Bezalel

OK, here it is: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\MedCtrUpg] "IsLegacyMCE"=dword:00000001 Please note that this is a protected key so you will have to use another installation of Windows to change it.

In order to support extenders Fast User Switching must be enabled. Fast User Switching cannot be enabled for computers that are members of a domain. If you upgrade from MCE 2004 or set the registry value that says you upgraded, you will be able to join a domain but will not be able to use extenders when you are joined to a domain. You can also join a doimain during Windows Setup before the OS is converted to MCE.

Replace %SYSTEMROOT% with %SYSTEMDRIVE% in your command lines. What happens if you put the file in \$OEM$\$$\system32\drivers\etc\ on your CD

My network currently has DHCP being served by a Cisco router. What needs to be done to Authorize the RIS server, is it the same process as if I was running MS DHCP?

Take a look at the COA Sticker. If it has the manufacturers name it's a Royalty OEM, if it say "OEM Product" it's not. It is possible that OEM #1 made other changes to the CD but the basic answer is yes In addition to finding the key I create a basic winnt.sif (just enough to enter the key). If you already have a customized winnt.sif you can use either method to find the key. (I used Magical JellyBean KeyFinder to verify my scripts.)

If all you want is the customize the computername you should install using a random computername and include a script later on to change the computername. If you want a one-off unattended install I'd suggest putting your winnt.sif on a floppy, using RIS, or starting the install from winnt.exe.

You need to find the following directories on your hard drive I386 and CMPNENTS (These folders may or may not exist depending on how Gateway installed Windows). Copy these 2 folders and create files named win51, win51ip and winn51ip.sp2 (the contents don't matter its the names that are impirtand) to the root of a DVD and make it bootable with nlite.

Why don't you use the correct winnt.sif file to begin with? You might be able to replace the file at the end of textmode by putting it in your $OEM$\$1\$WIN_NT$.BT~ folder but I don't know what you would gain by doing this. What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

There are only a few differances between the Dell CDs and The System Builder CDs and none of the will cause extra precesses to run. The differances are as follows: The OEMBIOS files are different for activation There is a winnt.sif file on the CD The Intel SATA RAID drivers are integrated There are additional files on the CD to put a shortcut to Dell Support on the start menu

A volume licence isn't that expensive. You need to make an initial purchase of 5 licences but you can always buy Server CALs (about $25 each) to get the required quantity for your first purchase. Additional purchases can be purchased individually. Also note that the Windows licences are only upgrades so you will have to have a qualifying previous version for each computer.

I have a MS Licencing document that states thet licences can only be tranferred to different hardware for long-term use. The only exception listed is if the origional hardware fails. The document defines long-term as longer than 90 days. (It is interesting to note that the EULA has no time restictions for tranferring licences.)

I removed the attachment from post 31 bacause it failed on my PC. Apparently .VBS is not associated with wscript at T-12. My next test is to chance the line setEnvVar.vbs "%%b" to wscript setEnvVar.vbs "%%b" and see what happens. If this works I will repost the files.

Because I didn't know about this program. At this stage I'm going to stay with smbios2.exe because it is a well known product and I can freely distribute it. If someone writes an executable thet will output just the Manufacturer's String with no additional formatting I might change my script to use it. Feel free to use whatever method you like in your own script but please don't use this thread to distribute these changes yet (unless my code is broken). There are a number of enhancements (OEMLOGO.BMP, OEMINFO.INI, Signature checking, Verifying SLP Status, SFX Support) that I want to add and don't want this project to be pulled in too many directions

No, but using MSI/Windows Installer is a requirement for the Logo Program, otherwise its just good practice.

For Home Edition you will have to find the factory key, The forum rules prohibit me from posting one.

Actually no checking is done during the install. The fist time WPA checks is during the first boot when Windows is fully installed. This is why a Dell CD can be used to install on a non-Dell system. You can use any factory key with any pre-activated media. In fact MS has a published key specificly for reinstalling preavtivated systems. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechn...y/oempreac.mspx

I think I have a working set of files. Extract these files to your hard drive and run GetOEMFiles.bat then copy the files to the $OEM$ directory of your CD. I haven't tested these yet but it looks good. You don't have to use my cmdlies.txt file but you need to run RestoreOEMFiles.bat before WFP starts protecting the files (I think T-9) If anyone has a Manufacturer's string that contains a ' or a " (single quote or double quote) or anyone else for that matter let me know if it works. Attachment Removed - See Post #34

I'n using this line of code for /F "tokens=1* delims='" %%a in ('smbios.exe /G ^|findstr "Manufacturer"') do converttohex.bat "%%b" Currently it is calling converttohex each time it encounters the string "Manufacturer". How can I make only call converttohex for the first occurance.

I don't thing this unit uses preactivation Also notice that the manufacturers name has 18 spaces after it, this is the reason I converted the string to hex.

With indy_dba's method I would need to hardcode every manufacturer's name in my script or have every user modify their own scripts based on which computers they own. (Even worse the script might see a component manufacturer's name and miskake it for the system manufacturer.) This is what I need my script to do: Run SMBIOS (I think /G) and redirect the output to a text file Search the output file for the "System Information" section Search the "System Information" section for the "Manufacturer" line Convert the manufacturer string into hex and replace the OEMBIOS files with files named with the hex string. My script would not have to be modified when you by another PC from a a new manufacturer all you have to do is collect the OEMBIOS files from your new computer rename them with the manufacturer's hex string (I've already written these scripts) and drop the files onto your CD.

I know how to use CR on the PowerVault, I've installed 2003 Server using CR. I am trying to find out how to enable CR for Windows XP.

Is there any way to enable Console Redirection in Windows XP? I am trying to install Windows XP MCE on a Dell PowerVault 715n.

I took a look a GetSys and decided not to use it because it merges the manufacturer and model into 1 long string. I've decided to use IBM's SMBIOS but need some help extracting the manufacturer's name from the output file.

The winnt.sif file created by Setup Manager is intended to be used on a floppy with a hologrammed CD. Since the hologrammed CD doesn't have the $OEM$ structure OEMPreinstall is not turned on. If you want to use OEMPreinstall you must tell Setup Manager to create an unattend.txt for a network install.

If your hard drives have no partitions on them you will not get this prompt.