did you ever manage to solve this RIS problem?? i sit here for days with the same problem and cannot figure out what might cause it. installing a flat cd-based image works fine, and when i riprep it back without any modifications, i cannot reinstall it on the very same machine or any other. blue screen after partitioning and checking harddisk file \device\harddisk0\partition1\boot.ini could'nt be copied (free translation from the german error message, but i guess its the same problem) RIS- server is a SBS2003. os to install is XP-SP2