blinkdt

One more suggestion, don't know if this functionality already exists: When the WPI opens the user has the option to simply exit, creating no RunOnce menu. Fair enough. But if the user selects ANYTHING from the menu then the associated installer files are required. Problem is, I have my files packed as an SFX and only need to unpack if options are selected. So here's the dilemna: can a menuless WPI entry be created at the start of the process, one that does not appear on the WPI menu itself but is activated if ANY menu items are selected? In my case, this entry would be used to unpack the SFX prior to running the RunOnce (if the entry appears in RunOnce, e.g. "Extracting installation files," that's OK by me). A second hidden WPI entry that would appear at the end of RunOnce--to clean up the install files--would be most useful. Or should I just use the already excellent functionality you have built into WPI to create two additional entries, ensure that they are selected if ANY of the other items are selected, and live with a larger WPI menu? Would be nice if they did not show up in the WPI interface.

@durex You dah man, just that easy!

@MHz Sort of off-topic, but boy-oh-boy-oh-boy, I'd give my left pinky for a good, reliable, self-deleting batch file. Do you have something in the form of a template that you could share here?

Looks like there is a reg tweak over at Kelly's Corner that partially accomplishes the task. Kelly posted a .vbs script, to wit: Option Explicit On Error Resume Next Dim WSHShell, n, p, itemtype, MyBox Set WSHShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell") p = "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\EnableAutoTray" itemtype = "REG_DWORD" n = WSHShell.RegRead (p) errnum = Err.Number if errnum <> 1 then WSHShell.RegWrite p, 0, itemtype End If If n = 0 Then WshShell.RegWrite p, 1, itemtype MyBox = MsgBox("Show Inactive Icons in the Notification Area are now ENABLED", 64, "Show or Hide Icons in the Notification Area") End If If n = 1 Then WshShell.Regwrite p, 0, itemtype MyBox = MsgBox("Show Inactive Icons in the Notification Area are now DISABLED", 64, "Show or Hide Icons in the Notification Area") End If Set WshShell = Nothing So if one creates the DWORD HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\EnableAutoTray value and populate it with "0" or "1," then ALL tray icons are either hidden or displayed (reboot required). Don't know about setting individual icon values--I played with RegSnap without success--but nothing is impossible, I suspect. I hide them all and then manually show the few that I want after the install.

@NeuroNik Here's what I do: Create a shortcut to Windows Explorer and put it in your $OEM$ directory somewhere. Then use a batch file to copy the shortcut to the Quick Launch during the unattended install. Copy "%systemdrive%\configure\Windows Explorer.lnk" "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\" You could probably also try copying it straight over to "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\"

@muslim Is the batch file running from inside the Install directory? If so, I am pretty sure that the batch cannot delete the directory in which it resides. Try copying the batch to the Temp directory and running it from there.

This happened to me recently. The install started OK, files copied over, and the installation proceeded apace, but BSOD occurred upon reboot. Googling the error code brought up a Microsoft discussion that clearly suggested the problem had something to do with my SATA driver install. My WINNT.SIF was correct, so I downloaded a fresh copy of the drivers and replaced the ones on my CD. Worked like a charm. Somewhere along the way my driver files had become corrupted, apparently.

@drthawhizkid Thanks for the tip, I've downloaded the Inno Setup program and will give it a try. Another tool in the arsenal.

@kurt476 and drthawhizkid kurt476, that's exactly where I started, with a simple batch that eventually became my RunOnceEx.cmd. Drthewhizkid, as RunOnceEx.cmd grew, my AutoIt post-install was steadily whittled away (Dang, I don't need AutoIt to install Acrobat Reader, I can do it THIS [much easier] way!?!) Here's what's left of my AutoIt script: HideAutoItWin, On ;---------------------------------------------------------start SplashTextOn, 290, 110, Installation in Progress, Preparing for Ultra install.... Sleep, 15000 SplashTextOff Send, !{F4} Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOn, 290, 110, Installation in Progress, Begin configuring program options.... Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOff RunWait, %systemdrive%\\configure\\begin.cmd RunWait, regedit /s "%systemdrive%\\Extras\\SAV8\\prefs.reg" RunWait, regedit /s "%systemdrive%\\Extras\\Spybot\\prefs.reg" RunWait, regedit /s "%systemdrive%\\Extras\\WMP10\\prefs.reg" RunWait, regedit /s "%systemdrive%\\Extras\\Diskeeper\\prefs.reg" RunWait, regedit /s "%systemdrive%\\Extras\\SymantecGhost2003\\prefs.reg" Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOn, 360, 110, Installation in Progress, Installing Belarc Advisor system analysis tool... Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOff Run, %systemdrive%\\Extras\\BelarcAdvisor\\setup.exe WinWaitActive, Belarc Advisor Installation, Welcome to the Belarc Advisor Setup program Send, {ENTER} ;lengthy wait for slow machines WinWaitActive, Belarc License Agreement, This is the Belarc license agreement Send, {ENTER} SplashTextOn, 290, 110, Installation in Progress, Preparing Belarc analysis... Sleep, 5000 SplashTextOff SplashTextOn, 290, 110, Installation in Progress, Please wait...30 seconds... Sleep, 5000 SplashTextOff SplashTextOn, 290, 110, Installation in Progress, Please wait...25 seconds... Sleep, 5000 SplashTextOff SplashTextOn, 290, 110, Installation in Progress, Please wait...20 seconds... Sleep, 5000 SplashTextOff SplashTextOn, 290, 110, Installation in Progress, Please wait...15 seconds... Sleep, 5000 SplashTextOff SplashTextOn, 290, 110, Installation in Progress, Please wait...10 seconds... Sleep, 5000 SplashTextOff SplashTextOn, 290, 110, Installation in Progress, Please wait...5 seconds... Sleep, 5000 SplashTextOff SplashTextOn, 290, 110, Installation in Progress, Belarc analysis OK! Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOff Send, !{F4} RunWait, %systemdrive%\\configure\\BelarcIcons.cmd Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOn, 360, 110, Installation in Progress, Installing Window Washer system cleaning tool... Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOff RunWait, %systemdrive%\\Extras\\WindowWasher\\setup.exe RunWait, regedit /s "%systemdrive%\\Extras\\WindowWasher\\prefs.reg" Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOn, 330, 110, Installation in Progress, Installing Google's Picasa image manager... Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOff RunWait, %systemdrive%\\Extras\\Picasa\\setup.exe RunWait, %systemdrive%\\configure\\PicasaIcon.cmd RunWait, regedit /s "%systemdrive%\\Extras\\Picasa\\prefs.reg" Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOn, 360, 110, Installation in Progress, Installing CursorXP cursor theme manager... Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOff Run, %systemdrive%\\Extras\\CursorXP\\setup.exe ;accept license agreement WinWaitActive, Stardock CursorXP setup Send, {TAB 2}{SPACE}{TAB}{ENTER} ;accept default user interface language - Englisht WinWaitActive, Stardock CursorXP setup Send, {ENTER} ;accept default destination location WinWaitActive, Stardock CursorXP setup Send, {ENTER} Sleep, 5000 ;replace default cursor theme package RunWait, %systemdrive%\\Extras\\CursorXP\\configure.cmd Sleep, 2000 ;bypass README file and configure mouse properties to activate WinWaitActive, Stardock CursorXP setup Send, {TAB}{SPACE}{TAB2}{ENTER} Sleep, 6000 ;close mouse properties window and move on Send, !{F4} ;enable QuickLaunch - change taskbar spacing - remove items from system tray and more RunWait, regedit /s "%systemdrive%\\configure\\registry.reg" RunWait, regedit /s "%systemdrive%\\configure\\quickL.reg" RunWait, regedit /s "%systemdrive%\\configure\\NoRun.reg" Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOn, 330, 110, Installation in Progress, Configuring ObjectDock... Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOff Run, "C:\\Program Files\\Stardock\\ObjectDock\\ObjectDock.exe" Sleep, 5000 Run, "C:\\Program Files\\Stardock\\ObjectDock\\ObjectDock.exe" Sleep, 4000 LeftClick, 23, 430 Sleep, 500 Send, {TAB} Sleep, 500 Send, {ENTER} Sleep, 2000 ;configure Floppy Image Run, "C:\\Program Files\\FloppyImage\\Floppy Image.exe" Sleep, 2000 Send, {ENTER} Sleep, 2000 Send, !{F4} ;run batch file moving extradrivers dir to desktop SplashTextOn, 290, 140, Installation in Progress, Moving folders and files... Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOff RunWait, %systemdrive%\\configure\\move.cmd Sleep, 1000 ;cleanup ObjectDock and WindowBlinds files and Start Menu structure SplashTextOn, 290, 140, Installation in Progress, Please wait... Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOff RunWait, %systemdrive%\\configure\\end.cmd Sleep, 2000 RunWait, %systemdrive%\\configure\\kill1.cmd Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOn, 290, 140, Installation in Progress, Please wait... Sleep, 2000 SplashTextOff ;---------------------------------------------------------end game RunWait, %systemdrive%\\configure\\kill2.cmd Sleep, 2000 Run, %windir%\\Temp\\cleanup.exe Sleep, 1000 Exit [ADLIB] Information,, Send, {ENTER} Folder Exists,, Send, {ENTER} Components Exist,, Send, {TAB}{ENTER} Internet Sharing Configuration,, Send, !y Computer Name Changes, Welcome to the, Send, {ENTER} System Control Panel Applet, If the pagefile on volume, Send, {ENTER} Microsoft Management Console,, Send, !c ;----------------------------------------------------------finish What a mess, several outdated entries, written with the "old" AutoIt, but it works. It fires up several silent installs made with InstallRite, imports registry settings for several programs isntalled during RunOnceEx, runs cleanup batch files, puts a nice "Read Me NOW" Web file on the desktop, removes items from startup, yadda, yadda, yadda. Maybe I will clean it up this winter.

Yup. If you Right Click-->Properties the file you will see it described as an Internet shortcut with the correct path, but the .url extension does not show up as is the case with every other file I've seen. But it's there, so add it to your .cmd code and all should be well.

@kurt476 Sorry 'bout the earlier flame, but take heart. You are in exactly the right place. In fact, you sound just like me about a year and a half ago. I was where you are: I didn't know doodly-squat about shine-olaah! Then I started to do some searching and stumbled across that whole WINNT.SIF thingy. Once I got that under my belt, I started messing with AutoIt. In fact, I did my ENTIRE post install via AutoIt scripts. Need I tell you how many hours I spent carefully making sure that every single thing was juuuust right, 'cause if it wasn't, well, then the script would fail. That's how I learned that "attention to detail" matters. Finally, I stumbled across this forum. Been here ever since. I have learned to use RegSnap, InstallRite, nLite, ORKTools, MSI editors, Hex editors, batch files, .vbs scripts, RAID driver installs via txtsetup.sif, and the all important registry. You name it, no challenge is too great anymore. It has been a real education. And along the way I have learned about Windows: what makes it tick and stuff like that there. Tell you what, you know how during the install you can see the file names flying by? I now know what many of them are, why they are there, what they do. Wow. As far as this forum goes, I'm a junior member stumbling along and learning like most of us. In my local community, however, I am regarded as a computer "expert." You can do this thing...one step at a time. Good luck, mi amigo.

Here's what I'm using from RunOnceEx.cmd: REG ADD %KEY%\090 /VE /D "Windows Media Player 10" /f REG ADD %KEY%\090 /V 1 /D "%systemdrive%\Extras\WMP10\MP10Setup.exe /Q:A /R:N /C:\"setup_wm.exe /Q:A /R:N /DisallowSystemRestore\"" /f REG ADD %KEY%\090 /V 2 /D "%systemdrive%\Extras\WMP10\Energy.exe /q" /f The above adds the "Energy Bliss" visualization, which was downloaded and renamed to 'Energy.' I later set up WMP10 as I like it, e.g., turn on the graphic equalizer, resize the window to cover the "Music/Radio" stuff, and then import EVERYTHING under the [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer] registry setting, together with the earlier tweaks recommended to bypass the usual first-run nags--all 205KB--just to be sure. Works great.

This kills me. You won't read the help file, but you WILL read someone's regurgitation of the help file? I'm beginning to understand the caustic comments of longtime forum members toward newbies, a group that I proudly claim lifetime membership. Heck, I spent three months with AutoIt before I finally got it right, sort of. You want it in one shot? Unless you're a programmer, it's going to take some RESEARCH. Git yer butt out from under your Xbox/Playstation and READ! Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

Do you have a Zip drive attached to your system? I encountered the problem on a testbed machine I formerly used, detaching the Zip drive was the solution. Otherwise, yeah, the boot image file is the likely culprit, I would suspect. I'm using nLite to create bootable discs these days, works great, no more boot failures!

@a06lp Try adding this to your registry file: ;Remove Shortcut Arrows [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile] "IsShortcut"=- If you install TweakUI, you might want to add this as well for consistency: ;Create shortcut overlay radio button 'None' entry -- value of 2 for 'Light arrow' [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Icons] "29"="C:\\WINDOWS\\system32\\tweakui.exe,3" Been so long now, I can't remember, but I recall that unless the second entry was added I would have shortcut-less icons even though TweakUI told me I did. Then again, maybe not. Maybe the second entry is all that is needed, as I recall some folks complaining that the first entry produced no effect for them, even as others swore by it. I remember playing with RegSnap at the time, but this may be a classic case of a user (me) slapping together some registry fixes posted by others and stumbling across a working solution. Any way you slice it, it worked for me. FYI, I have all THREE entries in my registry file.

Anyone else having trouble with the /autoimmunize switch, as discussed HERE? The install and update work fine, just can't seen to get this little bugger to work. @mazin: it's working for you? Thanks for any reply/suggestion.

@Sonarcade: The "last four lines" would include: DriverSigningPolicy= OemSigningPolicy= OemPnPDriversPath= OverwriteOemFilesOnUpgrade= I use the Cmdlines.txt method to initiate RunOnceEx.cmd, so no WINNT.SIF entry is required.

@mizkitty I found the following registry change did the trick for me, very similar to yours above: ;Manage Automatic Windows Updates [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update] "AUOptions"=dword:00000004 "ResetAU"=dword:00000001 "ScheduledInstallDay"=dword:00000000 "ScheduledInstallTime"=dword:00000016 "ConfigVer"=dword:00000001 Nothing is greyed out, changes can be made to the settings. Windows adds the appropriate "NextDetectionTime" and "ScheduledInstallDate" binary entries automatically. The other problem I had, how to NOT monitor the antivirus program (I use Symantec Antivirus Client without the parent server), was solved by the following: ;Override Antivirus [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center] "AntiVirusDisableNotify"=dword:00000000 "FirewallDisableNotify"=dword:00000000 "UpdatesDisableNotify"=dword:00000000 "AntiVirusOverride"=dword:00000001 "FirewallOverride"=dword:00000000 Just importing "AntiVirusOverride"=dword:00000001 did not do the trick, the other entries helped complete the package. Now my Security Center works the way I want it to work.

@Old-man I do indeed recall reading the earlier thread, sounds like you have given it an honest effort and then some. Go ahead and PM me with a list of the programs you would like installed. No need to pay ME, but if you would like to make a meager donation to defer costs of my classroom supply list (yes, it comes out of my pocket) as the new school year kicks in, that would be cool but not necessary. Or maybe someone has beaten me to it? Hope the rest of you do not mind, but this sounds like a win-win situation.

Here's what I did to install the drivers for my Dell Latitude D800 silently: $OEM$-->$$-->INF-->Include all .inf files for the chipset and cardbus. Download the INF directory HERE (55KB), extract, and drop it in $OEM$--$$. $OEM$-->$1-->Drivers-->000-->chipset-->Include all .cat and .inf files extracted per Rasken's method $OEM$-->$1-->Drivers-->001-->cardbus-->3 sets of .cat, .inf, and .sys files for gticard, tiumflt, and tiunfwl $OEM$-->$1-->Drivers-->002-->D800-->LAN-->b57xp32 .cat, .inf, and .sys files $OEM$-->$1-->Drivers-->003-->D800-->Audio-->stac97 .cat, .cpl, .inf, and .sys files $OEM$-->$1-->Drivers-->004-->Video-->nVidia-->The whole tamale Download the Drivers directory HERE (14MB), extract, and drop it in $OEM$--$1. The cardbus is installed in the same fashion as the chipset, meaning, if you do not have the hardware then nothing is affected. The appropriate lines in my WINNT.SIF file look like this: [Unattended] UnattendMode=FullUnattended OemPreinstall=Yes OemSkipEula=Yes Hibernation=No Repartition=No TargetPath=\WINDOWS UnattendSwitch=Yes FileSystem=ConvertNTFS DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore OemSigningPolicy=Ignore OemPnPDriversPath="Drivers\000\chipset;Drivers\001\cardbus;Drivers\002\D800\LAN;Drivers\003\D800\Audio;Drivers\004\Video\nVidia" (all on one line, no breaks) OverwriteOemFilesOnUpgrade=No Copy the last four lines to the appropriate section of your WINNT.SIF file and you should be OK. That takes care of the Intel chipset, TI Cardbus/Smartcard, Gigabit LAN, SigmaTel Audio, and nVidia Video. The Conexant modem, Alps software, and a bonus 1300 Wireless Mini-PCI LAN card are installed during RunOnceEx.cmd: $OEM$-->$1-->Extras-->Conexant $OEM$-->$1-->Extras-->Glidepoint $OEM$-->$1-->Extras-->Truemobile Download the drivers from Dell and extract them to the above directories, or use any directory naming convention you prefer. My RunOnceEx.cmd looks like this: cmdow @ /HID @echo off TITLE Flash... COLOR 8f SET KEY=HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx REG ADD %KEY% /V TITLE /D "Installing Additional Features" /f REG ADD %KEY%\004 /VE /D "Conexant D480 Modem" /f REG ADD %KEY%\004 /V 1 /D "%systemdrive%\Extras\Conexant\HXFSetup.exe" /f REG ADD %KEY%\005 /VE /D "Dell TrueMobile 1300 WLAN" /f REG ADD %KEY%\005 /V 1 /D "%systemdrive%\Extras\TrueMobile\Setup.exe /s" /f REG ADD %KEY%\006 /VE /D "Alps GlidePoint/StickPointer" /f REG ADD %KEY%\006 /V 1 /D "%systemdrive%\Extras\Glidepoint\Setup.exe /s" /f .... Note that I install the modem using HXFSetup.exe vs. Setup.exe. The modem diagnositcs check out OK, but I have not tested it in the real world. Also, remove the TrueMobile reference if you do not have the device. FYI, the .iss file BootOption=3 found in the Glidepoint driver package should be changed to BootOption=0 or RunOnceEx will reboot. Not the end of the world. The Alps software will not function until the machine is rebooted following install. Appropriate applets appear in Control Panel and everything is listed correctly in Device Manager following the install. I did not bother with the Notebook Software or Speedstep Fix. The Notebook Software is the type of crappy proprietary stuff I try to remove upon receipt of a new system, and you can judge the necessity of the Speedstep fix by reading THIS. There is an .iss file associated with the Speedstep Fix setup, but I received an error message during RunOnceEx while testing the install using the software downloaded from Dell and have no inclination to investigate further. The README file in the Notebook Software driver package explains how to perform a silent install if you really, really want it, easy peasy. Other items, like Dell's diagnostics software and Quickset utility, well...I never use 'em and everything works fine. Clean and mean is the way we likes 'em. EDIT: Crap, just noticed that you are using the Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller. You will need to substitute the .cat, .inf, and .sys files for your device with mine (Gigabit LAN controller) found in the LAN directory. Get the driver from Dell, extract it, find the files, and put them where they belong and you should be OK.

Jared, I am pulling together a disc right now for a Latitude D800. I have the Sigmatel audio, chipset, Broadcom LAN, GeForce4 4200 Go worked out, just trying to get the rest working properly via RunOnceEx at the moment. Give me a day or two and I'll post my results, 'less someone already has it? No need for payment of any type, of course, we're here for the love, right?

No, that won't work in my experience. I'm pretty darned sure you will receive an error message from AutoIt if you omit the Window title. Very, very rarely do I find a situation where a Window title does not exist (Mavis Beacon), or AutoIt simply fails to respond to a titled Window despite all attempts. Usually it is a Window that I am trying to bypass, so I just try to kill it with an Alt+F4 command sent after a specified period of time. On occassion, even that does not work, so I try plan B: InstallRite

@ClarkKent My posts were initially in response to me3's findings. I experienced the same problem and devised a solution. I have Adobe Premiere Pro, not sure which version, as I do not have it installed at present (like so many here, I just do some of this for sport ). You are going to have to play with AutoIt. Try beating your head against a wall for a few months like I did and when you figure it out the feeling of satisfaction is soooooo much better. You can do it. It's very cool.

Toward the end of the script you see the lines: ;Reboot WinWaitActive, Adobe Premiere Pro Setup, I want to restart my computer Send, {ENTER} Remove those lines and change the abcpy.ini entry from DisplayRebootDlg=YES to DisplayRebootDlg=NO. That should do it.

You will not be prompted to register during the install. The only dialogue box that appears is "User Information," and AutoIt will automatically enter the information per the script above. Spend some time with AutoIt, it's a great tool.