. Nothing will change if i have anything to do about it. I haven't received any legal type emails ... i feel left out! Where's mine?

Hey there ... i read your stuff even if i don't reply to it ... so'kay ... if its not completely obvious to all and sundry, my AP releases sort of exactly match the release cycle of the irreplaceable MDGx, when he gives us a swag of new updates, i usually get my act together and pump out another version. You'll notice there 'asn't been any movement on the updates front since the 18th of July (or so the thread says). And i've also got my hands full with a couple of other projects ... so i guess the next version may as well be September ... no, scratch that, i'll just end up having to release a service pack ... it'll still be August 2007. out soon ... or soonish ... or (update to MDGx's updates post + 7 days) --- also haven't checked out Gape's new baby yet ... that's going to be fun but time consuming ...

I will check it out, thanks heaps for the feedback.

My wish is to be able to make a stand-alone installer package that can be run silently. If i knew how you managed to incorporate it into uSP, i will have a great chance of being able to use that knowledge to make a proper iexpress package that DOES install silently. Can you help?

You DON'T want to automatically partition a hard drive do you? NO unattended CDs or DVDs i've seen or downloaded have this feature. Your other concerns are valid IMHO. Yes, post your WinNT.sif file. Another thing to do is just use nLite !!!! It will do everything for you !!! EDIT: it seems you can auto partition, just add this line to the DATA section: AutoPartition = 1 For more info on all the settings, look inside ref.chm which is inside DEPLOY.CAB which should be on your XP CD.

Welcome back !!! We've been busy while you were away ... i've been meaning to ask you about your Dial-up Networking 1.4 update pack but i've forgotten what the question was ... it was something to do with how to get it to install without an automatic reboot. My solution in the end was to create an AutoIT script and use that to cancel the 'Do you want to reboot now' prompt. But i'd prefer your method because it doesn't add one of the components ... anyway, i'm starting work on the new version of the UBCD project and i'll get around to working out what exactly i wanted to know ... i can't wait to test out the new version of the service pack ... again, welcome back!

I'm looking for the answer for this too. It can be done, i've seen it done. Apparently, there's some files in windows\system32\oobe that we can modify (and then makecab and copy to i386 folder of install disc) but i've been searching for a while and it's not obvious ... Anyone?

Auto-Patcher is simply an automatic hotfix installer: it automatically installs all the updates released by Microsoft (and also people on MSFN) based upon your module selections. So your question then becomes: Will installing all the official updates from Micrsoft, and all the unofficial updates from places like MSFN interfere etc?? I dunno, but they shouldn't.

hey there fellow unattended DVD creators, got a question: where are *all* the locations of the boot image files? i've got a nice boot image going that i want (by editing ntoskrnl.exe), but when the OS installs (WinXP) after the main setup stage finishes, and you're booting for the first time, you still see the good old (and very dull) standard Windows XP bootscreen image. After that my edited boot screen is there and its always there when i reboot. It's just that there must be another location for those official MS bootscreens. I wanna get rid of them all !! (no offense microsoft) .... Can it be got rid of? I've searched thru every **** exe and dll and it's not to be found ... while i'm here --- i also would like to put an image to replace the blue screen while the driver packs are unpacking. this is after setup had copied the setup files to the hard disk and then rebooted but before the billboards appear. On a slowish computer, i'm looking at that blue screen for a good 5 to 10 minutes and its rather boring. I've seen it done just dunno how to do it. Thanks in advance for any answers or hints. EDIT: i've been thru the msfn unattended guide a million times, i know it well! The answer isn't there...

Lets be precise when we can be. Defrag restarts occur because the defrag application has encountered a write to the hard disk, and so wants to start from the start. If your system is doing so much memory intensive work that it needs to write to the swap file (that is located on the drive you are trying to defrag) then this will also cause a defrag restart. But you shouldn't be trying to defrag and doing lots of work on your computer anyway. Set defrag to start after hours! But that is the only reason why low amounts of RAM will cause Defrag restarts. In fact, a system with only 64 mbs of RAM will still run fine and defrag will run fine. Of course the more RAM the better, but the advice above is not very useful without an explanation. In short, those experiencing defrag restarts need to find the cause of writes to the hard disk. Even bad hard disk sectors shouldn't be the problem

So you installed Auto-Patcher on a Dutch language edition of Windows 98se ?? And the only problem was that some of the text that was normally in Dutch is now in English ?? The only problem ?? I ask because this would be good to know if this is the case. Then i can explain that it may be possible to install AP on systems other than English ...

It isn't included in the July upgrade ... Auto-Patcher isn't Big Brother you know, if you want .Net Framework 2 installed, you should be allowed to without the fear of other apps uninstalling it. If this was the Spanish Inquisition, however, yes, it would be uninstalled.

Sydney, Australia ... like my profile says Have i gone "Absent without leave"? Whose permission do i need, and where am i absent from?? I'm happy to answer questions but not the Spanish Inquisition... Now i finally understand the saying .... and its true!!! ... nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!

Can you give me any further info... 1) Is this the FIRST thing you see? The first thing you should see is "Loading Auto-Patcher for Windows 98se..." - please be more specific about where you get to before the program stops working, you should at least see ""Loading Auto-Patcher for Windows 98se..." 2) i can't see how you don't at least see the main menu, of which a screenshot looks like this: 3) what version of AP are you trying to use? Please answer the above and i'll try to help ... EDIT: please see the first post for news and links for the July 2007 release

OK, i was wrong about the support question - it is supported -- the problem is due to the version i was using --- it was designed to be installed on the Win2000/XP tree of OSes and the official one from MS doesn't play well when trying to install it silently. I may put it back in, but i will definitely wait for people to actually start asking for it because it has been such a pain for me ... Re: Karen's Directory Printer (which was suggested by Submix8c, thanks dude) --- now that i'm starting to include more 3rd party apps, i have thought long and hard about how to go about checking if it has already been installed. The way i've gone with is to check for the uninstall string and use the information from that. So it doesn't matter where you've installed it, if you used the installer, then everything will be fine. IF you didn't use the installer, then you already have it anyway. But it is OK to try to re-install it if you already have it as it should be able to tell if it needs installing (by using the uninstall string info). re: do old updates get deleted from HD if they are removed from AP? Case in point .Net Framework 2.0 --- in short, no they don't get deleted. This means that the install directory for a user that has June 2007 sp2 and July 2007 installed will have a bigger directory than is needed. You can delete the dotnet20.exe file from the components directory to save 16 mb.