Tripredacus

Well you can do a FirstLogonCommands to delete the XML file, but the log files (and modified XML) will show up in the various Panther folders anyways. Or you can put your XML into a folder that is accessable by the system but not by users. That way the unattend should work but users can't get into the folder without proper permissions.

I'm not too sure about the behaviour of unattends in domain environments. I do know that you can't log into the domain and then do the join. The PC needs to join then you can login. Does this help? Maybe also you can pre-stage the system in AD to get it to join that way, not sure.

Good luck on your new venture!

Not really. In fact we had so many threads about Seagates getting bricked that we created a subforum for those types of threads: http://www.msfn.org/board/forum/169-hard-drive-and-removable-media-issues/

I disabled both of the IGD adapters detected in Device Manager in Safe Mode. This let me boot into normal mode! Annoying thing, that's for sure.

Of course jaclaz, that's why I made this thread also. I did not know if it was possible, so instead of just telling the user that, I help out by asking questions in the right place where the right people can answer.

I put "upgrade" in quotes because you could say I did a side-step or downgrade. I wanted to upgrade my video card to be able to use three monitors. The card I have now is an ATI FireMV. It was not compatible with my motherboard, Intel DB43LD. It would just reboot during post. I called Intel support and they said this was because the board did not detect a GPU. Or more specifically, since IGD disables the integrated graphics if there is any card in the PCI-E x16 slot, the ATI card had not responded fast enough during POST and the system would reset. I had updated the BIOS, but the BIOS ended up getting corrupted! I backed that down and no change. I tried another DB43LD that had the BIOS upgrade but no luck. I tried a DQ45CB and the card worked but NOT after updating the BIOS. I found 1 board that did work, a DG45FC. We'll forget about the fact that I now have a Mini-ITX board in a 7 bay/full ATX case.... and that I like to tell long stories about things... After confirming the board actually would POST after the BIOS update and the card, I put it into my case and hooked everything back up. One other change, I upgrade the PSU to a 500W. My first boot (HEY the OS is 7PRO32) went fine. It booted up, I logged in and it detected all my new stuff and then installed the drivers. It prompted for a reboot and I did. Then it would get to the Starting Windows screen, work for a bit and then just sit there. The animation would stop and the CAPS LOCK key did not work, thus PC is locked up. I reset and tried to run Startup Repair but this didn't work either. However, I am able to boot into Safe Mode, but as usually, I can't install or uninstall anything. There is no left-over devices in Device Manager and nothing (non network related) is logged in Event Viewer. I need to know what options I have for getting it to boot into Normal Mode again. Here is a summary of what I had done: 1. Changed from Intel DB43LD to Intel DG45FC motherboard 2. Changed from ATI X1800 Radeon PCIE to ATI FireMV PCIE 3. Changed from 350W PSU to 500W PSU 4. Disabled CCC with MSCONFIG in Safe Mode CCC was complaining that there was no ATI card installed because only the WDM drivers were installed. Hmm I have an idea just now. I have previously used this board with XP and a Matrox Parphellia, and just like this current system, IGD does NOT disable the onboard video like it is supposed to. What ends up happening is that it still gets detected, and on the XP I had to disable the onboard in Device Manager. I guess I will try that out, but if you have any other ideas, let me know.

Well I don't actually pay for these parts, let's call it a work benefit. Anyways, I located the missing video card, but the PC it used to be in is still MIA.

Well you could mount the install.wim with DISM (using the WAIK) and delete the fonts out of there. Or maybe one of these tools can do it:

You don't join the domain in Audit mode. The join should happen during First Logon after Windows Setup. You can just use the sysprep GUI if you want. Then name your file UNATTEND.XML and put it in one of the search locations: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749415%28WS.10%29.aspx Otherwise, in order to use the commands I posted, you need to close the sysprep box that shows up. Otherwise you will get an error saying that sysprep is already open. I don't really like using the method of sysprep looking for the file. I'd rather specify it myself.

If this is a case where you delete a file or folder, and it reappears because it is "protected" then you have only one choice. You would have to delete the backup file AND the actual file. The same is true if you are trying to replace files, like hacked screensavers. Your best bet is to boot into another OS that can read NTFS, like WinPE (you'll have to change ACLs) or NTFSDOS. Linux can do this too I think. But why is this a big problem? Do you just want to hide it? You could also change the ACLs on the folder itself, then delete the contents. I've done ACL trickery on viruses to stop them from working. For example, if you remove all right for the SYSTEM account, any functions that Windows carries out using that account on that object will not work anymore.

I don't know WinPE 1.x very well, but this is a pretty neat method:

I'm making this a separate thread. Here is the situation: User has a Windows OS on a hard drive formatted NTFS. There is either a power failure or a hard shutdown is performed. Upon reboot Windows does not work. Troubleshooting with Diskpart reveals that the file system on the drive is now listed as RAW. So here are the questions: 1. Is it possible to fix the file system to make the drive bootable again? 2. What programs can be used to recover data off a RAW volume? This issue happened here: But since this is a general question, I can post it here if it helps others.

I don't think CHKDSK can "check" a RAW format disk. The unfortunate thing is that if Diskpart is seeing the disk as RAW, then your file system is corrupted. Most likely your files are still there, but your options of recovering your system as very small. If you can get the files off using some data recovery program, do that. In the end you are going to have to format that drive! I do not know if it is possible to fix a volume that becomes RAW due to this type of problem. I'm going to ask a question elsewhere to see what I can dig up. General question here:

How many passes did you run the memtest for? I usually adhere to a 5 pass minimum or 12 hour test depending on the circumstances.

With the program open and "selected" use Windows+Space. This opens the context menu. Restore shortcut key is R. Move is M. Then use the arrow keys. Even if you can't see it, practice with notepad on your primary monitor to get the keys down. Also, all the window location info is saved in the registry someplace. Removing that info should reset their positions. I think its done with GUIDs tho. It uses these keys: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell NoRoam\BagMRU HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell NoRoam\Bags

I am actively trying to go from 2 monitors to 3, but I am not certain on the best way to do it. Here is my system specs: I have 2 PCI slots and 1 1x slot available to me. Which of these options would work the best? 1. Add a second video card to a PCI slot. I know if I do this it should be another Radeon, but does it need to be an X1800, or is there a specific range of models I can use? 2. Drop 300 on a FirePro? I doubt this is possible. I do know that there is (somewhere) a FireMV 4 port DVI-A card in the building somewhere, but it is (for all intents and purposes) missing. Its listed in inventory but the PC it is in is MIA. 3. Switch away from ATI and use a Matrox Parpehlia P960. I'm not really impressed by these and would prefer sticking with ATI if possible. This will all be solved if we can find the missing FireMV card. Tell me some of your experiences with running multies and what cards you used.

Wow good thing you brought up this question. I'm going to have to change my unattend files now to this crazy number you use. 10 is definately not enough.

You can do it but it is not supported.

Are these fonts always going to be the same? You may want to remove them from the source instead of removing them after the fact.

Can you attach your XML as a file to your post? Make sure to edit out the product key if it is in there.

Well technically, the discs themselves should be very cheap unless somehow they are collector's items. The major part of the price for an OS is the license. If you can find just the media with no key (presuming its the correct media for you) then it *should* be cheaper, but then again maybe not!

Yes, there is a topic in the Win9x section too:

Sure you can use an unattend that leaves out the computer name. Then when the system boots from OOBE you will get a computer name prompt and nothing else. As far as the password, if you are specifying it in your answer file, then just let WSIM encrypt it. The only reason you don't want a plain text password is because the XML will remain on the system after deployment. Devious employees might go and look for it and be able to get the password out. Do you really want your employees to have access to an account with admin priveledges? That's the only real reason. But if you want to run the risk, its totally up to you.

Here is a screenshot I took showing the folder alias problem: I resolved this by reinstalling Windows. I created C:\Backup\Data. Then use Imagex to apply into the Data folder. Take ownership, remove read-only flag and set Full Control to the local account. It was a pain, but still no idea why it used a folder alias the first time.