[Dell install CD any different?]

1boredguy,

From what i've read [mostly from this site] there are three main differences between a standard OEM disk and the OEM disks from Dell.

1. the Dell disks have some drivers added to them, usually chipset or mass storage.

2. they have modified files to bypass Activation [with the right BIOS]

3. they have alot of crap and trialware on them, like the PC's when they arrive.

As your using a VLK version, the only real difference is the added drivers.

Which you can add to your own Unattended disk.

The Reinstallation disks are more like Ghost images, and tend to be locked to the PC's BIOS as LiquidHonesty said.

[Multi Manufacturer Pre-Activation]

@Bezalel,

The numbers that make up the ID for the files, i.e. the 6F53484942412435;

6F53484942412435.BIN

6F53484942412435.CAT

6F53484942412435.DAT

6F53484942412435.SIG

Are they generated form the OS, the Hardware, or Both ?

The reason i'm asking, is most of the oembios files i've collected are from Ghost/Restore images from PC's I no longer have. Which means i don't have the ID's to go with them, so i'm at a loss as to how to name them.

I'm hoping you know the answer ito this, as it could save me a lot of messing around tomorrow, what with Ghosting/Restoring/Formating/Installing/Swearing/ Pulling Hair Out 'ing

[Multi Manufacturer Pre-Activation]

@ Bezalel,

I was thinking of doing the same thing here at my local PCWorld on the weekend. They already hate me in there, so it won't be a problem if the they ban me.

I've got a few sets of files now, and i've made up a UA disk.

Just gotta wait till I can Ghost the PC's, before testing it out.

@ discountpc,

I was thinking along the same lines as you, having one UA disk to cover all my OEM's

Here a list of the file set I have:

Dell: Pro & Home

Sony: Pro

IBM: Pro

Compaq: Home

I'm still working my way through old backups to see if i have,

Packard Bell: Home

Evesham: Pro

NEC: Pro

[Multi Manufacturer Pre-Activation]

Thanx for the reply Bezalel,

I spent most of yesterday trying to collect the oembios file from the PC's around here,

but it looks like most have been formated and had clean installs. So the oembios files aren't any good.

I'm guessing i'd get into trouble asking for the files from royalty OEM's here, so i'll have to get sneaky and find them some other way to get them, before I can test this out properly.

But i'll still give it ago with the two sets I have and let you know the results.

I've got the Sony XP Pro and Compaq Home files, and I'm pretty sure i can find some Dell and HP files, its the Evesham XP Pro ones that'll be the hardest to find.

[Multi Manufacturer Pre-Activation]

Hi Bezalel,

Sorry for the newbie question, but i got abit lost on this thread.

Do i copy the files created by the CollectFiles.rar on each of my PC's (a Dell and a HP) to the $OEM$ folder on my UAXPCD, with the files inside the activation.rar.

Then burn and run, is that correct ?

[svcpack.inf problems]

@ neo_matrix.rs

I tried nLite and RVM Integrator, both worked fine on my XP Pro.

But broke MCE 2005 when i tried them, so thought i'd try and lean how to make an unattended disk manually. Hoping to work out which part brakes it, and then avoid it.

@ Kelsenellenelvian

Its just a copy/paste from the guide, with a KB change.

[svcpack.inf problems]

Hi guys,

Sorry for starting a new thread on a question that may have been answered before.

But i have been reading and seaching these forums for over 3 days now, and still haven't found an answer for my problem

I've been trying to make an unattended XP Pro SP2 disk, by following the guide on this site.

http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/view/web/1/

I've followed the guide to the letter, using the examples on the pages and correcting them when needed.

But everytime i try the install i hit one of two problems:

1. During the text setup, i get the error "Setup cannot copy the file: svcpack.inf" Retry/Esc/F3

2. The setup completes, but nothing from the SVCPACK folder has been installed.

I believe its the same problem, it just shows up differently depending on the Winnt.sif settings.

Has anyone got a solution to this ?

Thanks...