LiquidSage

the boot sectors will need to be changed to reflect the proper install folder where the OS install is. This is standard for a multiboot distro. For help try : http://tech-hints.com/ or UltraISO's help file has a mulitboot creation guide a little overkill for what you want to do.... http://flyakite.msfnhosting.com/ One thing I would do extra if I was making this.... Replace Windows 2000 files: -ntldr -ntdetect.com with the XP versions This way if you ever installed windows 2000 after XP you wouldn't have to replace these twp files afterwards with the XP version to be able to access XP at the boot menu. (I actually replaced those two files in every windows installation CD I make with the win 2003 versions so all flavors of windows will be seen if I ever wanted to setup a multi OS system.)

Open txtsetup.sif and find... [sourceDisksNames.x86] 1 = %cdname%,%cdtagfilei%,,\i386 2 = "%cd2name%","%cd2tagfilei%",,\cmpnents\tabletpc\i386 3 = "%cd2name%","%cd2tagfilei%",,\cmpnents\mediactr\i386 4 = "%cd2name%","%cd2tagfilei%",,\cmpnents\netfx\i386 and change to... 1 = %cdname%,%cdtagfilei%,,\i386 2 = "%cdname%","%cdtagfilei%",,\cmpnents\tabletpc\i386 3 = "%cdname%","%cdtagfilei%",,\cmpnents\mediactr\i386 4 = "%cdname%","%cdtagfilei%",,\cmpnents\netfx\i386 then copy the cmpnents folder to the root of your distro. The path may need to be changed for Cmpnents (\cmpnents\...) to the right path if you don't want it at the root of your distro since it's not copied by setup in the very beginning but is called for from the cd later on.

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...0995&hl=acronis

Sometimes the chipbed is uneven on a mobo, or the retention bracket/spring will cause the chip to not sit flush w/ your heatsink. Most of the time, the heatsink is drenched in thermal paste so it's not that serious of an issue. You however, seem to understand how thermal paste is supposed to be applied so keep in mind a pea sized amount is going to require more attention to subtle details. Grab a piece of carbon paper and mount your heatsink. Take off the heatsink and examine the carbon paper to see where contact is not being made. Grab some sandpaper and lap accordingly. The D's do run a bit hot but 40c (idle) if not less should be acheivable with a better CPU cooler. Also, check if there is a mobo update and google the mobo to see if others report high temps as well. The Abit IS-7's for example, generally report higher than actual CPU temps.

Bart PE can take a while to boot and is overkill when someone needs to do simple, quick things like fixmbr, fixboot, sfc scans, etc. There is no way to get to RecCons to start automatically (w/o pressing 'r') unless you alter files. If this is really something you want to do, I would suggest looking at O&O BlueCon XXL Administrator's Suite, which can boot directly into RecCons and includes more robust features.

@XPSlacker - That new case wouldn't by chance be a Tsunami would it? If the audio connections are made to plug in individually, not in groups for the pins that connect to the mobo in this new case, doing what nmX.Memnoch suggested would be quite easy. I myself have front audio connected to my SB card using SB's external pin interface. Just google for the diagram and you are set.

Solder the case front Headphone Jack wires to the mobo's headphone jack in the respective hot and ground points. Pros: Audio works for front and back (Some mobo's will disable the back if you connect audio ports for the front Cons: No switch to turn off audio in the back when something is plugged in the front. Possible damage to the mobo if you do not know how to solder

Is everyone using the WiFi running XP? XP's built in wireless service is flawed and MS has yet (won't) fix it. I believe the problem has to do with networks that do not have a defined SSID. The WiFi service drops the connection after a short time (~5min). If I remember correctly, a few possible fixes to this: In the nic properties, disable "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network" and turn off XP firewall. or Disable XP's built in Wireless Service. Install and only use Linksys's Wifi connection tool. or Define a SSID in the router and enable full authentication In any case, define Static IP's for all WiFi users and in the router define the IP and DNS for the actual internet instead of using DHCP.

Life is so much better replacing Linksys firmware for the WRT54 G/GS these days.... Have a look....

Just about any semi-recent soundcard is going to be better than onboard. Hearing your HD's and other goodies cranking away in the background (even mouse movement) seriously kills the audio experience for everyone. Performance-wise, onbaord audio has recently made major improvements. It doesn't bog down a system nearly as much as in the past. Since Creative Labs holds the audio card market for general consumers, it's too bad they skimp on using high quality board components (capacitors, resistors, etc) that don't cost that much moreto include, but add a huge difference in quality.

well...some people swear by WD, some people don't. I personally have seen too many die way too quickly. IMO their standards of quality have dropped considerably. Other HD's in that class cost more and for good reason. I would pass on that and go for a seagate or a maxtor. I'm sure you are gonna hear the other end...that WD makes the best, top quality, etc.... It all comes down to ones preference....so I'm just gonna say what should be said for any HD you buy... Make sure you have adequate cooling for them.

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...209entry93209

You need to split your HD images into multiple parts. Large files on dvd media can be problematic to read. For example, this is why movie .vob files are about 1 gig max. (I believe the file size limitation is about 2 gigs for DVD's) In Acronis TI and many other image programs, you can choose to make a multi-volume image to avoid this type of problem.

Are you playing a DRM protected video file? MPC will give "failed to render the file" if you try to play one. You can try the newest WinDVD or ZoomPlayer w/ DRM support to play the file. If the file then plays, blame M$ not the codec.

Well, you can use Acronis True Image to make a HD image and burn it to a DVD while including it's bootable loader so you can restore any image on that DVD. It would help if you stated which program you use to make images with (if any) as well as what options you use. Not sure why you must have a ram drive....even if one is created, i doubt you will have very many options as to what could be run. When using bootable media, restore/backup programs will run either off CD or load into memory anyways. I hope you are not thinking of loading a HD image in memory, not only would that be just as time consuming as restoring to an actual Hard Disk due to the speed restrictions of your DVD drive, but impractical as well. I doubt you will run into many PC's with enough ram installed to put the entire HD image in memory.

Path should point to the folder containing I386 followed by a '\' Ex: OS installation is in MCE2005 ROOT ---OS ----XP -----MCE2005 ------I386 SetupSourcePath would be... SetupSourcePath ="\OS\XP\MCE2005\"

Most likely the txtsetup.sif file in that boot folder has an incorrect entry for SetupSourcePath =

Trying to save space....get rid of lang files, make sure that the support folder have the same files versions across all XP builds. You can use UPX on each installations setup.exe and other uncabbed exe files in the I386 for a tiny amount of size savings. Use modPE on them afterwards just to be safe. If you added drivers, get rid of them and use a seperate cd, or download the small, very basic driver cab's from MS Update. Don't add newer drivers if MS already has support for it (unless you want to manually modPE ->compress and replace in each I386 folder.) If using nlite to maximiize cab compression. Keep in mind that if your cd has SP2 and SP1 options, it is better to not merge sp1.cab and sp2.cab directly into your builds if space is an issue.

You can use mkisofs. Bart's PE Builder uses it during ISO creation and can have better optimization depending on the switches you use. UltraISO can corrupt images if they are edited and saved improperly, but I have yet to experience a problem creating a image from scratch. I often build a ISO w/ just cdshell to test my menu. After that, I usually open the image in UltraISO and then add the entire AIO directory (of course I take into account any minor issues such as [ERDCommander - uppercase][TrueImage Recovery Zone - joilet]). Go to properties select optimize and usually relaxed ISO and joilet naming options and save (making sure UltraISO recompiles the entire image of course )

You could capture changes made by the Tweak MP plugin and look over the reg changes....that may open some possibilities up.

i too tried a creative card for optical, but you might find it to be a bit of a let down. From their site.... Getting a a better grade audio card (M-Audio for example) or a specialized audio card add on or external audio boxes are not so limited by design. Also, set the output to spdif out in the advanced properties of the volume tab. Some prog's like WMP have option in their prefrences that enable optical out as well.

-never had issues w/ memorex (black bottom/gold top is the best/most durable they ever made...wonder if they have that type for DVD as well...) Mitsubishi (Verbatim) ,Taiyo Yuden, Sony are pretty good too IMO. For durability and reliability... I've used this specialty TDK disc once and beat the crap out of it. Even with circular scratch damage, she still holds up like a champ. (Considering pullin out the good ol Brasso for a quick rub though ) Media is important for a good DVD-BURN, but also not stressing the system during burn and having the latest stable burner firmware and recording at the LOWEST speed possible are also additonal steps that will ensure a more compatible AIO-DVD. (I also tend to set the book type to DVD-ROM and it has helped with some stubborn dvd-readers) I would wholeheartedly recommend the TDK mentioned above as being the best choice. The price per disc however....is just flat out ridiculous and insulting. :angrym:

That guide is not the holy grail for deviating from what it doesn't cover. The version of TI at the time did not have the recovery zone when that guide was made. You will see by the switches that joilet file system is not included because for what the guide does cover, that switch was not needed. Either add the switch for basic joilet, or... compile the ISO as you have been -->open the ISO in UltraISO. --->open the properties tab and check 'optimize' and joilet (64) -->add the Recovery Manager folder to the root of the ISO --> Save the ISO (make sure to do a full recompile and not just a quick save ). It should then work.

You should be able to add the recovery manager folder w/o issue as long as the revovery manager folder name is not changed and is at the root of your AIO. Joilet must be used and preserved when adding the folder, but beyond that....it shouldn't pose a problem.