TheFlash428

I'm not sure I understand the question... Yes, the number of updates is staggering--I really think it's time for M$ to release a 3rd service pack for XP. RyanVM's update packs help a lot to reduce time needed to slipstream and/or install updates to a new installation, but a new "baseline" is (IMO) way overdue. Some may find this hard to believe, but this August will mark 3 years since SP2 was released. Obviously microsoft's focus will now lie with Vista, but considering the longevity of XP compared to M$'s previous operating systems, continued support of XP is critical.

...not much to add, but I love the picture with the CD crammed into the floppy slot. It can be hard to keep a sense of humor some times when dealing with issues like this. The txtsetup.sif file should be in the i386 folder of your windows CD...at least it is on mine...

I have used Norton Ghost to create a backup image of systems in the past.

Honestly--I would have ditched the whole campaign a while ago and reinstalled the OS (if possible). In the long run, you'll save yourself a lot of headaches. If this isn't possible, let this be a lesson--always have OS and/or restoration CD's available for your PC! Backing up, formatting, and re-installing is usually easier than correcting serious virus issues, plus you get the added security of knowing that the virus has been eliminated.

You also have to option to save your login credentials when using the RD Client, so that too could eliminate the double login experience.

You did a good job answering most of the follow-up questions I would have asked--many people fail to realize that "Excellent" signal on wireless only refers to the connection to the router, and not Internet speed, but you've already stated that other computers on the network run fine, so that's not it... Proxy settings on IE could do this, but since you stated that this is a fresh install I assume you haven't set up any Internet proxy settings? Are you able to connect the laptop to a cabled ethernet connection to your router? If so, is Internet prefomance better using the LAN NIC vs. the wireless card? Do you have other wireless cards you can try? Any of these steps may help rule out and/or determine the point of failure.

...you said it! Anyway, first off, you'll need to know a little about networking first. I'm not experienced with the Siemens Speedstream box you mention, but basically here's what I understand: You have a home or small network and you get your IP address from you ISP. From there you have a router set up (the Speedstream I assume), which allows you to use muliple computers/devices on your network. The way this works is that all of your devices are on a PRIVATE network which all share the same PUBLIC IP address, which, as said before, is provided by your ISP. This is NAT (Network Address Translation). If you have a certain device (or server) on your network that you need visibility to the outside world, what you need to know is what TCP/IP port is used to connect for the particular service you are hosting, and by using the port-forwarding feature on your router, set router to forward all traffic on that port to the PRIVATE IP address of your server. That way, all Internet traffic that comes in on that port will be directed to your server. In order for other people to connect to it, you may (or may not) have to know what your PUBLIC IP address is as well, which, chances are, is a dynamic address provided by your ISP.

Plus what the heck is "ALT+10"???? ...sorry, I don't really have an answer to the actual question

The first thing I would try would be to download just quicktime and install that first. After that, try to install iTunes again. For some reason, this seems to work sometimes. Also, if you haven't done so already, you may want to follow Apple's procedure for completely removing iTunes before proceeding: Quit iTunes. On the Start menu, click Control Panel. Windows XP and Windows 2000: In Control Panel, open Add or Remove Programs. Windows Vista: In Control Panel, click Uninstall a program. Alternately, in Classic View of Control Panel, click Programs and Features. Select iTunes from the list of currently installed programs, then click Remove or Uninstall. In Windows XP and Windows 2000, when asked if you would like to remove iTunes, select Yes. In Windows Vista, if your permission is needed to continue, click Continue. After uninstalling iTunes, do not restart if you are prompted to. If other entries were present for iTunes remove those as well. In Add or Remove Programs or Programs and Features, remove any iPod Updater applications that are listed in the same fashion as iTunes was removed. In Add or Remove Programs or Programs and Features, remove any QuickTime installations that are listed in the same fashion as iTunes was removed. Restart your computer. After the computer restarts, open Local Disk C: in My Computer/Computer or whichever disk programs are installed on. Open the Program Files folder. Right-click the iTunes folder and select Delete and choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion. Note: This folder may have already been deleted if iTunes was successfully removed in steps 1-8. Right click the iPod folder and select Delete and choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion. Right-click the QuickTime folder and select Delete and choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion. Delete the QuickTime and QuicktimeVR files located in the C:\\Windows\\system32\\folder. Right-click on the Recycle Bin and on the shortcut menu, click Empty Recycle Bin. Restart your computer. Install the latest version of iTunes from http://www.apple.com/itunes/download.

gpupdate serves the same purpose as (and has replaced) "secedit /refreshpolicy" secedit has many other functions as well, including those to analyze to configure security policies on the host machine. gpupdate is used only to update already configured policies (which can be viewed/configured from the group policy editior).

Is the CD you're refering to Windows XP with SP2 included, or is it just a CD with SP2 for Windows XP? If it is the latter, I'm not sure what is contained on the CD version, so you may need to download the SP2 file, but I'm not sure.

Let me guess...were the first 5 character of the product key FCKGW? Kel's right, pretty much your only option is to a re-install with a valid (read: legal) version of the operating system. You can probably access the system via "SAFE MODE", but if you need to get any files off of the drive, you'll probably need to use a BartPE or Linux live CD of some kind.

Check the link posted by "glent"--pretty much sums it up. If you are going to use NLite to create an install CD and you want the updates, RyanVM is definately the way to go. Autopatcher can be a great tool for updating Windows post-installation, but for pre-installation updating RyanVM's pack makes much more sense and (IMO) is much easier to integrate and has much less overhead.

I recommend using RyanVM's PostSP2 update pack and integrating it into your installation CD prior to installing Windows. This will save you serious time post installation preforming updates. The pack is easy to use and can be integrated with NLite, which can also create a bootable ISO image for you once the updates have been applied. NLite is a powerful tool and has many uses (for which this site has plenty of info on usage), but using it to install the update pack and create the ISO requires little more than basic know-how and is pretty straight forward and easy to do.

As stated before, there is no easy (if any) way to do this, plus I'm not sure you would want to remove SAFE MODE capability. What is it exactly you are trying to prevent users from doing by booting into safe mode?

...not sure this is possible...? What would be better would be to explain why you want to disable SAFE MODE and/or what you are trying to prevent others from doing on a the computer in question, as there may be an alternate (if not better) method of achieving that goal.

I'd have to agree...

More importantly, is your computer up to date with microsoft updates? It appears that you are still using IE6, and while that may not be an indication that you are keeping the security risks patched (IE6 may be a personal preference)-- it does tell me that you are in the very least being selective about your updates, if you are running them at all.

As long as you're not making system changes and just re-installing the OS to the same machine, isn't there a way to copy the activation status...? I thought I had read that here before but I may be mistaken. There have been many posts regarding activation process here on this forum, I would search through those and maybe someone with more information on your type of situation can chime in.

Also, I believe "Detect and Repair" will only work if the installation files can be accessed.

Even if you have admin rights to the computer, if this PC is on an active directory domain this setting may be controlled by a group policy as well. If this is the case and you have a legitimate reason to access the CD drive, you should speak with your systems admin.

How do users log into the computers? Locally or using domain accounts? If they are logging in locally but accessing network shares and email using domain accounts, I think this behavior would make sense...(?).

Well, I've use Active@ Password changer before, and it does work--so if it is SPAM, at least it is actually usefull (I don't truly consider something SPAM unless is both unsolicited and of no real value to the targeted audience, in this case the link does actually refer to a software that accomplishes the goal stated in the thread). What actually made me chime in though was the referenced post by Zhoulengbo--I hadn't seen that when it was originally posted, and I almost fell out of my chair with laughter on that one. I'm almost inspired to register for random forums and start doing things like that myself...or, on second thought, no, maybe that's a complete waste of everyone's time!

Here's an example of an OEMINFO.ini file that should accompany your OEMLOGO.bmb file: OEMLOGO.INI [general] manufacturer=POS Systems Model=SLKJ1745 [Support Information] line1=No support line2=at any time!

Could be a number of things--first thing I would check is BIOS settings.