[INf install for graphic mode how to]

very nice!

now, i have to go through and make changes again to my cd! hehe ... keep up the great work!

[Remove Help and Support]

Well you could just do:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoSMHelp"=Hex:01,00,00,00

Remember though, that things get installed as the "Administrator" ... so what I do is I have a LAST.CMD file that I place in the All Users startup folder that does something similar to the following:

@ECHO OFF
IF %USERNAME% == Administrator GOTO ENDOFSCRIPT
ECHO This is where you do stuff as the user you setup during the first boot
ECHO Such as applying the registry entry above
DEL "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\START MENU\PROGRAMS\STARTUP\LAST.CMD"
:ENDOFSCRIPT
EXIT

[How to do raid drivers and hotfixes correctly.]

Time to test this out ... along with a few modifications to my install scripts. I just wish Virtual PC was faster...

[How to do raid drivers and hotfixes correctly.]

I just noticed something while looking through my \PREP directory that the \PREP\2 folder is now empty ... I had run the DO.CMD script a couple times (the first time i forgot to change the path in those few spots) so i decided to look in the log file, and as i suspected, none of the files i had (before they were deleted) in the \PREP\2 folder got included.

Also, as you mentioned, I did get that error about the MDAC hotfix, i may just remove that file all together and install it via the scripts later on in the process.

[How to do raid drivers and hotfixes correctly.]

I just used your new script made my new iso image and am in the process of installing in Virtual PC as i type this. Right now its in the GUI portion of setup (on the Installing Windows)

[Replacement System Files & Windows File Protection]

One thing you can try to do to avoid the windows file protection stuff is to create a $$ folder in the $OEM$ folder. Inside the $$ folder create SYSTEM32 and SYSTEM32\DLLCACHE ... place the files you are copying over in your scripts into those 2 directories, and windows will "install" those files for you during the file copy process.

[How to run your setup as a user]

What I have done is created a seperate batch file for the items I would like to install as the user, them, at some point during the install process, i copy the batch file to the allusers startup folder and create a dummy file on the drive. In the batch file i have sometime like the following:

IF NOT EXIST %SYSTEMDRIVE%\FILES\FIRSTBOOT GOTO SECONDBOOT
DEL %SYSTEMDRIVE%\FILES\FIRSTBOOT > NUL
GOTO ENDOFSCRIPT
:SECONDBOOT

Obviously :ENDOFSCRIPT is the line right before the EXIT line in the batch file. The firstboot file gets created during my "main_batch.cmd" file. One of the last things I do in thist batch file is delete itself from the startup folder.

UPDATE:

I have simplified things just a bit. In my "LAST.CMD" that gets placed in the all users startup folder does not do that IF NOT EXIST ... stuff anymore, i simply do the following:

IF %USERNAME% == Administrator goto ENDOFSCRIPT
{ do my stuff i want to do and then delete the LAST.CMD file from startup }
:ENDOFSCRIPT