Denney

Now, how come this doesn't happen!!! If the TimeZone key is not present in Unattend.txt, the user is prompted for a time zone during setup.Edit: I wish there was an easier way to test this thing rather than having to reinstall in VMWare....

Here is an amusing little quirk: If you use Language=00000c09 in your unattended without the UserLocale, InputLocale or SystemLocale, it will set your location to Australia... But if you use all 4 or just UserLocale, InputLocale and SystemLocale it will set your location to United States. Just waiting to see the result of this install. Will update. Edit: Nup. at least it sets my location to Australia... still GMT time though. I'm running out of ideas now.

Only problem with that is that 255 is not the timezone for AEST (260 is) and by skipping the regional settings page, it installs the 2 keyboard layouts, language bar and sets the location to United States. In theory, setup should show me the Regional Settings page, which it does and then should show me the Time Zone page which it doesn't. :S Edit: According to ref.chm if you don't have TimeZone=260 in your unattended file, it should prompt the user for their timezone but it doesn't. It automatically sets GMT time.

If you have a big enough hard drive, just split the drive in 2 and install another copy of Windows XP on the second one... multi-boot... When they want to use the computer, they just boot into the other partition (you could do this for them if you must), then, if they screw with the computer to much, you just reinstall that partition (or better yet, make an image just after you have set it up for them and just ghost it back when they screw it up). They never even have to touch your installation then.

By virtual machine, are you referring to VMWare, Virtual PC and the like? If so, I don't think it is possible. Why not just give them their own account on your PC and just limit what they can do by using Group Policy and Local Policy??

I used both your options but neither of them worked. Still set to GMT time. :S This is REALLY confusing.

Hey gosh, you could probably help me... I need a program that will check the syntax of my INF files (registry edits and so forth). Any ideas?

Poor fella... I feel so sorry for him... all you evil people making fun of him....

Does that set the timezone correctly? I've tried that but I find it installs the language bar and the english(Australia) and engllish(United States) keyboard layouts. Edit: If you specify Language=00000c09 you don't need InputLocale, SystemLocale and UserLocale. Setup will ignore those entries if they exist.

Well after trying almost everything, I've given up. I guess I can't do my semi-unattended CD. I need it to specify the timezone correctly and without it, my CD is useless. Even when UnattendedMode=GuiAttended the timezone setting page doesn't come up... Go figure... Edit: I might try hacking the registry hives to find out if I can specify GMT+10 as the default for english installs.

Is there any way to test the syntax of an INF file without actually importing/installing it? I mean the registry entries in the INF file.

start.cmd should be placed in the $OEM$\$1\install directory on the CD. OEMPreinstall=Yes in the winnt.sif file will copy the contents of the $1 directory to the %systemdrive%. Edit: Bugger, you beat me to it.

@mdes: Yes, yes it can!! But it's only a recommended update, not a critical one. Edit: The KB article also states: Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next release that contains this hotfix.

****. I don't want it to be fully unattended. I need to be able to enter a registered user and an administrator password (at the least). Edit: Here's an interesting piece of information from the ref.chm file... If the entry is not present, the end user must select a time zone. If you do not configure a specific time zone setting, the default time zone depends on the language version of Windows that is installed. For example, in the Japanese version, the default time zone is "GMT+9 (Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo)."So how do you get it to ask the end user? I have removed TimeZone=260 from the winnt.sif file but it still doesn't ask me. I'd be happy if it did.

@neophyte: That only works on SP2 am I right? I to would like to figure this out for SP1.

I think it MIGHT be possible but I think it's a bit of work. Take a look at the ref.chm file under the [Networking] heading. Might give you some information there.

Heya guys. Maybe someone can help me here (I'm pulling my hair out)! This is my WINNT.SIF file: ; MSA WINNT.SIF Setup File.[Data]AutoPartition="0"MsDosInitiated="0"UnattendedInstall="Yes" [unattended]UnattendMode=ProvideDefaultOemSkipEula=YesOemPreinstall=YesTargetPath=\WINDOWSRepartition=NoUnattendSwitch="yes"WaitForReboot="No"OemPnPDriversPath="MSA\Drivers\004\nvidia"DriverSigningPolicy=IgnoreNoWaitAfterTextMode=1NoWaitAfterGuiMode=1Hibernation=0DisableDynamicUpdates=Yes [GuiUnattended]OemSkipWelcome=1TimeZone=260 [Display]BitsPerPel=32Vrefresh=60Xresolution=1280Yresolution=1024 [userData]ProductKey=xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxOrgName="Mantra Software Australia" [identification]JoinWorkgroup=MANTRASOFTWARE [shell]CustomDefaultThemeFile="%windir%\Resources\Themes\Slate XP.theme"Once Windows has finished installing, the timezone is set to GMT... now, in theory, the TimeZone=260 should set the timezone to GMT+10. I have the regional settings page display during setup so I can make sure Windows installs English(Australia) settings and it doesn't show the timezone setting page, so can anyone explain why it's not setting the correct timezone?

Edit2: Here's one for ya, if you add that registry tweak from cmdlines.txt, the username won't show up on the Welcome Screen until you reboot, twice! That's what I've had to do on my 4 test using VMWare. Can anyone shed some light on that problem?

Well, I tried it and it worked. One thing though, the new administrator account won't show up on the logon screen (just like if you happen to add another account). To rectify this, you must import the registry tweak to show the administrator account on the logon screen with cmdlines.txt. The guest account was renamed, the guests group was removed and the administrator account was renamed. Worked fine without a hitch. Thanks again for this find. Edit: For reference, here is the UserSetup.cmd file I used (this file can be added to the cmdlines.txt file): @echo off %systemdrive%\MSA\Utilities\renuser.exe guest disablednet localgroup guests disabled /delete set /P newadmin="Enter a new administrator name: "%systemdrive%\MSA\Utilities\renuser.exe administrator %newadmin% reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList" /v %newadmin% /t REG_DWORD /d 00000001 /fChange the paths to renuser.exe ofcourse.

I have a problem with the INPUT.COM program. Here's my current test batch file: @echo offUtilities\INPUT "Enter a new administrator name: " newadminecho %newadmin%pauseNow, when I run this, I get this output: Enter a new administrator name: SomeAdminECHO is off.Press any key to continueas you can see, it's not actually setting the variable. Even if I set the variable beforehand, it just retains it's old value. Can anyone help me with this? Edit: Never mind.. just say this: Note: INPUT does not work under Win NT/2000/XP

My problem is like yours except my printer isn't installed during setup. When Windows XP is first run, I installed the printer via the wizard using manual setup. After restart, the same wizard is displayed again. Stupid thing. I'm going to remove the printer drivers from my CD and see it that makes any difference.

I have the same problem. I think it's because the shell hasn't started and when it is started first it creates those registry entries. That's just a wild guess that I doubt but hey, it might be the reason.

Heya guys. I have a problem installing my printer (or should I say, stopping it from asking me). Here's the deal... I used my new unattended CD to install Windows XP. Now, my printer is an Epson Stylus Color 480 and the drivers don't come with Windows XP. I added the drivers to the CD but it doesn't get installed for some reason. When I booted into Windows XP it asked me to install the drivers. I told it where the drivers were but, to my horror, it tells me a required section is missing in the INF file... Now, these drivers are the same ones I've used over the course of the year or so I've had it. I thought maybe it was the CD so I tried my original copy of the drivers, albeit, the same error occurs. I finally chose to manually install the printer and selected the port, the INF file, name etc. and it installed fine and works without a hitch. The INF file was read right and the files were copied etc. My problem now is that when I boot into Windows XP it STILL asks me to install the **** printer (although it's already installed). I used to be able to go through the wizard to the end and select the checkbox to not show the wizard again but because the printer is already installed, it automatically assumes that the drivers are there and tries to use them (back to the old error again). Does anyone know how I can get rid of this message? The printer doesn't show up in the Device Manager but is installed and works fine (even over the network).

Woot! This will help with me heaps. I hate having to rename the admin and guest accounts every time I install (kinda defeats my unattended idea). Again, thanks. Edit: One question, can you rename the administrator and guest accounts at the T-12 minute mark via RunOnceEx or MUST this be done from RunOnce just before user login?

@redsfotografie: Just follow the sections on the unattended website you need. To create a normal XP cd with hotfixes, follow these pages: Getting Started (don't need the OEM folders) Windows Update Hotfixes Finalizing Your Unattended CD Your CD won't be an unattended one but at least you'll have the hotfixes. @AaronXP: You might want to update the hotfixes unattended page to include the MDAC hotfix. It DOES work in SVCPACK.INF if you use the following line (with quotes): "Q832483.exe /C:""dahotfix.exe /q /n"" /q:a" Thanks go to GreenMachine for pointing it out to me.