Lazy8

I can't see the benefits of installing them, Brian. Does Microsoft Update give you the option to hide these hotfixes? If not, I suppose you could slipstream them into your Office source (assuming you don't have the retail version).

Most people avoid running multiple installations simultaneously, for obvious reasons. I guess that explains the poor response to your initial post. Instead of calling your program directly from the RunOnceEx line, why not use a .cmd file execute it? It should close as soon as it opens the program, leaving RunOnceEx to proceed to the next line. I have yet to try this, so I don't know how well it will work (or guarantee its stability). It's simple enough to try right away, though.

Twenty times...that's crazy! You oughta do that on every reboot. Well, you should at least learn enough to make it seem a little less crazy. Enjoy the forums!

Congratulations on finding us, Absu13. 9 months ago, I didn't know squat about unattended. Now I know a little more silent install, and a lot less about everything else. Hope you find some good questions here.

I am 3-33 years your junior 9, with an equivalent amout of time as a Windows user. So it is with ambiguous satisfaction that I welcome you to MSFN forums.

Yeah, right...my calendar sez it was ten days, if it was a minute! Anyway, a belated welcome, Valerie, and I hope you enjoy the forums!

Good name. Thanks for introducing yourself, miranda, and welcome to MSFN forums.

I had just bookmarked it a few hours ago. Save yourself a minute, and click here. BTW, there are a number of causes that produce this stop error, which are described in this article. This must be one of the most commonly reported stop malfuntions ever, as Microsoft actually refined their response into a list of common-sense troubleshooting steps, and concise description of parameters...who'da thunk it?

Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's used work boots, a really big pair. Put them outside your front door on top of a copy of Guns and Ammo magazine. Put a dog dish beside it, a really big dish. Leave a note on your front door that says something like "Bubba, Big Mike and I have gone to get more ammunition - back in 1/2 an hr. Don't disturb the pit bulls. They've just been wormed and they are a little edgy."

Slightly longer piece of advice: 1. Google Search Bar saves you time...use it first. 2. Start your topic in the relevant forum...really, that's where the most eyes are. Good luck with the project.

If you can live with manual updates afterward, then all you have to do before packaging is create your .MST. This is going to leave you with quite a sizeable file, even after compression--you may need that DVD burner after all.

[Unattended] UnattendMode=Default/Hide UnattendSwitch="yes" AutoActivate = Yes If you have an online connection at the time of installation, that should get you past the Mini-Setup screens. OOBEINFO.INI only provides the users normally entered in Mini-Setup, without option to create passwords. Try the net user method for that.

@Dels Have you tried the trial versions of VMware or Microsoft Virtual Machine? Each one will give you a 30-day evaluation period. The other method actually requires a spare production computer, loaded with little more than Windows itself.

It's entirely a privacy/security issue, and has nothing to do with performance or stability. Wipe the drive before selling/transferring a computer to a third party, to protect your current users' confidential data.

You can even set it for autoactivation in your WINNT.SIF settings (if you have online connection during install). There's also an autoupdate setting. Look through REF.CHM--it'll tell you more.

No need for that, Yezpahr. As long as nLite is integrating Office, it may as well shrink your Windows source too. Also, OfficeShrinker is compatible with the Dutch version of Office, if that's the one you're using. My unattended CD contained XP Pro w/SP2 & all hotfixes at ~240MB--Office added only 67MB more. That left enough space to include a pile of silently installed apps. You might want to look in the nLite Application Add-On subforum, where your original topic was moved--might be a reply or two awaiting you there.

I had this problem once. SP2 will prevent booting from the pre-servicepack version. Strangely enough, it hadn't occurred anytime recently. Is your boot CD an SP1 or gold CD? If possible, try it with a slipstreamed CD--you'll want the upgraded version anyway, since it will ensure you have Windows Installer v3.1.

Someone probably disabled the password caching feature of IE, accessible through Tools>Internet Options>Content tab>Autocomplete button. See if any boxes are selected. You can reactivate autocomplete and password storage with this registry tweak (or manually, on that size network): [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main] "Use FormSuggest"="Yes" "FormSuggest Passwords"="Yes" "FormSuggest PW Ask"="Yes" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms] "AskUser"=dword:00000001

Good news: nLite can probably do the job, with an add-on CAB Bad news: It's a DIY project all the way. No one can legally post such an add-on here. Collect Service Packs & hotfixes: The most reliable way is to install a plain vanilla MS Office, connect to the OfficeUpdate site, and follow the info links to their parent KB article. Download full-file or IT Pro versions wherever you're given the option. Extract the .MST file (you won't need any others). You could also retrieve the patches from WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download, after a completed update. Perform administrative install, and slipstream your updates: http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/view/web/45/ The list of hotfixes is out of date, but the process and commands are easily adaptable. Download and install ORKtools: http://download.microsoft.com/download/Off...US/orktools.exe. Use Custom Installation Wizard to create your unattended answer file (.MST). Bonus points if you saved your personal settings (.OPS) with the Profile Wizard, to have ready for integration at this point. Office Shrinker: usable on a limited set of language versions. Production machine cannot have had Office previously installed--clean Windows install or VPC are best. http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=16709 Repack Office and unattended configurations into 7-zip (or RAR) switchless installer. http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=39048 Create integrated Add-On, and include Office in same step of nLite as your Windows hotfixes. http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=63596 Things can go wrong at most steps of the process. It may save time to test your creation at various points along the way. Good luck with your project. I'm just about to test final product with mine.

Don't sweat it...just build the file structure like you said (the Unattended Guide diagrams it pretty well). nLite may actually delete files you place there--so you're best bet is to assemble the distribution folders in a separate directory. When nLite is through, just move the whole set of folders into place.

Agreed. We throw a lot of effort into automated program installs, the minutiae of registry tweaks, and special effects--the last 10% & least necessary part of the job. I got through a basic unattended CD with little more than a bit of time to kill and a couple of free setup programs to help (wasn't that long ago). Saving the customizing for later makes the job a lot simpler--might be an overall time saver, if you ever need to use it more than once. One more note about SP2 conversion: hardware drivers tend to be optimized for pre- or post-SP2, but not always both. If you upgrade, be sure to get recent driver versions as well--preferably ones certified for XP by Microsoft (WHQL). If you decide not to upgrade immediately, don't permanently delete any old drivers until you've used the new ones awhile. Some programs behave the same way, as well. The mismatch between old and new software has driven people into fits, and was behind quite a bit of the initial dissatisfaction over the service pack, IMO.

I didn't use Rar compression--but if it's anything like the 7-zip method, you'll need a configuration text file, the SFX (edited to remove user control buttons), and the compressed Office source. If your full size is 150MB, the finished product will end up smaller than 70MB. My first success at it shrunk my Office XP from nearly 200-67MB--major props to BuckeyeXP! Now I just have to finish it off as an nLite add-on, for completely id***-proof installation.

That means original XP Gold CD source updated with SP2 service pack. You can burn the result to CD (and even slipstream the remaining hotfixes). Since the new disc has updates built in, it will save much time over manual download via Windows Update, next time you need to reinstall Windows. Plenty of detailed info available in these forums, but the best place to start is to click the Unattended Guide at the top of the page (read it thoroughly).

Sure...but hbinded is so much more hilarious than Costner. If you tell it...they will ROTFL.

Heh...it's a tradeoff. Good news=no loss of data. Bad news=the chore of cleaning up user accounts. I usually back up the data & format the drive, or move the files to a temporary account & delete the original users. Either way is kind of clumsy, though no more so than the Files and Settings Wizard.